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JUNE 4, 2021 -- A measure introduced in the State House of Representatives on Thursday would prohibit the denial of rights and services to citizens based on their COVID-19 vaccination status.
“No one should be coerced into having a vaccine injected into their body,” said State Rep. Rich Collins (R-Millsboro), the prime sponsor of the bill.
Some opinion leaders have suggested that requiring proof of vaccination to engage in certain activities or receive services should be used as leverage to push reluctant citizens into getting immunized. Rep. Collins counters that such an approach would ride roughshod over citizens’ most basic rights.
“There are some people that may have religious objections,” Rep. Collins said. “Others may believe that the vaccine poses a bigger threat than contracting the virus. In any case, our citizens have the right of self-determination, the right to worship as they see fit, and the expectation that their health care privacy will be respected. My bill seeks to safeguard these citizens’ protections as it relates to the administration of the vaccine.”
Rep. Collins also noted that the heavy hand of government is not needed when it comes to ensuring the vaccine reaches enough people to achieve “herd immunity” – a threshold of resistance to the virus in the overall population that will prevent the contagion from spreading freely.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, “around seven-in-ten U.S. adults (69%) said in mid-February that they would definitely or probably get a coronavirus vaccine.” In Delaware, those age 65 and over – the demographic segment in which 83% of all fatalities have occurred – is more than 81% fully inoculated. The next highest-risk group (50 to 64 years-old), accounting for another 14% of all fatalities, is 55% fully vaccinated.
The legislation (House Bill 209) would apply to any order issued by the governor under his ongoing State of Emergency declaration. It would also encompass any state agency, as well as any county or municipal government or other entity receiving at least $10 million in annual state funding, such as DelTech, the University of Delaware, and Delaware State University.
Any individual or organization covered by the bill could “not adopt or issue a regulation, ordinance, law, order, or similar policy that requires an individual to undergo medical vaccination against COVID-19, or prove that the individual has been vaccinated against COVID-19, to exercise a lawful right or receive a benefit or service that is available to the public.”
The measure does not deal with the issue of whether businesses can require vaccinations as a condition of employment. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), it is unclear if any of the COVID vaccines being administered in the U.S. can be mandated since all the formulations were approved by the Food and Drug Administration under an Emergency Use Authorization. “To date, at least one federal lawsuit (Legaretta v. Macias) has been filed challenging an employer’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the grounds that vaccines are still under emergency use authorization,” a recent KFF report stated.
“My bill is an attempt to provide clarity in Delaware as it applies to the specific entities covered in the legislation,” Rep. Collins said.
Should the bill become law, it will sunset (expire) one year following its enactment.
