Court Halts Boston's Vax Mandate for Police, City Workers

Boston's vaccine mandate has been frozen with a ruling out of Suffolk Superior Court today stating the city's vax requirement is now "temporarily stayed pending review of the Superior Court."

The court adds "a response from the defendants to the plaintiffs' petition is requested and due on or before February 3." That means no enforcement can take place until after the court addresses this case in the coming weeks.

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The news broke as Mayor Michelle Wu was speaking in an unrelated press conference.

"I haven't read the specific ruling yet," Wu said when asked about the court order. "So we'll evaluate and huddle on what the next steps exactly mean. But we're still on track in terms of our timeline to close the vaccination gaps across the city."

A press conference has been called for 4 p.m. by the firefighters' union.

The Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, which took Wu to court and has won the temporary halt, said in a statement this afternoon they never "espoused any anti-vaccine sentiments or conspiracy theories. We voiced labor concerns."

The group added: "Over the past few months, Mayor Wu has undermined collective bargaining and the labor rights of so many city workers. This has never been an anti-vaccine issue. Mayor Wu ignored written agreements and refused to meet with unions in good faith.

"Today the Federation took another step forward thanks to the court's order staying the deadline pending our appeal. This is just yet another indication that we are doing the right thing. The City now, per the court order, will not be able to enforce the mandate against firefighters, police supervisors or detectives until our appeal has been heard and decided on. We invite the Mayor, in a show of good faith, to hold off applying the mandate as to teachers and patrol officers given ongoing labor concerns."

As the Herald reported today, the police union — the largest in the city — "overwhelmingly" voted against a proposed agreement with Wu Wednesday night.

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