The Biden administration is “prepared to defend” sweeping new coronavirus vaccine rules for large companies amid new legal challenges, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general, said on Sunday.The administration last week set Jan. 4 as the deadline for companies with 100 or more employees to mandate Covid vaccinations or implement weekly testing of workers. The mandate would allow for medical or religious exemptions, and companies that fail to comply may be fined.“The president and the administration wouldn’t have put these requirements in place if they didn’t think that they were appropriate and necessary,” Dr. Murthy said on ABC’s “This Week.”Dr. Murthy pointed to the nation’s history as precedent: George Washington required troops to be inoculated against smallpox in 1777.The sweeping move already has raised legal challenges, with opponents arguing that the requirement is unconstitutional. One coalition of businesses, religious groups, advocacy organizations and several states file …
