Removing religious exemptions for the Covid19 vaccine is a violation of 12VAC5-110-80, which provides religious and medical exemptions for school admissions. Subsection 3. states, “Upon the identification of an outbreak, potential epidemic, or epidemic of a vaccine-preventable disease in a public or private school, the commissioner has the authority to require the exclusion from such school of all children who are not immunized against that disease.” While the VA Code potentially limits unvaccinated students from entering the school, first and foremost, it does NOT deny the right to assert a religious exemption.
Secondly, data is replete that this virus is not vaccine-preventable. For example, an average of 86% of covid cases in Israel are vaccinated persons, which has 84%, the highest percentage worldwide, of the population vaccinated.
Thirdly, CDC records from January 1, 2020 to October 02, 2021, there were 8 deaths among 0 – 17 y.o. with covid out of 1,508 total deaths, for a 0.53% of deaths with covid. Youth are NOT at risk of this illness.
It's clear the petitioner is discriminating based on religion, which is protected under the federal and state constitutions.
Vaccines under an EUA cannot be mandated. Further, the “approval” given by the FDA was not for the Pfizer jab currently available in the U.S. market. BioNTech received FDA approval for people ages 16 and above under the name Comirnaty, but there are no Comirnaty doses available in the United States. Simply, there is currently NO FDA approved COVID-19 injection available anywhere in the United States. Every COVID shot in America remains under the EUA law and thus people have the “option to accept or refuse” them. See Federal FD & C Act, Title 21 U.S.C. 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(I-III)14. Any mandate becomes a violation of the FD&C Act as well as the Nuremberg Code of 1947. Even when an FDA approved COVID shot becomes available, individuals are protected by federal law and many states laws from being forced to get these shots based on their sincere religious beliefs or conscience rights. See the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the Virginia Declaration of Independence.
Will the schools bear the liability for vaccine injuries? EUA-approved COVID shots have a liability shield under the 2005 Public Readiness and Preparedness Act. Vaccine manufacturers, distributors, providers and government planners are immune from liability.