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07/01/2021

House Bill 244

 

In a late-night and last-minute move the day before the legislature went on break for the summer, elected officials swiftly passed legislation that would prohibit Ohio public schools and colleges from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations.

The amendment to House Bill 244 specifically prohibits public schools and universities in the state from requiring vaccinations available under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA – a category under which all three publically available COVID-19 vaccinations currently fall.

Schools and colleges would also not be allowed to require unvaccinated people to adhere to different measures than vaccinated people, such as mask-wearing or social distancing. Provisions in the amended language specifically exclude these prohibitions from applying to hospitals owned or operated by state high education institutions.

For decades in Ohio, schools and colleges have required students to get vaccinated against a variety of infectious diseases, though state law does require them to recognize medical, religious, and philosophical exemptions.

Although the governor has previously indicated he would veto other anti-vaccination legislation, it is unclear whether he will explicitly do so with HB 244. If enacted, this legislation would not go into effect until 90 days after it is signed into law, and recent reports have estimated that it is highly likely that some or all of the COVID-19 vaccinations may receive full FDA approval sometime in the next several months.

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