US State-Level Legal Interventions Related to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

Mandates can increase vaccine uptake, 1 but their effectiveness is associated with who is covered, penalties, and exemptions. 2 The US federal government recently required federal employees to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and developed standards for large employers. 3 However, individual states traditionally take the lead in regulating public health via vaccine mandates. 4 Some states have attempted to introduce requirements to increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. 5 However, others have attempted to impede COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Most efforts have been considered by legislatures; also, some governors and regulatory agencies have issued executive orders. We assessed state-level legal interventions to promote or impede COVID-19 vaccine mandates since the beginning of the pandemic.