Again, the 3 vaccines in the US are not experimental, they have emergency use authorization. Authorization that was based on tens of thousands of study participants for each product (which is much more than many fully approved products).
Regardless, I do respect that one might prefer that the vaccines had several years of data, but that’s not reality right now. Choosing to forego the vaccine, is certainly well within someone’s rights, but does have consequences at the individual level, e.g., might have to do online school, transfer, have difficulty finding a roommate…because not being vaccinated puts others at risk.
There are also consequences at the broader population level, e.g., preventing reaching the required proportion of vaccinated people that some states have tied to re-opening, and the risk that a variant develops that the vaccines and/or prior covid infection don’t cover.
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Emergency Use is NOT the same as an approved vaccine, therefore, it’s still considered experimental. Research over time cannot be ignored, and a 98% survival rate does not constitute urgency at the risk of possible future unknown consequences. And BTW - why shouldn’t those who’ve already had Covid be considered vaccinated, that’s the natural vaccine
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Well obviously there are those in charge who feel otherwise.
Northeastern offers a remote option. I’m sure other colleges requiring vaccines do the same.
This is pretty much true. Technically the vaccines are unapproved until they receive full FDA approval.
Under section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), when the Secretary of HHS declares that an emergency use authorization is appropriate, FDA may authorize unapproved medical products or unapproved uses of approved medical products to be used in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions caused by CBRN threat agents when certain criteria are met, including there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives. The HHS declaration to support such use must be based on one of four types of determinations of threats or potential threats by the Secretary of HHS, Homeland Security, or Defense.
https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/emergency-use-authorization
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D20 attends a SLAC and their reopening committee has advised against requiring the vaccine for students. The parent FB group’s posts are split just about 50/50 in terms of support for the vaccine but no way to tell about those not posting. Some folks have asked about roommates/suitemates with different vaccine status. At a time when 50% of the current student body hasn’t had a regular first year and feels disconnected from their peers, I really don’t think this is when you implement a strategy, or policy, that is further going to divide students. Besides, does anyone want to be the student (or be the parent of the student) who causes others to roll their eyes when they walk in to the room because everyone else has to put on a mask?
There’s another question: how do you know who’s been vaccinated? Do they get a pin, bracelet, gold star next to their name on the door 
? What about the parents?
Our state has a digital Covid passport that gives a QR code as proof of vaccine. It is a pretty cool app and supposedly, businesses and other gathering places will be able to have readers that can scan the code. Valid code = entry, invalid code means you don’t get in. You enter your name, birthdate, confirm which county you were vaccinated in into the app, and your data is matched up with the vaccine registry. You can also get a code for a negative test, but it is only good for 3 days.
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Interesting! I just have a paper card that anyone could replicate.
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In my ideal world, the non-vaccinated students would get a large “I” applied on their forehead each week using a permanent marker. You can decide if the “I” stands for infectious, or something else.
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Students who have not shown proof of vaccination would have their registration cancelled.
Unless they have a qualifying exemption and that doesn’t address the parents.
There are CDC-issued “passports” you receive when you are vaccined. They have your name, DOB, date and time vax was administered, name of healthcare professional who administered it , name and lot number of vaccine.
Yes. The vaccines have not gone through stage 3 approval yet and are only permissible because there are no approved alternatives (although the proponents of ivermectin would disagree with that). "Under an EUA, FDA may allow the use of unapproved medical products, or unapproved uses of approved medical products in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions when certain statutory criteria have been met, including that there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives. Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccines Explained | FDA.
Mandating vaccines is based on the assumption that vaccinations prevent transmission of COVID. There is no evidence that this is the case, and trials were not designed to find out.
“The world has bet the farm on vaccines as the solution to the pandemic, but the trials are not focused on answering the questions many might assume they are. Peter Doshi reports” https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4037
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Gotta admit, this is a fun thread to read - pretty much like a sporting event.
I wish an anonymous poll could be done to know how most people feel, and results by age/gender.
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ps I suspect some/many(?) Northeastern (et al) admits are more likely to choose them over their other options because it will be a safer more normal environment. It would really appeal to my kids if they were still in that age of their lives.
Ok, but mine was filled out by the lady who gave me my next appointment and it’s in no way counterfeit-proof. In fact I posted on another thread that fake vaccination cards are for sale for $200.
Just pointing out it’s never as easy as it first seems. And lawsuits will be an issue until full FDA approval.
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People seem to believe that a condition like an immune disorder or family propensity to vaccine injury will mean that an individual will easily get a medical exemption. While this may have been the case 10-15 years ago, it is not so now. In New York, we were told that religious exemptions to vaccines must be abolished because they put the immunocompromised who could not be vaccinated at risk. So they abolished the religious exemption – and then so narrowly restricted the medical exemption that virtually every child who had one lost it and was thrown out of school (all schools – not just public schools). Family history has no relevance whatsoever. You could have three children die after a specific vaccine and have to vaccinate the third with that vaccine in order to attend school. We had thousands of medically fragile kids – immunocompromised, vaccine injured, disabled - thrown out of the schools where they got their services like physical therapy, speech therapy, services for the blind. What parent could replicate those services at home? What parent of a profoundly disabled kid can just leave their job to homeschool? Doctors who tried to write medical exemptions had them overruled by the school district. Some received threatening calls from the health department. I speak as a parent of a young adult who will need me to care for her all her life due to a vaccine reaction. I literally cannot die – ever. Yet despite that family history and a multitude of red flags in my other children’s medical history, they will not be able to get a medical exemption. These are not slam dunk decisions. So many vaccine discussions are superficial, often degenerating into a toxic mess that brooks no recognition of the complexity of the subject.
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