mandate
Activists want anti-vaccine amendment in Ohio Constitution
State politicians advanced an effort Tuesday to place anti-vaccination language onto a general election ballot, which would leave the fate of vaccine mandates in Ohio in voters’ hands. If passed, Ohio would become the only state in the nation with an explicit ban of vaccine mandates in its constitution. It would mark a major step […]
Senate GOP signals skepticism on vaccine mandate ban
Several Republicans in the Ohio Senate indicated reluctance to legislation prohibiting universities, employers, and most health care facilities from requiring vaccination against COVID-19. All but one Republican in the chamber passed House Bill 218 last month, overriding objections from business, health care, and public health organizations. During Senate committee reviews and interviews Tuesday, however, some […]
About 40% of Ohio’s nursing home staff are unvaccinated; mandates blocked for now in court
At Auglaize Acres, more than 81% of the nursing home’s patients are vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to less than 30% of the caregivers, federal data shows. The facility, located in Auglaize County off of Infirmary Road, asked its staff why they haven’t yet received the vaccine. Administrator Rick Hartline chalked it up to fear of […]
Health care PACs fund campaigns of anti-vaccine legislators
Nearly 3,900 Ohioans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, the most since mid-January, when vaccines were a scarce commodity allocated only to the neediest recipients. Through the pandemic, meanwhile, the Ohio Hospital Association’s PAC has contributed $13,000 to Republican lawmakers who co-sponsored legislation to ban vaccine mandates from hospitals, colleges, and employers in Ohio. Critics of […]
House GOP passes vaccine mandate ban after months of effort
After nearly six months of sustained efforts from anti-vaccination lawmakers and activists, Ohio House Republicans passed legislation Thursday prohibiting schools, colleges, and employers from requiring vaccination from employees and students. The legislation also extends a broad immunity for people and businesses against lawsuits alleging they negligently spread COVID-19. It passed with a nearly party line, […]
‘Money without oversight;’ lawmaker proposes giving nursing homes $300 million
State lawmakers are considering giving Ohio’s nursing homes $300 million in federal funds to recover from the pandemic with no requirements regarding caregiver pay or quality of care. The lump sum payment in House Bill 461 would come with no requirements that the funds go to raise notoriously low salaries of the caregiver workforce or […]
House rep introduces latest vaccine mandate ban
An Ohio representative introduced the latest version of legislation Tuesday to prevent Ohio schools, private colleges, and employers from mandating vaccination. While the short title of the bill refers to COVID-19, the text of the legislation itself could include mandates for vaccinations against any disease. It states employers who require employees to receive a vaccine […]
Once again, Ohio House ices vaccine mandate bill: ‘We don’t have the votes’
For the second time in three months, House Speaker Bob Cupp halted legislation Wednesday aimed to limit the ability of employers, colleges, hospitals and others to impose vaccine mandates. Cupp’s announcement came amid a flurry of private caucus meetings, unseen proposed amendments, aggressive lobbying tactics and tense rhetoric from members on a heated issue focused […]
Anti-vaxxers rally outside residence of House Health Chairman
A cohort of roughly 15 anti-vaccine activists gathered around an apartment in Gahanna where they believed Ohio House Health Chairman Scott Lipps, R-Franklin, resides — one of three similarly sized protests at residences Friday where they figured he might be. They gathered to protest the Health Committee’s failure to pass sweeping legislation to ban vaccine […]
House health committee passes vax mandate ban; full vote expected Wednesday
Republicans on the Ohio House Health Committee passed legislation Tuesday banning some COVID-19 vaccine mandates, teeing up fast-tracked passage from the full chamber on Wednesday. The legislation, unveiled minutes before the committee met, is a significantly narrowed approach when compared to some of the other six pieces of proposed legislation targeting vaccine mandates. Unlike earlier […]
Ohio House GOP bill would ban vaccine mandates and shield COVID-19 spreaders from lawsuits
An Ohio House Republican proposed legislation Monday that would shield COVID-19 spreaders from lawsuits and ban vaccine mandates for primary education and college students. Rep. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, introduced the bill as people infected with the hyper transmissible delta variant crowd area hospitals and Ohio’s vaccination rate sags far below the national average. House Bill […]
History Thursday: When the Supreme Court said yes to vaccine mandates
The vaccine mandate debate may be rejuvenated, but it’s hardly new. The U.S. Supreme Court answered the can-they-do-that question more than 115 years ago. In an era when infectious diseases killed more Americans than any other cause of death, smallpox was ripping through Cambridge, Massachusetts. State lawmakers passed a statute allowing local boards of health, […]