The GOP governors of several states indicated they will not implement mandates for children to receive a covid-19 vaccine to enter school after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel voted last week to recommend adding the vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule.
Governors in Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia, Montana, Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Missouri, South Dakota, and Arkansas have already said that their states would not put in place requirements for children to receive a covid-19 vaccine for school entry. The National Academy for State Health Policy includes about 20 states that have already barred covid-19 vaccines from being included in mandates for schools and students.
Those include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia, according to the group’s website, which was updated months before the CDC panel’s vote. “Under my watch, there will be no covid vaccine mandates for kids—period,” said Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa last week. “In fact, we signed a law that prevents it. It’s the parent’s decision, not the government’s.”