As more and more public and private sector institutions began issuing vaccine mandates over the past 18 months, patterns began to develop in questions of if and how individuals might qualify for exemptions to those mandates. Potential exemption criteria were frequently mentioned, but a shockingly low number of people ever seemed to be approved if they applied. Inside the federal government and the military, they dragged their feet on processing the requests and hard data on how many of them were actually approved or what reasons were given for denials rarely surfaced. In New York State’s public schools, however, they took a much more open and honest, if brutal approach. They issued new rules before the pandemic even began which made it nearly impossible for families to get an exemption for any vaccinations that their children might be required to receive except under the rarest of circumstances. Then, when COVID blew into town, they simply added that vaccination to the list.

A group of families went to court last year challenging the rules, particularly the denial of religious exemptions for COVID vaccinations. They also thought the restrictions on medical exemptions were unreasonably tight. (Only students with severely compromised immune systems or very rare allergies to vaccine components could qualify.) Earlier this year, a lower court sided with the state against the families. And this week, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the previous ruling. So unless this gets turned around by the Supreme Court, New York Parents will either need to comply or look into homeschooling. (Associated Press)

A federal appeals court ruled Friday against a group of New York parents who sued after the state made it more difficult for children to get a medical exemption from school immunization requirements, which were tightened after a major measles outbreak in 2019.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by families and Children’s Health Defense, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine group.

The lawsuit challenged state rules adopted in 2019 that did away with religious exemptions for vaccines and narrowed eligibility for medical exemptions down to children with just a few rare conditions, like severe allergic reactions to a previous dose of vaccine or certain, severe immune system diseases. The state’s allowed exemptions follow guidelines from a federal advisory panel.

I’ve never really understood the majority of requests for religious exemptions. Very few American religious institutions actually forbid vaccinations for anything. Notable exceptions are the Christian Scientists and some sects among the Amish, but the numbers are low. And the courts haven’t sided with people seeking religious exemptions in the past either. The Supreme Court has issued rulings dating back to 1903 stating that the First Amendment “does not include a right to neglect a child’s health or safety.”

The idea that refusing to get a child vaccinated reflects negligence in assuring the child’s health and safety is one that the courts have regularly embraced. But all of those rulings date back to a time when vaccinations, regardless of their efficacy, were fairly well understood. They were almost all developed using dead or weakened samples of a virus, allowing the body’s natural immunities to come to the rescue after being exposed. Also, it always took many years and lengthy periods of testing before vaccines were released to the public.

Now, however, we’re living in a different age. With the rapid advent of new mRNA technology and massive, mandatory distribution of the COVID vaccines, the court should probably take a fresh look at this. You don’t need to summon up a religious argument to oppose the mandates, particularly for children. We’ve only had a comparatively short period of time to discover the long-term efficacy and safety of these new vaccines. Why shouldn’t parents be able to argue that they are actually promoting the health and safety of their children by preventing them from being exposed to this new technology until more is known? This should be particularly true when speaking of vaccines designed to protect against a disease that rarely infects children and generally produces only mild effects when it does.

Of course, if the courts continue to take this stand, parents may have to resort to the option I mentioned above. If you don’t approve of mandatory COVID vaccines for your kids or if you don’t want them indoctrinated in woke sexuality seminars or any of the rest of the madness we’re seeing in our public schools, take them out. Look into homeschooling or find a private school where such rules either do not apply or are not enforced. I understand that this isn’t an option for everyone because of financial limitations or professional obligations. But for those who can do it, it’s becoming an increasingly common decision. Our public schools are becoming a lost cause in the current era. Unless and until that changes, other options will be required.