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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 7 February 2023

Vaccine litigation lingers after lifting of military mandate

By KEVIN McGILL saw as a cumbersome 50-
Associated Press step process to obtain re-
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fed- ligious exemptions for the
eral appeals court judges COVID-19 vaccine. Their
closely questioned a Biden lawyers have called a
administration attorney "sham" with applications
Monday on the conse- being "categorically de-
quences military personnel nied."
might face for refusing CO- The Defense Department
VID-19 vaccinations, even denied the process was
though Biden's vaccine onerous and said the Navy
mandate for military per- has a compelling interest in
sonnel has been rescinded. requiring vaccinations for
Lawyers for a group of personnel who often oper-
Navy SEALS and other Navy ate for long periods in "con-
personnel who refuse to be fined spaces that are ripe
vaccinated for religious breeding grounds for respi-
reasons told a 5th U.S. Cir- ratory illnesses."
cuit Court of Appeals pan- On Monday, Heather
el that federal court injunc- Hacker, an attorney for the
tions against the mandate Navy personnel, said the
are still needed, in part be- situation could be seen as
cause decisions on deploy- worse now for them now
ments and assignments Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Nov. 16, that the older mandate
can still be made based on 2022. policy has been rescinded,
vaccination status. Associated Press because current policy
"Is there any assurance on Ross assured the panel that can still make decisions on Circuit that Austin's memo does not provide for a sail-
the record, that there will there are no plans to bring how and whether to de- and other Defense Depart- or's religious objections to
be no deployment deci- back the requirement. ploy unvaccinated troops, ment actions show that the the vaccine to be consid-
sions based on vaccina- "Given the prevailing pub- under a memo signed last Navy still intends to treat ered when deployment or
tion?" Judge James Ho, one lic health guidelines and month by Defense Secre- unvaccinated personnel assignment decisions are
of three judges hearing the the state of the virus, there tary Lloyd Austin. "like second-class citizens made.
case asked Department of is currently no intention to Military leaders have long because of their religious "Exactly, your honor," Hack-
Justice lawyer Casen Ross. require universal vaccina- argued that to maintain beliefs." er replied.
Ross said such questions tion of all service mem- unit health and troop read- Government lawyers ar- In January of last year,
were speculative and not bers," Ross said. iness, troops have for de- gue the policy is in line with a federal judge in Texas
at issue in the case before The Pentagon formally cades been required to get "well-established principles barred the Navy from tak-
the court. Ho and Judge dropped the requirement as many as 17 vaccines, of judicial noninterference ing any action against the
Kyle Duncan noted that the in January following a De- particularly those who are with core military decision Navy plaintiffs for being un-
administration had only re- cember vote in Congress deploying overseas. making," in their briefs. vaccinated. A 5th Circuit
luctantly ended the military to end the mandate. How- Attorneys for the unvac- The Navy SEALS filed their panel rejected the Biden
mandate after December ever, vaccine opponents cinated Navy personnel lawsuit in November of administration's request to
congressional action, but note that commanders argued in briefs to the 5th 2021, describing what they block the judge's order.q

Legal sizes for lobsters could change to protect population

By PATRICK WHITTLE Georges Bank. The regu- to protect rare whales. New England, and the dramatically in the last 15
Associated Press latory Atlantic States Ma- Recent surveys that show hearings will be held in years. The catch in Maine,
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — rine Fisheries Commission is declining levels of young those places, Starks said. which is by far the larg-
The rules about the mini- considering changing the lobsters are a concern for Changes could be imple- est producer of lobsters,
mum and maximum sizes standards by a fraction the future of the fishery, mented by fall 2024 if they is typically more than 100
of lobsters that can be of an inch in some of the said Caitlin Starks, senior are approved, Starks said. million pounds (45 million
trapped off New England fishing grounds. The com- fishery management plan Lobster fishing groups such kilograms) per year. Fish-
could soon become strict- mission said it's considering coordinator for the com- as the Massachusetts Lob- ermen had never even
er, potentially bringing big the changes because of mission. "Those numbers stermen's Association are eclipsed 80 million pounds
changes to one of the a worrisome lack of baby were declining," Starks following the develop- (36 million kilograms) in a
most valuable seafood in- lobsters growing off New said. "The levels of new ments, said Beth Casoni, single year as recently as
dustries in the country. England. lobsters recruiting into the executive director of the 2008. But the population of
Fishers are required to The changes would arrive fishery were particularly group. lobsters off southern New
measure lobsters from at a time when the lobster low, and there was con- The association doesn't England has crashed. And
eyes to tail and must throw industry is experiencing re- cern that was going to have a stance yet be- scientists who perform sur-
back the crustaceans if cord highs in both catch foreshadow decline." cause the exact specifi- veys of baby lobsters from
they're too large or too and value, and consumers The commission is soliciting cations of the proposed eastern Canada to Long
small. The rules, which can are paying more for lob- public comment on the changes are still to come, Island, New York, have
vary slightly based on fish- sters — already a premium proposal and plans to hold she said. found a below average
ing grounds, are intended product — than they were public hearings about it "We're waiting to see what number of them settling on
to maintain a breeding just a few years ago. The in March, Starks said. The the preferred manage- the ocean bottom in areas
population of the lob- industry is also challenged changes would affect ment options are," Casoni such as the Gulf of Maine
sters in key areas such by warming oceans and lobster fishers from Maine said. The size of the U.S. lob- since 2012, the commis-
as the Gulf of Maine and new fishing rules designed to the waters off southern ster catch has increased sion said in a statement.q