The termination of the rulemaking is effective January 15, 2025.
Basis for Terminating the Rulemaking
OSHA always intended for an Infectious Diseases standard for healthcare workers to supplant any COVID-19 healthcare standard, and that a COVID-19 standard would be an interim measure pending the completion of the Infectious Diseases healthcare standard. OSHA concludes that the most effective and efficient use of agency resources to protect healthcare workers from occupational exposure to COVID-19, as well as a host of other infectious diseases, is to focus its resources on the completion of an Infectious Diseases rulemaking for healthcare rather than a disease-specific standard.
In addition, even if OSHA were to finalize a separate COVID-19 standard at this time, the agency would need to conduct an additional review and possibly supplement the record again before it could issue a final rule to ensure the rule reflects the most current science. For example, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts has changed since OSHA submitted its draft rule to OMB. Moreover, focusing on a separate COVID-19 standard would likely consume agency staff time and other agency resources in a way that would inhibit the promulgation of a more broadly protective Infectious Diseases healthcare standard. For these independently sufficient reasons, OSHA is terminating this rulemaking. In sum, the agency will have a greater impact at this time by adopting a standard that would provide protections to healthcare workers from occupational exposure to many different infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and future variants.