BoCo sheriff: Won't enforce federal virus order

The sheriff of Bollinger County, Missouri, announced Friday neither he nor department employees will enforce any of the executive actions announced Thursday by President Joe Biden in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden's sweeping executive order would mandate COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly tests for all employees at a company with more than 100 workers, a group of about 80 million people. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration would enforce the requirement through a fine of $14,000 per violation. The rule would require employers to provide paid time off for workers to get vaccinated. All workers at health care facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funds -- about 17 million people -- would have to be vaccinated. All employees of the executive branch and federal contractors would also have to be vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control plans to extend a vaccination requirement, originally for nursing home employees, to other health care providers, including hospitals, home-health agencies and dialysis centers.

The federal Department of Health and Human Service will require vaccinations at Head Start programs and federally operated schools.

Some of the mandates allow for religious or medical exemptions, some do not, and the White House has announced federal workers not complying could face termination.

Bollinger County Sheriff Casey Graham posted a memo on social media decrying governmental "overreach."

"Yesterday we witnessed an unbelievable tyrannical executive action by President Joe Biden. I assure you, that as your Sheriff, I, along with my Office, will NEVER enforce such mandates by our Federal Government," the memo stated. "I call on ALL State Official's [sic] to take immediate action in blocking the unconstitutional executive order issued by President Biden. We, as Americans, MUST stand up to Government overreach that we witnessed yesterday. ... I, your Sheriff, will NEVER allow government overreach in this County as long as I am your Sheriff."

Biden' order includes a number of other provisions. It would:

• Double federal fines for airline passengers who refuse to wear masks on flights or to maintain face covering requirements on federal property in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
• Provide for the federal government to increase the supply of virus tests. A numberof retailers -- including Walmart, Amazon and Kroger -- have agreed to sell at-home testing kits at cost.
• Provide additional federal funding for schools.

In announcing the order, Biden said unvaccinated Americans are prolonging the pandemic.

"We've been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us," he said, all but biting off his words. The unvaccinated minority "can cause a lot of damage, and they are."

Graham countered the president's comment.

"I feel that the American people have been patient, but OUR patience is 'wearing thin,' and we have no other choice but to stand up againt this unconstitutional government overreach from this radical left-wing administration."