Should NC mandate COVID vaccine for some high school students? Governor says not yet.
Gov. Roy Cooper and state health leaders are not endorsing a proposal being considered by a health board this week to require some North Carolina high school students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The N.C. Commission For Public Health will take up a petition Wednesday to add the COVID vaccine to state immunization requirements for children who are 17 years old or who are entering 12th grade as of July 1. If the rule is adopted, North Carolina would join a handful of states that are mandating the vaccine for students.
Cooper and the state Department of Health and Human Services say it’s critical for people, including children, to get the COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots. But they’re saying it shouldn’t be added yet to the list of required school vaccinations.
“The science is overwhelming that it can protect you both from getting the virus, but if you do get it that it will keep you from getting sicker,” Cooper told reporters on Tuesday morning after a Council of State meeting. “Health officials have been looking at the mandatory nature of it.
“We have a number of vaccines that are mandatory but have undergone a lot more history and scrutiny and I think that I’m going to agree with my health officials that at this point, it’s not time to do that.”
Some people, though, are hoping the new mandate will be adopted.
“I think that’s the big piece for us to break the cycle of what we’re going through,” Kira Kroboth, founder of the Facebook group WCPSS: COVID Safety & Support, said in an interview Monday. “I know there will be a lot of pushback, but we have to remember that mandated vaccines for schools are not new.”
But two conservative groups, Citizen Advocates For Accountable Government and Moms for Liberty, plan to protest Wednesday what they call “an attempt to usurp the authority of representative democracy and personal medical freedom in our state.” Citing “protective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” the commission switched its meeting to a virtual meeting.
“We think it’s improper to force it on our kids and we’re going to show our disdain,” Dale Lands, founder of Citizen Advocates For Accountable Government, said in an interview Monday.
DHHS not backing COVID mandate
Under state law, the N.C Commission For Public Health is empowered to adopt rules to protect the public health, including whether to add immunization requirements for children. The commission is made up of 13 members, nine elected by the North Carolina Medical Society and four appointed by the governor.
Currently, North Carolina’s immunization requirements for children include shots for things such as chicken pox, measles, mumps and polio.
State health officials have said they wouldn’t consider making the COVID-19 vaccine a requirement for students as long as it only had emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has given full approval for the vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds.
“With information about vaccine doses and booster scheduling still evolving, we believe it is premature for the Commission to codify the immunization schedule through rulemaking,” according to a DHHS memo submitted for this week’s meeting.
“The Commission could consider adding a COVID-19 vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule at a later date.”
The memo was signed by Dr. Betsey Tilson, the state health director; Mark Benton, assistant DHHS secretary; and Dr. Kelly Kimple, chief of the DHHS women’s and children’s health section.
Cooper said he’s going to leave the issue of whether to require the COVID shot to health officials.
According to state records, 47% of children ages 12 to 17 have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.
Only five states and the District of Columbia have a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy. The group says 17 states have a ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates for students.
State lawmakers could intervene if the commission mandates the COVID shot.
“I do not support the commission mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, and I don’t expect them to,” Sen. Jim Burgin, a Harnett County Republican who co-chairs the Senate Health Care Committee, said in a statement Monday.
Vaccine requirement for colleges?
The commission is considering a rulemaking petition submitted Oct. 27 by four professors at Appalachian State University in Boone. The professors propose requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 17 years of age or entering 12th grade, whichever comes first, on or after July 1, 2022.
The request comes after more than 200 UNC System faculty submitted a petition Oct. 1 asking the health commission to mandate the COVID vaccine for all students at colleges and universities in the state. While some private institutions, like Duke University, have mandated the COVID shot, the UNC System leadership has said the decision lies with the health commission.
Stella Anderson, one of the Appalachian State professors who submitted the new petition, said the group believes that if the commission requires the COVID shot for 17-year-olds it would then also apply to the state’s colleges and universities.
“We think that it’s important they come in being vaccinated,” Anderson said in an interview Monday.
But even if the commission only mandates the COVID-19 shot for high school students, it would lead to more students entering colleges and universities who are already vaccinated.
Debating COVID vaccine safety
If the commission mandates the COVID vaccine, state law allows children to get medical and religious exemptions. But that wouldn’t be enough for opponents of a vaccine mandate.
“Kids are the least likely to have bad effects from (COVID-19),” said Lands of Citizen Advocates For Accountable Government. “It’s just an unnecessary risk.”
Lands called the COVID-19 shot an “unproven vaccine,” but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many doctors say it’s safe for children.
“We have to listen to the science and guidance and not from those who are yelling and screaming in opposition,” said Kroboth, who supports requiring the vaccine for 17-year-olds.
Listen to the meeting
The NC Commission For Public Health will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday to discuss whether to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for high school seniors. To attend online, click bit.ly/3uewWKN.
You can also call 415-655-0003. The Event Access Code is 2437 043 2742. The Event Password is TqVVjSyc947.
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Should NC mandate COVID vaccine for some high school students? Governor says not yet.."
