An Ohio federal judge has issued a fresh order that states the potential jurors in the national multidistrict opioid litigation are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend the court ruling.
Earlier, U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster ordered that all the jurors of the upcoming opioid trials need to be vaccinated on a mandatory basis, but a bid from various pharmacy defendants including Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid compelled the judge to reverse the decision.
The judge considered the pharmacies' argument that the vaccination rates vary by race, gender, and political views that might result in delayed vaccination for the jurors, which could eventually result in a delay in resolving the lawsuits as many jurors would miss the rulings. The pharmacies even argued that if the jurors are limited to only those who are fully vaccinated, it could impact the outcomes of the trials.
Even though the mandatory vaccination clause has been eliminated, the judge has encouraged the attorneys and the witnesses to get vaccinated at the earliest. As per the motion presented by the pharmacies, 42.6% population of the state has been fully vaccinated as of June 16, according to the report of Ohio's Department of Health.
The first pharmacy bellwether trial will begin on Oct. 4, and the jury selection for the same will begin on Sept. 29 and continue through Oct. 1, as stated in the judge's order. The trial will focus on two Ohio counties' claims of the public nuisance created by the pharmacy chains like CVS and Rite Aid, who ignored the suspiciously bulk orders of opioids.
Earlier, the focus of the opioid MDL was on drugmakers and distributors but has recently shifted to pharmacies, as the companies are working on settling the claims against them.
