The announcement from GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin and House Speaker Todd Gilbert came after the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of U.S. vaccine experts, said that COVID-19 shots聽聽to lists of recommended vaccinations for kids and adults.
Virginia, for example, does not require the annual flu vaccine to attend school 鈥� even though it appears on the CDC鈥檚 schedule.
Virginia Department of Health spokesperson Maria Reppas聽聽in an email to AP earlier in the week that there 鈥渋s no direct, immediate impact on COVID-19 vaccine being added to the Immunization Schedule on school required vaccines in Virginia.鈥�
Reppas said changes to the school requirements would need legislative or regulatory action.
鈥淯nder state law, the only way to create a mandate would either be through rule-making by the Board of Health, which would not happen until 2024, or through an action of the General Assembly, which will not happen while I am Speaker,鈥� Gilbert said in a statement Friday.
Democrats currently control the state Senate.
驰辞耻苍驳办颈苍听聽Thursday night that the 鈥渄ecision to vaccinate a child against COVID-19鈥� should be up to parents. His spokesperson, Macaulay Porter, said in an email that the governor would veto any legislative attempt to add vaccination against the coronavirus to the state鈥檚 immunization requirements.
Virginia Democrats took issue with the governor鈥檚 messaging. In his tweet, Youngkin said, 鈥淲e will not adhere to these (CDC) mandates. In Virginia, parents matter.鈥�
In the lead-up to the vote by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices,聽聽that it would mean the vaccine would be required to attend school. They gained momentum after being shared by Fox 91欧美激情 host Tucker Carlson.
Gianni Snidle, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Virginia, said Youngkin was pushing 鈥渄angerous misinformation from his office to score political points.鈥�
鈥淭he CDC itself stated that they cannot mandate schoolchildren to receive a vaccine 鈥� even Republican Speaker Gilbert acknowledge that. I advise the the Governor to stop listening to Tucker Carlson and begin listening to the science,鈥� he said in a statement.
Jason Miyares, the Republican attorney general of Virginia, also affirmed in聽聽Friday that the advisory panel鈥檚 vote has no immediate impact on the state鈥檚 required immunizations.
Porter didn鈥檛 immediately respond to a request for comment about the criticism.
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