COLUMBUS, Ohio — As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, Republican state lawmakers are looking to pass a bill banning mandatory vaccinations of all types.
A hearing to debate the bill is set to take place before the full General Assembly returns from summer break.
The COVID-19 delta variant is ripping through the state and country while only a little more than half of Ohioans eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine have gotten their shots. Organizations like the Ohio Hospital Association are not taking any chances and are requiring its employees statewide to get the vaccine.
In less than two weeks, Ohio House Health Committee Chairman Scott Lipps, R-Franklin, will bring his committee back to the Statehouse early to hear more on House Bill 248, also known as The Vaccine Choice and Anti-Discrimination Act.
The bill bans employers, like hospitals, from requiring any vaccine, not just COVID-19, does not allow “discriminatory treatment” when it comes to vaccination status and forces schools to tell parents their kids don’t have to get any shots.
Lipps nor Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, who sponsors the bill could be reached for comment.
Democratic Ranking Member Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, an epidemiologist, has concerns about the bill.
“Large-scale policy that is made in Columbus that doesn’t take into account decisions by individual companies or what’s happening in local communities is never a good idea,” said Russo.
Russo also pointed to varying vaccination rates in different communities as a reason why local control is necessary.
Meanwhile in an earlier hearing on House Bill 248, Dr. Elizabeth Laffay, an emergency medicine physician in Lorain County, testified the complete opposite to Russo’s rationale.
“It’s not my responsibility to put the health of the greater good before the health of myself as an individual though that is my decision to make,” said Laffay.
Dr. Laffay also feels the trust patients have with their doctors would go away if vaccines were mandated because of the personal information that is shared.
“Imagine there’s a government official in the room with us or your boss or maybe even a local grocery store owner weighing in on how you should care for yourself based on their opinions and their needs,” Laffay said.
State health officials said having the bill become law would be dangerous and make it more difficult to keep the public safe from disease. Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, is also against the bill.
As for the upcoming hearing, it will feature four hours of testimony for those who support and are against the bill.
