The Supreme Court now has a chance to fix a legal mess that let lower courts green‑light sweeping Covid vaccine mandates.
Background
Boysen v. PeaceHealth asks whether Oregon’s Covid jab requirement for health care workers violates the Constitution.
In August 2021 Oregon mandated shots or approved exemptions, and PeaceHealth fired the plaintiffs when they refused.
The workers sued PeaceHealth, former Governor Kate Brown and former OHA Director Patrick Allen in the U.S. District Court for Oregon in August 2023, claiming 14th Amendment violations and Supremacy Clause preemption.
Judge Ann Aiken dismissed the case in August 2024, and the 9th Circuit upheld that dismissal in December 2025, leaving the plaintiffs with no appeal route.
They filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court on May 4.
Legal Analysis
NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione told The Federalist that lower courts misapply the 1905 decision Jacobson v. Massachusetts, which upheld smallpox vaccine mandates as a valid exercise of police power.
Vecchione argues that Jacobson required a heightened constitutional analysis, not the deferential rational‑basis review the 9th Circuit used.
He says recent Supreme Court rulings affirm that individuals retain control over personal health decisions, a principle that limits government intrusion beyond the narrow scope of Jacobson.
The attorney adds that Jacobson applied only when the vaccine protected others by preventing transmission, a condition the Covid shots do not meet.
Vecchione warns that an expansive lower‑court standard could force vaccination on people with natural immunity, echoing broader government overreach such as compulsory exercise or smoking bans.
Looking Ahead
At least four justices must vote to hear a case, and the Court has repeatedly declined to take up similar challenges.
The most recent denial came in Doe v. Hochul, where only Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch supported review.
If the Court grants Boysen, Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kavanaugh and Barrett—who have shown mixed records on vaccine mandates—are likely to decide the outcome.
PeaceHealth must file its response by September 8, and the Court has yet to announce whether it will hear the case.
