Healthcare workers vaccine mandate deadline hits

This Thursday was the deadline for millions of healthcare workers to respond to Pres. Biden's mandate to get the first COVID-19 vaccine in some states including Virginia, North Carolina nd Tennessee. Some fear that the requirement will worsen already serious staff shortages if employees quit rather than comply.

The states affected on Thursday are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, along with the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.

Some Republican-led states that are not abiding by vaccine mandates may find themselves caught between conflicting state and federal demands. The Biden administration mandate will be rolled out across the rest of the country in the coming weeks.

More about mandate for medical facilities and businesses

• Earlier in January the Supreme Court's conservative majority said Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had exceeded it authority bi requirement vaccinations for all businesses.

• Effective Wednesday Occupational Safety pulled the vaccine and testing rules for businesses

• Biden has asked business to comply voluntarily