I am opposed to having a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, especially for children. The state has a responsibility to encourage and incentivize vaccines, but ultimately this is a personal medical decision that cannot be forced.

We have concerns about both short-term and especially long-term health implications for our son, who is 7 years old. The vaccine for his age (Pfizer) is not yet officially approved, and even if/when the FDA does approve it, the vaccine's long-term effects on health, on fertility, on many things, will not have been studied. 

We are not 'anti-vaxxers.' My son has every other required vaccination. We may very well decide to vaccinate our son against COVID, but I certainly would prefer to wait for some time (at least several years) to make sure there are no detrimental side effects.

He still has a growing, developing body and brain. And, as data has shown, healthy children his age are not at high risk of getting a severe, deadly case of COVID-19. Please do not force us to make this decision against our better judgment and before we are ready. This is a personal family decision about our health and our son's health.

And our family having reservations about vaccinating him should not preclude him from getting a public education in the Virginia public schools. The pace of the approval of this vaccine has been unprecedented. You have to understand that people must have reservations about its long-term effects and allow for that. At the very least, please provide medical and religious exemptions.