Ohio hospitals are “pausing” the vaccine mandate for health care workers as the hospitalization rate for COVID-19 patients statewide drastically soars – though most facilities there still support the Biden administration’s federal mandate, which will likely make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ohio Health – a system of 12 hospitals across the state of Ohio – rejected that the pause of the mandate for its employees was due solely to staffing shortages, as spokesman Colin Yoder told Fox News Digital that its “more do to the things going through the legislature and the courts right.” A panel of judges on the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit of Appeals delivered a decision Wednesday that kept a preliminary injunction in place for Biden’s vaccine mandate for health care workers for 14 states, including Ohio. However, their decision altered the Nov. 30, U.S. district Judge Terry Doughty’s blockade of the vaccine mandate for health care workers in 14 states, including Ohio. It means that it can be forced in half America. The appeals court panel noted, however, that the matter will likely reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Ohio Health stated in a statement that they believe, along with most health systems across the country, that the vaccine must be required to protect patients and staff from COVID-19. They are now moving forward with their decision to either require the vaccine or have an approved medical exemption or religious exemption. “Our process was designed to ensure compliance with federal and state law.” It stated that “However, due to the recent regulatory-legislative issues we are pausing on our timeline.” “We are not changing or modifying our mandate process. However, we are pausing the timeline at this moment.” The Ohio Hospital Association, which represents member hospitals across the state, reported a more than 50% rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the past 60 days. John Palmer, OHA director for Media and Public Relations, said that the 60-day ICU change has increased 30% with one in four patients being COVID-19 positive and receiving treatment. At least three of the Ohio Hospital Association’s members, meanwhile, have moved to pause the implementation of the vaccine mandate for their health care employees. But Palmer said that move came in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announcement that they were pausing enforcement due to pending litigation – not to any reactions by staff members. Palmer stated that more than 760 patients in Ohio hospitals are currently on ventilators this week. This requires 24-hour care and more hospital resources, such as equipment, materials, and bed space. Palmer also described how health care workers are suffering from “burnout” due to a 22-month-old, roughly two-year-old pandemic with high capacity in certain months. He said that Ohio has seen five surges in COVID-19 cases during the pandemic. President Biden in November issued an executive order requiring all health care workers at facilities participating in Medicare or Medicaid to be fully vaccinated with either two doses of Pfizer or Moderna, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson by Jan. 4. According to the Biden administration, the rule would apply to more 17 million workers in approximately 76,000 health care institutions, including long-term care facilities and hospitals.