The Legislature forbade state and local governments, organizations, and educational institutions from compelling anyone to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in 2022. Members prohibited state agencies from requiring documentation of a COVID-19 immunization as a prerequisite for accessing facilities or receiving services a year later.
The bills’ sponsors, Republicans, claim their policies respect individual liberty and choice and do not bar anyone from getting a vaccine.
This well has not been the source of any anti-vaccine sentiment. Bonnie Rich, a former Republican member of the House who sponsored one of the bills, stated, “I think you have heard from every one of us who has spoken from this well that we have received the COVID-19 vaccine.”
According to her, the question is not whether the vaccination is effective but rather whether the government ought to require it.
Other Republicans have introduced legislation that would prohibit medical professionals from evaluating a patient’s COVID vaccination history when deciding whether to perform an organ transplant. Additionally, it would enable individuals who declined to receive the COVID vaccine to receive unemployment benefits if their employer required it.
There is a little resurgence of support among Republicans. Two Republican lawmakers introduced proposals earlier this year that encouraged vaccination availability and education.
Following a previous Democratic effort, one provision would have mandated that the state Department of Education notify parents of middle school students about tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (TDAP), human papillomavirus (HPV), and meningococcal meningitis. Although it never made it to a full House vote, it passed a House committee.
Another enables hospitals to provide patients with the flu and pneumonia vaccines before they are discharged, beginning at age 18, which has been lowered from 50. The clause, which was part of another measure, removes the need for long-term care facility employees and residents to get tested for COVID-19.
Some people are in dire need of vaccinations to prevent illness and other life-threatening conditions. State Representative Katie Dempsey, a Republican from Rome who sponsored that measure, stated that age also plays a role.
She claimed to have had the flu shot in order to stay healthy, particularly in the state Capitol’s crowded areas.
However, she stated that it’s a personal choice. I never sent out any messages asking folks to get vaccinated.
According to Johns Creek Democrat state representative Michelle Au, she has seen a number of measures that aim to limit community access to vaccines. She claimed that as a former doctor and anesthesiologist, she warns her fellow lawmakers from practicing medicine.
Even if medical practice is specifically and narrowly defined, it is often a bad idea to write it into law, she said.
The subliminal messages These bill signals can be dangerous.
Although this vaccine has been administered to hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide, the general public is given the impression that even their leaders do not trust it when they claim it is experimental and unsafe.
According to her, the violence that took place last week was probably caused by a decline in public health trust that has escalated over the past five years.
The idea of repairing some of the harm that has already been done is beyond my comprehension. According to Au, we’re intentionally creating additional holes in a patient who is bleeding out rather than even attempting to stop the bleeding.
