The Biden administration is formally withdrawing its vaccine and testing mandate for businesses after the Supreme Court blocked the requirements earlier this month.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will pull the rule for businesses effective Wednesday, Jan. 26, the agency said in a statement posted to its website Tuesday. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that OSHA had exceeded its authority.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration confirmed the withdrawal Tuesday. But the agency said it still strongly encourages workers to get vaccinated.

In early November, OSHA announced a vaccine-or-test mandate for companies with at least 100 employees. The rule—which would have impacted more than 80 million U.S. workers—was originally set to go into effect on Jan. 4.

The federal vaccine requirement was designed to curb the surge in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths seen in recent months, including those caused by the delta variant and the omicron variant spreading across the country. 

Unvaccinated people are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die from the coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Breakthrough COVID-19 cases, which occur when vaccinated people contract the disease, are far less deadly but can still produce long-term effects, including “long COVID.”

Now that OSHA has withdrawn the requirement, you may be wondering if employers can still mandate the vaccine — we’ll explain below. Also, here’s the latest on getting booster shots for Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson. Plus: How to get free COVID-19 test kits and free N95 masks.

The administration asked an appeals court to dismiss the case challenging the rule, saying it’s now moot because the policy is being dropped anyway.

OSHA said Tuesday it’s still considering moving forward with imposing a vaccine policy through the agency’s normal rulemaking process, rather than an emergency one that’s subject to less scrutiny. 

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