As the Department considers whether or not to make changes to the Regulations for the Immunization of School Children, The Family Foundation of Virginia urges the Department, at a minimum, to not add any more mandatory vaccines to the list for children.  Parents are in the best position to determine what vaccinations, if any, their children should receive, based upon their values, judgments, and opinions concerning the best way to preserve their child's health.  While medical and religious exemptions are provided for in the Virginia Code, not all parents' objections are necessarily or primarily religious in nature, and not all can point to a specific medical condition that would prohibit vaccinations. Many parents have moral, philosophical, conscientious, scientific, or other bases for opposing certain vaccines for their children, and their parental rights should be respected just the same. There are also significant reasons to be concerned about the potential negative health effects of the various COVID-19 vaccines, as attested by countless individuals, including children. And when children are the group least likely to contract COVID-19, or to have any significant health complications when they do, it makes little sense to require such a vaccine, even assuming it does provide some health benefit. Ultimately, parents are in the best position to determine what their unique child needs, and adding additional vaccine mandates for every child would only further undermine parents' God-given authority over the education, care, and upbringing of their children.