On Thursday, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted in favor of adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the recommended immunization schedule for children and adults.
The decision stirred controversy on social media after Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed that the CDC would be mandating COVID-19 vaccines for schoolchildren. The CDC responded to Carlson’s claims by stating that the CDC does not establish vaccination requirements for schools and childcare centers.
Vaccination requirements and mandates are left up to the states, not federal agencies.
For the sake of clarification, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann recently reminded Mississippians during an appearance on The Gallo Show that such mandates would not be enacted in the Magnolia State. During the most recent legislative session, the state passed a law prohibiting COVID-19 vaccines from being mandated for schoolchildren.
“We passed a law that you can’t mandate a child to take the COVID (vaccine). That statute passed last year and was signed by the governor,” Hosemann said. “We’re ahead of the federal government on those things where we don’t have mandates like that for school kids.”
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