The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Thursday voted unanimously to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule for 2023. The new schedule calls for children to take their first vaccine at the age of six months.
To be clear, the CDC did not itself institute a nationwide school COVID-19 vaccine mandate with this vote. Following the vote, the CDC issued a statement that said “CDC only makes recommendations for use of vaccines, while school-entry vaccination requirements are determined by state or local jurisdictions.”
What the CDC must know, but left out of that statement, is that many states lean heavily on the CDC’s ACIP guidelines in establishing their own immunization requirements. Those states will likely, and in some cases all but automatically, adopt the new immunization schedule. Some Republican-controlled states are more likely to reject the new recommendations.
It’s surprising that the CDC would choose to vote on what is most definitely a political issue less than three weeks away from the midterms.
Because the decision to adopt the new guidelines will be determined by the states, this could become a hot issue, particularly in gubernatorial races.
Hello this is now a definitive midterm election issue.
Get your candidates on the record—do they support mandating this for kids to attend school, school sports, daycares, etc.? https://t.co/tuFYI6ZCvl
— Rick DeVos (@RickDeVos) October 20, 2022
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis immediately announced his opposition to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for children in his state.
As long as I am Governor, in Florida there will not be a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for children in our schools. pic.twitter.com/oDXAj3c4Oy
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 20, 2022
Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance and Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, both Republicans, have already vowed that vaccine mandates would not be enacted if they win in November, as did Lee Zeldin, who is running to replace Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Prior to the CDC’s announcement, FiveThirtyEight had the Ohio race listed as “Likely” going to Vance, but the two gubernatorial races as “Solid” Democrat holds. RealClearPolitics agreed about Ohio, but rated both of the other races toss-ups.
This is an atrocious policy. In the Senate I’ll make sure that parents make these decisions. https://t.co/H1xEhxz3Ww
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) October 20, 2022
“When I’m Governor, PA will NOT mandate the COVID vaccine-no matter what the CDC says.” pic.twitter.com/QznX8Cew4k
— Doug Mastriano (@dougmastriano) October 19, 2022
As Governor, I will oppose mandating the COVID vaccine for grade school, college, employment or otherwise. Kathy Hochul needs to let the public immediately know exactly where she stands on this issue that is extremely important for so many New Yorkers.
— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) October 20, 2022
This is likely to be a very positive issue for Republicans — and one they will hammer home until Election Day.
Do you think a COVID vaccine mandate for children is a good idea?
We’re not hearing a whole lot from Democratic candidates on the CDC vote. And except for perfunctory reports on the vote itself and accusations that Fox News’ Tucker Carlson spouted “disinformation” about the story on his Tuesday night show, we’re not hearing much from the liberal media either. (The Western Journal has previous debunked the CDC’s statement and the establishment media’s coverage of it.)
Forcing anyone, regardless of their age, to take a COVID vaccine is wrong. Many Americans will be unhappy with the CDC’s recommendation — and they are apt to take their discontent to the polls.
Two weeks after President Joe Biden announced a vaccine mandate on Sept. 9 of last year, a Morning Consult poll found his job approval rating among black voters — typically a reliably Democratic voting group — had fallen by 5 points. Black voters who “disapproved rose 7 points to 24 percent.” Among unvaccinated black voters, his net approval rating fell “17 points since before the rollout of the mandates.”
Each Democratic candidate must be forced to take a position on this issue. Voters will cast their ballots accordingly.
