Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards confirmed he is moving forward with adding COVID-19 vaccines to the required list of school immunizations, despite the state’s House Health and Welfare Committee voting to reject the proposal at a hearing last week.
Article by Katabella Roberts from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.
In a letter (pdf) to the House Committee on Health and Welfare Chairman Larry Bagley on Dec. 14, the governor said he disapproved of the committee’s rejection, and he plans to allow the rule to go into effect because it will “save lives” and help the state emerge from the pandemic.
Under the proposed amendment, SARS-CoV-2 shots would be added to the list of required vaccinations for school entry. Vaccinations and all potential boosters would also be required for school attendance. The rule will go into effect beginning with the 2022–23 school year.
The requirement would only apply to age groups for whom the FDA has given full approval of the vaccine, which is currently ages 16 and up, unless expanded.
Parents will still be able to exempt their children from being vaccinated against COVID-19 by claiming religious, medical, or philosophical reasons via a written dissent. Claims for exemptions due to medical reasons should be done via submission of a written statement from a physician stating that such vaccination is contraindicated for medical reasons.
“I understand that any issue around COVID-19, especially those that involve our children, can be divisive, I ask that you and your colleagues work with me to get more people in Louisiana vaccinated,” Edwards wrote to the committee chair.
“It is worth noting that while many of the diseases on the public health immunization schedule were once both rampant and deadly, they are no longer serious risks for school age children in Louisiana. This is true because almost everyone was vaccinated against these diseases, many as a condition for attending elementary school,” Edwards wrote.
“One can only imagine where we would be as a state if the same overheated rhetoric from last week’s meeting was applied to Polio or Measles. The development of the COVID-19 vaccines in time to help us put this pandemic behind us also requires us to do everything we can to add COVID-19 to the list of diseases that no longer pose a serious threat,” Edwards said.
The governor also pointed to official figures stating that over 770,000 people in Louisiana have tested positive for coronavirus, while almost 15,000 have died from the disease in the last 22 months, 19 of which were under the age of 18.
“By contrast, there have only been 12 significant adverse events related to vaccine administration in Louisiana with zero deaths,” he wrote. “By any measure, the COVID-19 vaccines have been a historic success.”
The House Health and Welfare Committee, led by Bagley, voted 13—2 last week to reject the proposal.
“There was absolutely no way we were going to let this happen,” Bagley wrote on Facebook at the time.
Bagley told the Lafayette Daily Advertiser he wasn’t surprised that Edwards has decided to move forward with the COVID-19 vaccine requirement, but noted that, “I am disappointed that the governor vetoed what was clearly the bipartisan will of our committee, which is charged with oversight of this issue.”
“I’ve taken the vaccine myself, but I don’t believe it should be mandated,” Bagley said. “This should be the parent’s decision.”
It is unclear if lawmakers will now pursue further court action against the mandate.
Currently, California is the only state mandating that children receive the COVID-19 vaccine for school entry in 2022, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Image by 總統府 via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We just launched a new GiveSendGo page. We also have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker
Moron
Compulsory COVID vaccinations for children would be insane. Children are virtually unharmed by the virus. What is the end in view, Governor — especially considering that the vaccine makers admit that a vaccinated individual can still catch and transmit the virus?