Supreme Court justices on Feb. 22 rejected a bid by health care workers in Maine to block the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Justices declined to hear arguments for and against an appeals court decision that left the mandate, which affects all health care workers in Maine, intact. At least six justices rejected the writ of certiorari, or request to review the lower court decision. How each justice voted wasn’t made public. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, announced the mandate in August 2021. She said requiring workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine would “[protect] health care workers, their patients, including our most vulnerable, and our health care capacity.” Shortly after, the state stopped allowing religious exemptions to mandatory vaccinations, which a group of health care workers said violated the U.S. Constitution and federal law. U.S. District Judge Jon Levy, an Obama nominee, turned down a request for a preliminary injunction against …