As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the recommended list of vaccines for children, many states are rejecting the recommendation.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously decided on Thursday to add COVID-19 shots to children’s immunization schedule, which some schools and states use to create their vaccination requirements.
Many states, however, have laws in place that prohibit schools from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for students.
The Wyoming Department of Health said it will not be adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the school vaccine schedule following the CDC recommendations, according to the Cowboy State Daily. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon’s office reinforced the decision, announcing that the state would not be listening to the guidance by the CDC.
“Wyoming has no plans to pursue adding COVID vaccine to its required list,” Gordon spokesman Michael Pearlman told the Cowboy State Daily. “The governor has not mandated vaccines for adults or children, and believes that COVID-19 vaccination is a personal choice.”
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Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced in a Thursday tweet that the state would not be following the CDC’s guidance, citing the state’s laws against such a measure. In July, an Iowa law went into effect exempting students in K-12 schools from vaccine requirements until 2029, the Des Moines Register reported.
Under my watch, there will be no COVID vaccine mandates for kids – period. In fact, we signed a law that prevents it. It’s the parents’ decision, not the government’s.
— Gov. Kim Reynolds (@IAGovernor) October 21, 2022
“Regardless of what the CDC says, as long as I am governor, we will never force kids to get a COVID vaccine to go to school,” Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote in a Thursday tweet.
Regardless of what the CDC says, as long as I am governor, we will never force kids to get a COVID vaccine to go to school.
— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) October 20, 2022
Stitt signed SB 658 into law in 2021, which prohibits schools from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine.
In Montana, HB 702 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.
West Virginia law says state entities cannot require proof of COVID-19 vaccination to utilize services.
South Carolina law prohibits school districts from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine. When asked for comment, the office of Republican Gov. Henry McMaster referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to a Friday tweet.
“There’s some confusion on the CDC COVID-19 vaccine recommendations,” McMaster wrote. “Let me clarify. As long as I am governor, I will never let the federal government — or anyone else — force the COVID-19 vaccine on South Carolina school children.”
There’s some confusion on the CDC COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.
Let me clarify. As long as I am governor, I will never let the federal government – or anyone else – force the COVID-19 vaccine on South Carolina school children.
— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) October 21, 2022
Florida does not allow any educational institution to enact a COVID-19 mandate, and Georgia prohibits school districts from requiring the vaccine.
In Mississippi, schools are prohibited from requiring students to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Arkansas prohibits vaccine passports, “including as a condition for education,” and Arizona law keeps the COVID-19 vaccine from being required in order to attend school.
The CDC and the governors’ offices for Wyoming, Florida, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, West Virginia, Montana, Indiana and Oklahoma did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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