ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico judge on Friday denied a request by dozens of scientists and others at Los Alamos National Laboratory to block a vaccine mandate, meaning workers risk being fired if they don’t comply with the lab’s afternoon deadline.

The case comes as New Mexico extends a mask mandate for indoor spaces across the state, citing persistently high levels of community spread.

While the vaccination rate among adults in New Mexico continues to hover below 72%, the lab confirmed Friday that 96% of employees are fully vaccinated. It’s not known how many workers have requested exemptions or how many could end up being fired for declining the shots.