Last fall, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a district court preliminary injunction that barred the U.S. Air Force from requiring religious objectors to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. As I noted at the time, it appeared that the Air Force's attorneys had not fully considered how it should respond to Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) claims in this context.
The Air Force has since rescinded the vaccination requirement, and has now asked for panel rehearing or rehearing en banc for the purpose of vacating the panel decision and lower court injunction. No dice said the Sixth Circuit.
In a brief order issued today in Doster v. Kendall, the Sixth Circuit rejected the petition. It reads:
