After the Center for Disease Control voted unanimously to recommend that pediatricians include the Covid-19 vaccine in their patients’ immunization schedules, several states responded with prompt rejections of the move.
At least 11 states have rejected or are expected to reject a recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that pediatricians give COVID-19 shots to children along with other vaccines. (The Daily Signal)
The recommendation put out by the CDC can result in students and parents facing a choice between vaccination and school. In an effort to avoid this and other potentially burdensome outcomes, a number of state governors throughout the country have declared their opposition to the decision and the steps their states will take to protect their constituents’ rights.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously decided Thursday to add COVID-19 shots to the children’s immunization schedule, which some schools and states use to create vaccination requirements. Many states, however, have laws in place that prohibit schools from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination for students. (The Daily Signal)
Wyoming and Iowa are among states the governors of which have recently declared that their health departments will not be following the CDC’s recommendation. They will not add the Covid-19 vaccine to children’s required immunizations. Montana, Oklahoma, Indiana, and West Virginia also chose to reject the recommendation, citing state law that prohibits ‘discrimination based on one’s vaccination status,’ especially when it limits ‘educational opportunities.’
In Montana, the law prohibits discrimination based on one’s vaccination status and applies to all “educational opportunities,” according to the National Academy for State Health Policy. Indiana law prohibits public school districts from requiring students, employees, and parents from showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination. (The Daily Signal)
Other states that have taken or are planning to take similar measures include Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, Arizona, and Georgia. The issue of Covid-19 vaccinations can assume a potentially influential place in the midterm election campaigns.
