Current understanding of the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine is inconclusive despite politician's claims to the contrary, and thus Virginia should not enact a mandate for our most vulnerable and precious population. Data from countries that have previously implemented mandates show confusing results that include post-mandate surges in cases that indicate a lack of effectiveness, as well as a large number of potentially severe or poorly understood reactions to the vaccine. In our country, we have seen a number of reported vaccine reactions in all ages. While some reactions are raising red flags among doctors and researchers, others are not being given the attention they deserve. We can predict from previous experience with vaccine reaction reporting that minor and severe reactions to the Covid-19 vaccine are under-reported. Given our lack of knowledge about the vaccine, which has only been approved by the FDA via an abbreviated and less thorough process than is normally required, all who receive it should do so by personal choice only. Coercion through the force of law of a health choice that has an unknown possibility of long term or severe side effects is immoral. This is particularly egregious when the parties in question are our children, whom we are supposed to protect as much as possible, and our children’s educators whom we claim to support. Other vaccines that are mandated have been through a much more thorough and rigorous testing period, ensuring safety for most who receive them. None of our other vaccines in use are mRNA vaccines, therefore we cannot use any other mandated vaccine as a case study for this vaccine. The differences are too vast. By default, mRNA vaccines alter the genetic material within cells of the body. We have never studies the long-term effects of this in any population. It is obvious that our current Covid-19 vaccine protocols are serving as the late-stage large-scale phase 3 clinical research trials. Why would we conduct such trials on our still-developing children? A mandate such as this one would require many of the best and brightest of Virginia to make a choice between the unknown possibility of sacrificing their children's safety and moving out of the state. Please consider the great harm that would be done by mandating a vaccine that is not actually proven safe by real science.