Lee says no to Covid vaccine mandates for Tennessee kids

Published 2:35 pm Tuesday, October 25, 2022

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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wants to be clear that Tennessee’s schoolchildren will not be required to take a COVID-19 vaccination to attend school.

“I’ve always said mandates are the wrong approach, & TN has led in pushing back on federal covid vaccine requirements,” Lee wrote on Twitter. “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.”

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Lee’s note came after the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that the COVID-19 vaccine on federal child immunization lists.

The recommendations caused 12 other states to sign a letter last week asking the committee to reverse course on its recommendation.

“While most vaccines prevent the vaccinated individual from getting the disease in the first place and stop the spread of the disease, the COVID-19 vaccine does neither,” the attorneys general wrote in their letter.

The letter went on to state that the recommendation could undermine the public’s faith in the CDC’s recommendations.