Ask Cook County Board of Commissioners to Reverse Vaccine Mandates
January 11, 2022
NO LONGER ACTIVE – Has Not Been Updated Since October 2020
Coercion to Get Flu Shots is Increasing
Based on Fear and Dangerous Thinking
Coercion: Fear of COVID-19 is being used by academic institutions, state agencies, and even New Jersey legislators, to coerce students and employees into now receiving influenza vaccines. These actions are forcing students and employees to choose between their educational goals or employment and their right to make their own medical decisions. Exemptions for personal or conscientiously held beliefs are not being accepted.
Click on your state to Oppose Flu Vaccine Coercion
(See more details on each state below)
California: University of California (students, staff and faculty)
Massachusetts: Massachusetts Department of Public Health (childcare/preschool, grades kindergarten – 12 and postsecondary institutions)
Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Medical School (students and employees who enter UMMS buildings)
Minnesota: Carleton College (students and employees on campus)
New Jersey: New Jersey Assembly Bill AB4576 (public or private K-12 school, preschool, childcare center, or institution of higher education)
North Carolina: Duke University (students, faculty and staff)
MEDICAL TREATMENTS MUST REMAIN VOLUNTARY: Flu vaccines, like all medical treatments, must always remain voluntary. Withholding education and employment in order to coerce Americans into compliance and into receiving treatments that they would otherwise decline, is a grave strike against the spirit of our Constitution and the fundamental personal liberties it protects. Medical freedoms are protected under well-known principles of health freedom and human rights, and the fundamental constitutional rights of personal autonomy, self-determination, and personal liberty. Making sure that any flu shot recommendations are clearly voluntary with strong exemptions in place for personal, conscientiously held or religious beliefs is a top public policy and constitutional priority.
FLU VACCINES ARE NEITHER SAFE NOR EFFECTIVE: Vaccines are thought of by many as an immediate elixir, without consideration for their dangerous side effects. However, flu vaccines are known to have significant risks, including disability and death, and the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine has been shown to be as low as 20-30%. In addition, important research has been done by the U.S. Department of Defense, even before COVID-19 was identified, showing that a flu vaccine can actually increase a person’s chances of getting a number of other respiratory viruses, including common corona viruses, a phenomenon known as virus interference. Experts question whether it is advisable to get an influenza vaccine this year, given the circulating corona virus in the population; certainly it should not be mandated! (See more on flu vaccines below)
CALMING THE RAMPANT FEAR: The fear of illness has itself become contagious; Americans are on hyper alert right now. Americans must rise to the occasion and calm each other and remember the many nurturing methods of healing that are available, and what one normally does to avoid or cope with the seasonal flu.
DETAILS FOR EACH STATE
Oppose University of California (UC) flu vaccine mandate. UC, one of the largest employers in California, has set forth an order requiring flu shots for all students, faculty and staff, living, learning, or working on the premises at any UC location unless they receive an approved medical exemption or disability or religious accommodation. Read the Updated September 29th UC Order Here. Personal belief exemptions will not be allowed. On August 27th a lawsuit was filed by four staff and students of the University of California challenging the recent executive order mandating the flu vaccine for the entire 510,000 members of the UC community.
Oppose Massachusetts Department of Public Health flu vaccine mandate that mandates without legislative approval, that students receive flu shots before attending childcare/preschool, grades kindergarten – 12 and postsecondary institutions for the 2020-2021 school year. Read the New Massachusetts Immunization Schedule Here. Medical exemptions and exemptions based on sincere religious beliefs are available. If you are a K-12 student student click on the green button to send a special letter.
Oppose University of Massachusetts Medical School flu mandate. This year, all UMMS employees who plan to enter any of the medical school buildings for even one day from Oct. 1, 2020 through April 1, 2021, and all UMMS students, are required to receive a flu vaccine by Dec. 15, 2020. Exemptions are available for individuals who have a medical contraindication or who have concerns due to deeply held religious beliefs. Read the New Policy Details in UMass Medical School Communications, September 14, 2020.
Oppose Minnesota’s Carleton College flu shot mandate. All Carleton students and employees who will be on-campus during the 2021 academic year are required to receive a seasonal flu vaccine by Oct. 1, 2020. See Carleton’s Work Expectations Q & A Here. Employees can use the Accommodation Request Form to request a medical or religious accommodation regarding the seasonal influenza vaccination requirement. However, Carleton’s student vaccine exemptions are unclear and Carleton needs to make sure that students are informed of their rights to utilize exemptions based on Minnesota’s historical and well protected exemption for conscientiously held beliefs, as is true for their other immunizations required upon admission.
Oppose New Jersey: On August 25th, Assemblymen Conaway and Zwicker introduced Assembly Bill A4576 which has been referred to Assembly Health Committee. The bill would require children and students of all ages to be annually vaccinated for influenza, as a condition of their enrollment and continued attendance at a public or private K-12 school, preschool, child care center, or institution of higher education. Medical exemptions would be accepted, and religious exemptions would be accepted if the vaccine would conflict with the bona fide religious tenets or practices of the student, except that a general philosophical or moral objection to the vaccination would not be sufficient for an exemption on religious grounds.
Oppose North Carolina Duke University flu vaccine mandate. Members of the Duke community including students, faculty, and staff, will have to agree to the Duke Compact, which includes commitments to wear a mask in public, participate in COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and self-reporting of symptoms, agree to get a flu shot and follow travel restrictions. Read the notice in the Chronicle, (the independent news organization of Duke University. Students who choose not to be vaccinated without an approved exemption will face consequences for violation of the Compact. Faculty and staff who fail to meet the requirement would lose access to on campus buildings and facilities, while Duke Health faculty and staff who do not meet the vaccine requirement would face disciplinary action up to termination of employment. Exemptions to the requirement may be granted for approved medical or religious reasons.
ABOUT FLU VACCINES: SAFETY AND EFFICACY
The Risk: The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) was created by Congress to provide compensation for individuals who have been seriously injured or died following vaccines. Seven out of ten petitions filed between 2016 and 2017 to the NVICP were related to damages following influenza vaccine to adults or children.[i] Today, the most common severe injuries reported following influenza vaccination are shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA), Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), transverse myelitis (TM), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and death. [ii]
Adverse Effects: The CDCs Vaccine Information Statement itself includes a description of potential adverse side effects of the vaccine: Soreness, redness, and swelling where shot is given, fever, muscle aches, and headache, increased risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), seizure from fever, fainting, dizzy, vision changes or ringing in the ears, remote chance of a severe allergic reaction, other serious injury, or death.[iii]
Ineffective: In June 2019, the CDC reported that the 2018-2019 seasonal flu vaccine offered no protection against the circulating H3N2 flu strain which emerged in late February and overall flu vaccine effectiveness was reported at only 29 percent. Among adults hospitalized for the flu, the vaccine’s effectiveness against the H3N2 strain was reported at a negative 43 percent. A negative percentage indicates that persons who were vaccinated with the 2018-2019 seasonal flu vaccine were more likely to be hospitalized for flu, than those who were not. [iv]
What to do if you receive and flu shot and are injured: Adverse reactions can be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Visit the VAERS website or call 1-800-822-7967. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) is a federal program that was created to compensate people who may have been injured by certain vaccines. Visit the VICP website or call 1-800-338-2382 to learn about the program and about filing a claim. There is a time limit to file a claim for compensation.
The right of people to make their own medical decisions as to how they want to promote their own health and survival is at the heart of American values and personal liberty.
If you live in one of the above listed states, Take Action to stop the coercion. Support the right to make your own health care decisions.
[i] Conway Homer PC, Attorney at Law: Flu Shot Compensation, How Can I pursue flu shot injury compensation? Accessed online August 31, 2020 at https://ccandh.com/flu-shot-injury-compensation/
[ii] Children’s Health Defense website: An Unwelcome Milestone: Payouts for Influenza Vaccine Injuries exceed $900 Million. By Wayne Rohde, Guest Contributor, Types of Injuries and extent of payout. Accessed online August 31, 2020 at https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/an-unwelcome-milestone-payouts-for-influenza-vaccine-injuries-exceed-900-million/
[iii] Center for Disease Control website: Vaccine Information Statement, Influenza (Flu) Vaccine (Inactivated or Recombinant): What you need to know. Accessed online August 31, 2020 at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/flu.pdf
[iv] How Effective Is Influenza Vaccine? NVIC, accessed online August 27, 2020, @ https://www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/influenza/vaccine-effectiveness.aspx
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