11 Governors say their states *will not* adopt CDC covid vax requirement for school kids

In an extraordinary rejection of the CDC’s recommendation yesterday, 11 governors have announced they won’t be adding the Covid vaccine to the list of required vaccines for children to attend school in their states.

Nine are Republicans and two are Democrats.

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The Republican governors are:

Gov. Ron DeSantis (Florida)

Gov. Kim Reynolds (Iowa)

Gov. Bill Lee (Tennessee)

Gov. Kay Ivey (Alabama)

Gov. Spencer Cox (Utah)

Gov. Kristi Noem (South Dakota)

Gov. Kevin Stitt (Oklahoma)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (Virginia)

Gov. Mike Parson (Missouri)

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The two Democrat governors are:

Gov. Jared Polis (Colorado)

Gov. Ned Lamont (Connecticut)

Only one Democrat governor as of this writing — Gov. Gavin Newsom (California) — has announced that his state will follow the CDC’s recommendation and require a Covid vaccine for children to attend schools in the state.

No Republican governor has made a similar announcement.

In addition to sitting governors, at least 10 Republican candidates for governor have announced that if elected, their states will *not mandate* the Covid vaccine for schoolchildren:

Lee Zeldin (New York)

Darren Bailey (Illinois)

Heidi Ganahl (Colorado)

Kari Lake (Arizona)

Bob Stefanowski (Connecticut)

Tudor Dixon (Michigan)

Tim Michels (Wisconsin)

Dan Cox (Maryland)

Derek Schmidt (Kansas)

Doug Mastriano (Pennsylvania)

No one has yet heard from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio or Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York.

In Indiana, the press secretary to Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, directed questions about whether the Covid vaccine will be mandated to the Indiana Department of Health, and did not immediately respond when asked for the governor’s position on whether Indiana should require the Covid vaccine for school attendance. [UPDATE 3 p.m. The Indiana State Department of Health emailed to say that Indiana “will not make this a required vaccine for school-aged children.”]

So….

Here’s the honor roll, as it stands at 2 p.m. on Oct. 21:

Ron DeSantis @GovRonDeSantis

As long as I am Governor, in Florida there will not be a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for children in our schools.

Gov. Kim Reynolds @IAGovernor

Under my watch, there will be no COVID vaccine mandates for kids - period. In fact, we signed a law that prevents it. It’s the parents’ decision, not the government’s.

Gov. Bill Lee @GovBillLee

I’ve always said mandates are the wrong approach, & TN has led in pushing back on federal covid vaccine requirements. Thanks to our work with the General Assembly, TN families won’t be impacted by today’s CDC vote. We'll continue to stand for TN children & for personal freedom.

Governor Kay Ivey @GovernorKayIvey

Here in Alabama, the parents make decisions when it comes to their children’s health care. We do NOT mandate the covid shot for kids – nor will we ever. #alpolitics

Spencer Cox @SpencerJCox

I’ve been asked about COVID-19 vaccine mandates for children today. Let me be clear that this always has been—and always will be—a decision for Utah parents and families, not the state. Utah will not be implementing any CDC mandate of the COVID-19 vaccine for children. https://t.co/ALnUwi4xY1

Scott Gottlieb, MD @ScottGottliebMD

Vaccine recommendations by CDC don’t automatically translate into school mandates. States retain the discretion to make these decisions. To take one example (and I’m not saying we should be complacent about flu) no states mandate the influenza vaccine for children to attend K-12.

Kristi Noem @KristiNoem

I will never force kids to get COVID vaccines to attend school. And I will fight the federal government if they try to. My opponent @RepJamieSmith has supported mandating COVID vaccination. We need a Governor who will stand up for our kids.

Governor Kevin Stitt @GovStitt

Regardless of what the CDC says, as long as I am governor, we will never force kids to get a COVID vaccine to go to school.

Governor Glenn Youngkin @GovernorVA

COVID-19 mandates should be in our rear view mirror. The decision to vaccinate a child against COVID-19 is for Virginia parents to make about what’s best for them and their family. We will not adhere to these @CDCgov mandates. In Virginia, parents matter.

Governor Mike Parson @GovParsonMO

As long as I am Governor of Missouri, I will do everything under my authority to never let the federal government mandate COVID vaccines in our schools.

The two Democratic governors did not take to Twitter to announce their rejection of Covid vaccines as a requirement for school attendance, but made their feelings known to reporters in their states.

Here’s what we know about what Gov. Jared Polis (Colorado) said:

Kyle Clark @KyleClark

NEW: A spokesman for @GovofCO Polis (D) tells @nexton9news' @mallorygharris that Polis supports the Colorado health department's current stance that the COVID-19 vaccine should not be required for school children. #copolitics

Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut made the following comments at a press conference yesterday, comparing the Covid vaccine to the flu vaccine, which Connecticut does not mandate for school attendance for children 5 and up:

“We didn’t require anything in the classroom. I don’t think that’s going to have to change for any reason I can imagine. It’s not like measles where a kid gets measles, the entire class gets infected. This is a very different situation. I think that’s a very different situation. COVID’s a little more like flu…I think [COVID] will be treated a little more like flu…I encourage people to get the flu vaccine, I encourage people to get the COVID vaccine. No mandates.”

https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2022/10/20/gubernatorial-candidates-agree-not-to-mandate-covid-vaccine-for-kids/

The CDC advisory committee on vaccines, made up mostly of doctors working in the private sector, voted 15-0 yesterday to add the Covid vaccine to the CDC schedule of recommended vaccines for children.

You can read more about the committee’s decision and what it means HERE on the website of Children’s Health Defense.

States usually follow the recommendations of the CDC, as Dr. Robert Malone, noted on his Substack this week:

“State public health systems use the schedule to determine which vaccines to require for children to enter schools. Yes, some states have more stringent requirements than others. Some states allow for ‘opt-outs,’ but in the end, most states follow the CDC guidelines.”

It sounds like this may have changed as of this week, with so many states calling their own shots, so to speak.