Elizabeth Hovde of the Washington Policy Center questions whether the State Board of Health has the authority to mandate a COVID vaccine for children
Elizabeth Hovde
Washington Policy Center
A technical advisory group of the State Board of Health met Thursday to discuss whether to require Washington children to have COVID-19 vaccines for school attendance.
The session was open to the public, so I was able to follow the four hours of presentation and discussion. That’s available here, with a state recap here. Two more meetings are scheduled for Feb. 17 and 24, starting at 9 a.m. Agendas for those meetings will be posted on a meeting information page as soon as they become available. (They’re not there yet.)
The advisory group is helping the State Board of Health consider whether to add COVID-19 to the list of “vaccine-preventable diseases” for children under Chapter 246-105 of the Washington Administrative Code.
That move is interesting in itself. COVID-19 is not a vaccine-preventable disease, so it is not clear to me that the board has the authority to mandate a COVID vaccine for children. That puts the advisory group in an awkward position, as does being tasked with providing advice based on incomplete information about a vaccine that only some children have only recently had available to them.
The entire advisory process seems set up to fail. The biggest takeaway I got from the meeting was “we don’t know enough yet.”
Answers from presenters in the meeting included, “I don’t have great information for you there,” and, “There are not any published studies comparing what you’re asking.” It was also mentioned that there are “break-through cases,” in which vaccinated people can transmit and spread COVID-19.
State Board of Health Vice-Chair Dr. Tom Pendergrass was at the meeting and clearly seemed to favor imposing such a mandate. The advisory group’s work Thursday, he said, “reflects that we’re believing that there is a rationale for trying to vaccinate school-age children.”
Pendergrass and other board members should be worried about the strong feelings of parents and the general public on COVID-related mandates. Those strong feelings are contributing to the growing trend of families leaving public education. A Feb. 4 report from the Washington state Caseload Forecast Council shows a marked decline in public school enrollment, as families opt for homeschooling, charter schools and private schools.
Thursday’s public meeting started with pieces of sound advice from several of the advisory group members. The very first one was, “Don’t worry about making the best decision, make a reasonable decision. And avoid bad decisions.”
That’s good advice for the advisory group to heed. Bad decisions are harder to avoid when you don’t have sufficient information.
Two years of COVID-related rules and mandates seem shifting and arbitrary, and many workers and families don’t feel that public officials hear their concerns or care about their well-being.
Many parents are vaccinating their children voluntarily. But the science shows that the COVID vaccines are not foolproof and may pose some risks. Overall, forcing a COVID vaccine on children of parents who have concerns would not resolve ongoing questions or result in the best health policy.
Elizabeth Hovde is a policy analyst and the director of the Centers for Health Care and Worker Rights at the Washington Policy Center. She is a Clark County resident.
Also read:
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- Study: Risk for getting COVID rises with each shot
A new report from the Epoch Times warns that the more COVID shots an individual has taken, the higher the risk of getting COVID. - ‘That’s a scandal’: CDC knew COVID shots caused deaths, but lied with public denialsA new report from the Epoch Times reveals its investigation shows that the CDC knew of the links between the COVID shots and death – and lied about them.
- FDA agrees to remove anti-ivermectin posts off the internet in lawsuit settlementThe Food and Drug Administration has reportedly settled a lawsuit brought by three doctors who accused the health regulator of interfering with their ability to practice medicine and prescribe Ivermectin to treat COVID.
- No good news about student learning on 4-year anniversary of COVID school closuresFour years ago this month, schools nationwide shut down as COVID-19 numbers skyrocketed and students were sent home for what was initially planned to be two weeks.
- NBA Hall-of-Famer among plaintiffs in lawsuit over WA state COVID-19 restrictionsNBA Hall-of-Famer John Stockton of Spokane is among the plaintiffs suing over alleged free-speech sanctions levied against health care providers who spoke out against state restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Opinion: Gov. Inslee wants to be remembered for COVID-19 response?Elizabeth Hovde of the Washington Policy Center doesn’t think Gov. Jay Inslee should remind people of his legacy COVID response.
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