Students 16 and older will likely be required to show proof of a COVID vaccination to attend school this fall. A House resolution preventing that rule from going into effect was rejected by a Senate committee. Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau voted against the effort to block the rule because parents can submit a written exemption.
“That is what the law calls for an opt-out provision and I don’t know why you say it’s not there, because it clearly is,” said Luneau.
House and Welfare Chairman Larry Bagley says most parents are not aware of the opt-out provisions. Louisiana Solicitor General Elizabeth Murrill testified in favor of Bagley’s resolution and she says L-D-H is not doing the state a good service by pressing this vaccine on children.
“Parents need to go make this decision with their doctors and this opt-out, it’s not an opt-out, it’s a way to profile the kids who are not vaccinated that’s what it is because it allows you to kick the kid out of school and keep him out indefinitely,” said Murrill.
Murrill says her son ended up in the ICU with myocarditis after receiving a second Pfizer COVID vaccine. Numerous people testified that schools should not have the COVID vaccine on the list of required shots. But Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow, who lost her husband to COVID in December of 2020, feels differently.
“So while there is a segment of folks that are represented in this room who believe this one position, I can guarantee that there’s a larger group that believes differently,” said Barrow.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted against Bagley’s resolution on a four to three vote.
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