Vaccine approval cripples ban on school mandates
COLUMBUS – Ohio’s public schools and universities can require COVID-19 vaccines for staff and students, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer vaccine.
Last-minute language added to House Bill 244 prohibits public schools and universities from requiring vaccines approved under emergency use authorization, a rigorous process used during health emergencies. Still, several GOP lawmakers called the vaccines “experimental.”
At the time Gov. Mike Dewine signed the bill into law, all three COVID-19 vaccines offered in the state were approved under emergency use authorization.
That meant no public university or school could require a COVID-19 vaccine for staff or students.
Cleveland State University was the only public university requiring the vaccine for some students.
Other colleges and universities with vaccine mandates were private institutions unaffected by the law.
Language in the new law also might have prevented schools and universities from treating vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals differently. That could affect policies on masks, quarantines and other health protocols.
However, FDA regulators gave the Pfizer vaccine full approval for those 16 years old and older this week.
State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-delaware, concedes that Ohio’s schools and universities could require Pfizer vaccines despite his amendment to House Bill 244, but he’s “not sure if that’s a good plan.” Brenner said he wishes Ohioans would focus on better hygiene, vitamins and therapeutics to ward off COVID-19.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that any COVID-19 treatment be approved by a health care provider. People have been “seriously harmed” after taking products not approved for COVID-19.
Dewine anticipated the vaccine language would be moot by the time House Bill 244 took effect in mid-october. Most bills take effect 90 days after they are enacted.
“We felt those provisions would likely eventually be moot. That has come to pass,” Dewine spokesman Dan Tierney said.
Dewine backed the original bill, which made it easier for the children of active-duty military members to enroll in classes. That’s one reason he didn’t veto House Bill 244 despite calls to do so.
Ohio Senate Democrats, among others, expressed concern the law would hamper public health officials’ ability to do their jobs.
“We must allow public health experts to have the flexibility to determine how long an individual should quarantine and isolate in order to keep Ohioans safe,” Ohio Senate Democrats said in a statement.
Ohio’s Gop-controlled Legislature has several additional bills to prevent mandates on masks and vaccines in private and public workplaces.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce has opposed restrictions on employers.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.