蜜桃影视

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Oklahoma on Friday became the first state to enact legislation . and lawmakers have advanced bills to do the same 鈥� marking the start of a trend vaccine policy experts say is largely symbolic, but could still hamper the campaign to conquer COVID-19.

Oklahoma鈥檚 prohibition on vaccine mandates covers not just K-12 schools, but colleges, universities and career and technical centers. While more than 400 higher education institutions across the country have announced an immunization requirement for the fall, Oklahoma is one out of only 15 states without a college or university on .

Unlike post-secondary institutions, K-12 school districts do not have the legal grounding to mandate vaccines. Even before Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed , no public schools in his state 鈥� or any other, for that matter 鈥� were able to mandate COVID vaccines.

鈥淭he list of vaccines required for school is already set in the law. So you’d have to change the law anyway [before adding COVID vaccines],鈥� UC Hastings law professor Dorit Reiss told 蜜桃影视.

Top Oklahoma school districts confirmed that the recent bill will not change their plans.

鈥淸It] does not impact our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of our students and team members,鈥� Tulsa Public Schools spokesperson Lauren Partain wrote in an email to 蜜桃影视. Though the district is providing opportunities for eligible students and staff to receive vaccinations, she said, 鈥渨e are not requiring students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at this time.鈥�

In Oklahoma City Public Schools, the state鈥檚 largest school system, media relations manager Crystal Raymond told 蜜桃影视 that 鈥淐OVID vaccine requirements have never been on the table for students or staff.鈥�

Nationwide, the power to add shots to schools鈥� lists of required vaccinations, experts say, rests with state officials who will be unlikely to make any changes until vaccines receive full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, a clearance for which both and have applied. The federal agency authorized youth aged 12 to 15 for shots based on their existing emergency use approval in mid-May.

The value of the Oklahoma law, which goes into effect July 1, or similar bills pending in Michigan and Pennsylvania may be more symbolic than functional, Reiss says. Once vaccines gain full approval from the FDA, the legislature could theoretically add coronavirus shots to the list of vaccines required for school entry, such as those that protect against measles, mumps and rubella 鈥� if the political will exists.

鈥淸This bill] indicates that it’s unlikely that Oklahoma will pass a COVID-19 vaccine mandate anytime soon,鈥� said Reiss.

Also included in the bill is a provision against 鈥渧accine passports鈥� and a ban on any school policies that require only non-vaccinated populations to wear face coverings.

The University of Oklahoma, which in May, now asserts that face coverings for unvaccinated community members remain 鈥渟trongly recommended,鈥� but not required, spokesperson Kesha Keith told 蜜桃影视.

Oklahoma joins a range of states including Georgia, Alabama, Arizona and Florida, which have already . Elsewhere, however, vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals increasingly have access to two separate worlds.

New York City has rolled out its Excelsior Pass, the nation鈥檚 first government-issued vaccine passport, which allows residents to show proof of vaccination via an app and QR code 鈥� often as an . Outside the U.S., a digital record of vaccination on Tuesday.

Such efforts reflect policymakers鈥� confidence in coronavirus vaccines, which scientists agree are safe and . In Ohio, schools have seen a as inoculations have become more widespread. Even Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy touted his state鈥檚 high vaccination rates as a selling point to entice tourists this summer.

鈥淗aving one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, our people are safe and you will be, too,鈥� Dunleavy said in the ad. (Alaska has since fallen to the in COVID-19 immunization.)

In Florida, the vaccine passport ban has put Gov. Ron DeSantis on a with cruise lines, one of the state鈥檚 top industries. While cruise executives seek to comply with CDC guidelines by ensuring that nearly all staff and passengers are fully immunized, given the inherent vulnerability of packing thousands of individuals into tight quarters at sea, DeSantis has largely dismissed their concerns.

鈥淚n Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected, and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision,” he said. In response, at least one major line has threatened to leave the state.

For Oklahoma state Sen. Rob Standridge, one of the authors of the law prohibiting vaccine requirements in school, the logic behind the legislation follows a similar throughline.

鈥淭o force kids 鈥� to be vaccinated against their parents鈥� wishes … I don鈥檛 think we should be doing that as a government,鈥� he said in a press conference.

On the Senate floor, however, before the bill was passed, Democratic state Sen. J.J. Dossett made the case that the ban represented a government overreach 鈥� an argument frequently voiced by Republicans.

鈥淲hy in this body are we telling local entities what they should or shouldn鈥檛 be doing?鈥� he asked fellow lawmakers.

When 蜜桃影视 posed that question to Standridge, he did not offer a response.

These debates, says Reiss, of UC Hastings College of the Law, represent divisions that have emerged time and again throughout the pandemic.

鈥淚t shows us that the pandemic has been politicized,鈥� she said, arguing that, ultimately, legislation discouraging vaccinations will extend the public health crisis.

鈥淭he virus needs hosts to survive. Less vaccines, more hosts, more room for the virus to stay around and keep hurting us.鈥�

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