Virginia’s health commissioner said he will demand that the population be vaccinated against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, confirming fears of mandatory vaccination in the United States.
When asked if the vaccine for the virus would be mandatory, Dr. Norman Oliver said “Yes,” in an interview with 8News this week.
“This is killing people now. We do not have a treatment for it and if we develop a vaccine that can prevent it from spreading in the community, we will save hundreds and hundreds of lives, “said Oliver, adding that it would not be mandatory until it was” proven that the vaccine is safe. “
Virginia law currently allows the commissioner to require immediate vaccination in the event of an epidemic.
Exceptions are only allowed if a doctor certifies in writing that giving a vaccine would be harmful to the patient.
However, three Republican lawmakers introduced a bill (pdf) last week that adds another exception. If the legislation passes, people who oppose vaccination on religious grounds will be able to avoid the requirement.
A request for comment sent to Delegate Mark Cole – the bill’s main sponsor – was not responded to promptly, nor was it sent to Delegate Mark Sickles, the Democrat who chairs the House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee. the state where the bill was referred for consideration.
Democrats control both the House and Senate in Virginia.
A spokeswoman for Governor Ralph Northam (D) also did not immediately respond when asked if Northam supports Oliver’s plans for a mandatory CCP virus vaccine.
The virus causes COVID-19, a debilitating or fatal disease primarily for the elderly and infirm.
Skepticism about a safe vaccine against the CCP virus is widespread in the United States. Twenty-four percent of those polled by Reuters / Ipsos in May said they were not at all interested, or not very interested, in getting vaccinated. Another 11 percent said they were not sure.
Vaccines for the new disease are being developed rapidly and some are expected to be ready by the end of the year. It usually takes years of development for a vaccine to reach the market.
More than 40 percent of people with little or no interest said they were concerned about how quickly vaccines are being developed and that they fear the vaccine is more risky than COVID-19.
In a Marist University and PBS poll this month, 35 percent of respondents said they would not get vaccinated. Another five percent were unsure.
Some fear the vaccine is mandatory. Several people reacted strongly on social media to Oliver’s comments.
“This is absolutely terrifying and must be met with all the necessary resistance,” Ben Jammin, a supporter of President Donald Trump who works for the DFS Army, wrote on Twitter.
Kathleen Medarie, a spokeswoman for Virginia Freedom Keepers, an organization that advocates for medical freedom, said it should be up to each individual whether the vaccine is right for their family.
“States can mandate vaccination more or less invasively,” said law professor Dov Fox, director of the Policy Center for Health Law and Bioethics at the University of San Diego, in a KGTV interview. “They can limit access to schools, services or jobs if people don’t get vaccinated. They could force them to pay a fine or even put them in jail ”.
“The courts have determined that when medical necessity requires it, public health outweighs individual rights and freedoms at stake,” he added, citing the US Supreme Court ruling in the Jacobson v. Massachusetts case.
Debbie Kaminer, a law professor at Baruch College in New York, cited the same ruling in a column, arguing that “states would probably have the legal right to implement” the obligation to get vaccinated. Although the ruling was made in 1905, the courts are still relying on it, he added.
Last year, New York City required anyone over six months of age who lives, works or attends school in certain areas to receive the measles vaccine or pay a fine.
Kaminer said employers can require vaccination in different ways, although few have decided to do so prior to the pandemic.
Not all states will require the COVID-19 vaccine.
On August 5, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, told reporters that he will not make it mandatory for children to get vaccinated upon returning to school once the vaccine is available.
An action at the federal level may not be legal, according to Y. Tony Yang, executive director of the Center for Health Policy and Media Participation at the George Washington University School of Nursing, and Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, a professor at the University’s School of Law. the University of California Hastings.
“A federal obligation to vaccinate would probably be declared unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause, because it would regulate an activity that is not solely economic,” they wrote in an opinion piece.
“Beyond the legality, a federal obligation to get vaccinated doesn’t solve the root problems that prevent people from getting vaccinated. An obligation is also likely to fuel the anti-vaccination movement and even greater distrust of the government, ”they added.
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