Democrats started to pivot from COVID just before Joe Biden’s State of the Union. Governor after governor lifted various mandates, restrictions, and closures. Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed restrictions for Congress. With the exception of airlines and a few other venues, we’re mostly free of mask mandates. And yet government control is tough to give up, which is why the Biden administration has continued fighting for his power-grabbing vaccine mandates.

Team Biden won a victory yesterday when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted an injunction against Biden’s mandate for federal workers.

Back in January, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown had imposed the injunction, calling it “a bridge too far” for the president, “with the stroke of a pen and without the input of Congress, [to] require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment.” Two out of three Fifth Circuit judges (both appointees of Bill Clinton) did not share his opinion.

More accurately, Judges Carl Stewart and James Dennis ruled on procedure and standing. The judges agreed with the administration’s contention that the district court had no authority over the matter, saying the plaintiffs “seek to circumvent the [Civil Service Reform Act] CSRA’s exclusive review scheme” regarding such federal employment policies. If employees object, they must go through proper channels.

From a practical standpoint, Biden announced his order on September 9. Since then, federal workers have mostly had to operate under the assumption that the vaccination was required. Some lost their jobs for refusing. How many more were vaccinated under duress?

According to Reuters, “The White House has said more than 93% of federal employees have received at least one vaccination and 98% have been vaccinated or are seeking a religious or medical exemption.” In other words, by any stretch of the imagination — and certainly by whatever herd-immunity goal post Anthony Fauci might choose on any given day — federal employees have reached herd immunity.

So, why force the remaining few folks, most of whom are younger, healthier, and already had COVID, to be vaccinated? In a word, power. In another word, politics.

This particular vax mandate applies to the nation’s 2.1 million civil service employees. But Biden’s mandates have had the side effect of being a cleansing operation in the military and law enforcement, weeding out many good, young, healthy conservatives from their jobs. These are exactly the kind of people best suited for public service, which is why Biden and his ilk want them gone.

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In related news that’s not news, it’s not a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” as Biden falsely asserted last year. The vaccinated and boosted Pelosi tested positive for COVID this week, just after she breathed all over Biden and he kissed her on the cheek. Not to worry, though. The White House says Biden never engaged in “close contact” with Pelosi.

Judge for yourself.

Numerous other DC officials around Biden likewise received positive tests — Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo tested positive, as did several members of Congress.

As it turns out, vaccines do work well against serious infection, hospitalization, and death. Every infected person mentioned was fully vaccinated, and most are not reporting symptoms. But vaccines do not prevent infection as well as originally touted. The unvaccinated are not the only ones catching what are now coronavirus variants in the second or third generation. That’s not a case against vaccines; it’s a case against hubris, and maybe — just maybe — against ruthlessly enforced mandates.