VA AG: State colleges can’t mandate COVID vaccines

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not clear from the article, is he applying this to private colleges and universities in VA too?

The opinion is here: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2022/22-004-Youngkin-issued.pdf
IANAL but it looks as if this opinion only applies to public colleges and universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not clear from the article, is he applying this to private colleges and universities in VA too?

Public only, but it’s not binding on them either. It’s purely advisory and has no force of law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no need for a booster because the booster doesn't protect against Omicron. The regular vaccines do protect against severe illness.
I don't see what difference it makes if there's a vaccine mandate. The kids who are vaccinated won't get very sick if they get Omicron. DD's roommate got Omicron, and DD didn't get it, tested five times and always negative.
Covid is no longer a deadly disease. It's like the annual flu or a bad cold. Get vaccinated, but forget about it.

This is false in so many aspects. The booster helps to prevent omicron and decreases chances of serious illness. Most hospitalized now (omicron age) are unvaccinated. The booster also helps mitigate the severity of other covid strains and decrease transmission. Covid cannot be dismissed like cold/flu. There are many factors: strain, individual risk factors, vaccination (including booster). Please don't make false assessments.

If you are so sure of your "facts" please post studies that prove this. Please.

I've read a lot of studies, and no, neither the current vaccines nor boosters protect you from infection with Omicron. My entire family and many of my friends and neighbors got Omicron, and all are vaccinated, and many are boosted.

It's true that the vaccines do prevent severe illness. And it's also true that most of the people hospitalized for covid are not vaccinated (morons!)

The boosters do increase antibody levels, but it's not clear that they add more protection from severe illness than the initial vaccines do. There is very scant evidence supporting boosters, but they were approved because of politics, not science.

Boosters DO prevent Omicron transmission.

Here's the study, knock yourself out https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.27.21268278v1.full.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not clear from the article, is he applying this to private colleges and universities in VA too?

Public only, but it’s not binding on them either. It’s purely advisory and has no force of law.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not clear from the article, is he applying this to private colleges and universities in VA too?

Public only, but it’s not binding on them either. It’s purely advisory and has no force of law.

+1

Theater 🎭

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no need for a booster because the booster doesn't protect against Omicron. The regular vaccines do protect against severe illness.
I don't see what difference it makes if there's a vaccine mandate. The kids who are vaccinated won't get very sick if they get Omicron. DD's roommate got Omicron, and DD didn't get it, tested five times and always negative.
Covid is no longer a deadly disease. It's like the annual flu or a bad cold. Get vaccinated, but forget about it.

Then why are 2,500 people dying from it every day in the last week or so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not clear from the article, is he applying this to private colleges and universities in VA too?

Public only, but it’s not binding on them either. It’s purely advisory and has no force of law.

The Virginia Code cited in it has the force of law - it lists the required immunizations at public universities. Covid isn't one of them. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/23.1-800/

I believe Dillon's Rule doesn't allow for a public university in Virginia to add their own additional requirements. Because it's covered by a state law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no need for a booster because the booster doesn't protect against Omicron. The regular vaccines do protect against severe illness.
I don't see what difference it makes if there's a vaccine mandate. The kids who are vaccinated won't get very sick if they get Omicron. DD's roommate got Omicron, and DD didn't get it, tested five times and always negative.
Covid is no longer a deadly disease. It's like the annual flu or a bad cold. Get vaccinated, but forget about it.

This is false in so many aspects. The booster helps to prevent omicron and decreases chances of serious illness. Most hospitalized now (omicron age) are unvaccinated. The booster also helps mitigate the severity of other covid strains and decrease transmission. Covid cannot be dismissed like cold/flu. There are many factors: strain, individual risk factors, vaccination (including booster). Please don't make false assessments.

If you are so sure of your "facts" please post studies that prove this. Please.

I've read a lot of studies, and no, neither the current vaccines nor boosters protect you from infection with Omicron. My entire family and many of my friends and neighbors got Omicron, and all are vaccinated, and many are boosted.

It's true that the vaccines do prevent severe illness. And it's also true that most of the people hospitalized for covid are not vaccinated (morons!)

The boosters do increase antibody levels, but it's not clear that they add more protection from severe illness than the initial vaccines do. There is very scant evidence supporting boosters, but they were approved because of politics, not science.

Boosters DO prevent Omicron transmission.

Here's the study, knock yourself out https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.27.21268278v1.full.pdf

Just because there's a correlation doesn't necessarily mean cause and effect.

I feel like certain wanton behaviors often go hand in hand with the anti-vaxxer mentality, i.e., lack of social distancing and masking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not clear from the article, is he applying this to private colleges and universities in VA too?

Public only, but it’s not binding on them either. It’s purely advisory and has no force of law.

The Virginia Code cited in it has the force of law - it lists the required immunizations at public universities. Covid isn't one of them. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/23.1-800/

I believe Dillon's Rule doesn't allow for a public university in Virginia to add their own additional requirements. Because it's covered by a state law.

+1
And the order pointed out that should the General Assembly vote to add Covid-19 to the required vaccines, they are free to do so. But since they haven't yet, then it is not a requirement. Seems very straightforward to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no need for a booster because the booster doesn't protect against Omicron. The regular vaccines do protect against severe illness.
I don't see what difference it makes if there's a vaccine mandate. The kids who are vaccinated won't get very sick if they get Omicron. DD's roommate got Omicron, and DD didn't get it, tested five times and always negative.
Covid is no longer a deadly disease. It's like the annual flu or a bad cold. Get vaccinated, but forget about it.

This is false in so many aspects. The booster helps to prevent omicron and decreases chances of serious illness. Most hospitalized now (omicron age) are unvaccinated. The booster also helps mitigate the severity of other covid strains and decrease transmission. Covid cannot be dismissed like cold/flu. There are many factors: strain, individual risk factors, vaccination (including booster). Please don't make false assessments.

If you are so sure of your "facts" please post studies that prove this. Please.

I've read a lot of studies, and no, neither the current vaccines nor boosters protect you from infection with Omicron. My entire family and many of my friends and neighbors got Omicron, and all are vaccinated, and many are boosted.

It's true that the vaccines do prevent severe illness. And it's also true that most of the people hospitalized for covid are not vaccinated (morons!)

The boosters do increase antibody levels, but it's not clear that they add more protection from severe illness than the initial vaccines do. There is very scant evidence supporting boosters, but they were approved because of politics, not science.

Boosters DO prevent Omicron transmission.

Here's the study, knock yourself out https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.27.21268278v1.full.pdf

Boosters may *help* prevent Omicron, but they certainly don't prevent it. The study you cite even states: boosters *reduce* risk by 40-50%. They don't prevent it. Many people who have been sick with Omicron - including me - were fully vaxxed and boosted.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no need for a booster because the booster doesn't protect against Omicron. The regular vaccines do protect against severe illness.
I don't see what difference it makes if there's a vaccine mandate. The kids who are vaccinated won't get very sick if they get Omicron. DD's roommate got Omicron, and DD didn't get it, tested five times and always negative.
Covid is no longer a deadly disease. It's like the annual flu or a bad cold. Get vaccinated, but forget about it.

This is false in so many aspects. The booster helps to prevent omicron and decreases chances of serious illness. Most hospitalized now (omicron age) are unvaccinated. The booster also helps mitigate the severity of other covid strains and decrease transmission. Covid cannot be dismissed like cold/flu. There are many factors: strain, individual risk factors, vaccination (including booster). Please don't make false assessments.

If you are so sure of your "facts" please post studies that prove this. Please.

I've read a lot of studies, and no, neither the current vaccines nor boosters protect you from infection with Omicron. My entire family and many of my friends and neighbors got Omicron, and all are vaccinated, and many are boosted.

It's true that the vaccines do prevent severe illness. And it's also true that most of the people hospitalized for covid are not vaccinated (morons!)

The boosters do increase antibody levels, but it's not clear that they add more protection from severe illness than the initial vaccines do. There is very scant evidence supporting boosters, but they were approved because of politics, not science.

Boosters DO prevent Omicron transmission.

Here's the study, knock yourself out https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.27.21268278v1.full.pdf

Just because there's a correlation doesn't necessarily mean cause and effect.

I feel like certain wanton behaviors often go hand in hand with the anti-vaxxer mentality, i.e., lack of social distancing and masking.

You should read the statistical analysis section. Believe it or not, the people carrying out mulitvariate regression analyses and controlling for multiple factors (age, sex, household clustering) for this study actually understand the difference between correlation and causation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no need for a booster because the booster doesn't protect against Omicron. The regular vaccines do protect against severe illness.
I don't see what difference it makes if there's a vaccine mandate. The kids who are vaccinated won't get very sick if they get Omicron. DD's roommate got Omicron, and DD didn't get it, tested five times and always negative.
Covid is no longer a deadly disease. It's like the annual flu or a bad cold. Get vaccinated, but forget about it.

This is false in so many aspects. The booster helps to prevent omicron and decreases chances of serious illness. Most hospitalized now (omicron age) are unvaccinated. The booster also helps mitigate the severity of other covid strains and decrease transmission. Covid cannot be dismissed like cold/flu. There are many factors: strain, individual risk factors, vaccination (including booster). Please don't make false assessments.

If you are so sure of your "facts" please post studies that prove this. Please.

I've read a lot of studies, and no, neither the current vaccines nor boosters protect you from infection with Omicron. My entire family and many of my friends and neighbors got Omicron, and all are vaccinated, and many are boosted.

It's true that the vaccines do prevent severe illness. And it's also true that most of the people hospitalized for covid are not vaccinated (morons!)

The boosters do increase antibody levels, but it's not clear that they add more protection from severe illness than the initial vaccines do. There is very scant evidence supporting boosters, but they were approved because of politics, not science.

Boosters DO prevent Omicron transmission.

Here's the study, knock yourself out https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.27.21268278v1.full.pdf

Boosters may *help* prevent Omicron, but they certainly don't prevent it. The study you cite even states: boosters *reduce* risk by 40-50%. They don't prevent it. Many people who have been sick with Omicron - including me - were fully vaxxed and boosted.
DP

The poster was responding to the claim that “boosters don’t protect against omicron.” I get that you want to move the goalposts since that silly statement has been shown to be ridiculous, but no - you don’t get to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no need for a booster because the booster doesn't protect against Omicron. The regular vaccines do protect against severe illness.
I don't see what difference it makes if there's a vaccine mandate. The kids who are vaccinated won't get very sick if they get Omicron. DD's roommate got Omicron, and DD didn't get it, tested five times and always negative.
Covid is no longer a deadly disease. It's like the annual flu or a bad cold. Get vaccinated, but forget about it.

This is false in so many aspects. The booster helps to prevent omicron and decreases chances of serious illness. Most hospitalized now (omicron age) are unvaccinated. The booster also helps mitigate the severity of other covid strains and decrease transmission. Covid cannot be dismissed like cold/flu. There are many factors: strain, individual risk factors, vaccination (including booster). Please don't make false assessments.

If you are so sure of your "facts" please post studies that prove this. Please.

I've read a lot of studies, and no, neither the current vaccines nor boosters protect you from infection with Omicron. My entire family and many of my friends and neighbors got Omicron, and all are vaccinated, and many are boosted.

It's true that the vaccines do prevent severe illness. And it's also true that most of the people hospitalized for covid are not vaccinated (morons!)

The boosters do increase antibody levels, but it's not clear that they add more protection from severe illness than the initial vaccines do. There is very scant evidence supporting boosters, but they were approved because of politics, not science.

Boosters DO prevent Omicron transmission.

Here's the study, knock yourself out https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.27.21268278v1.full.pdf

Just because there's a correlation doesn't necessarily mean cause and effect.

I feel like certain wanton behaviors often go hand in hand with the anti-vaxxer mentality, i.e., lack of social distancing and masking.

You should read the statistical analysis section. Believe it or not, the people carrying out mulitvariate regression analyses and controlling for multiple factors (age, sex, household clustering) for this study actually understand the difference between correlation and causation.

It says "The estimates are adjusted for age and sex of the primary case, age and sex of the potential secondary case, and size of the household."

So, they adjusted for age, sex, size of household.

That doesn't factor in wanton anti-vaxxer behaviors (lack of social distancing, lack of masking).

Furthermore, it states: "Recently, self testing kits have become widely available for purchase in Denmark. This could influence the results, for instance if individuals that self-test at home refrain from also being tested in public testing facilities, meaning that their test results are not registered in the national databases."

Another anti-vaxxer behavior seems to be lack of home testing. Meaning, lack of unreported testing.

And finally, the author expresses my exact concern with the data in the section addressing biases. Here you go:

"There are likely underlying behavioural drivers for an individual being unvaccinated, which are likely to confound with other risky behaviours that might be expected to increase both transmission and susceptibility to infection (e.g. poor use of face masks, reduced attention to hygiene). The use of registry data limits our inference to associations between transmission/susceptibility and vaccination status of individuals, where part of the association is due to general characteristics of the individuals themselves rather than their vaccination status."

I think you are the one who didn't read this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not clear from the article, is he applying this to private colleges and universities in VA too?

Public only, but it’s not binding on them either. It’s purely advisory and has no force of law.

The Virginia Code cited in it has the force of law - it lists the required immunizations at public universities. Covid isn't one of them. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/23.1-800/

I believe Dillon's Rule doesn't allow for a public university in Virginia to add their own additional requirements. Because it's covered by a state law.

+1
And the order pointed out that should the General Assembly vote to add Covid-19 to the required vaccines, they are free to do so. But since they haven't yet, then it is not a requirement. Seems very straightforward to me.

Agree, straightforward. Interesting also how meningitis and hep b in statute specifically includes informed consent and right to decline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What could go wrong, especially for students congregate living in dorms in the middle of a pandemic? I wonder if any schools will challenge this “opinion.” Seems outrageous given vaccination requirements for attendance are pretty standard.

https://richmond.com/news/local/education/miyares-colleges-cannot-legally-mandate-covid-vaccines-for-students/article_abcc47f6-b1c8-5c3b-a2ea-688f20dd9e30.html

Many other colleges have not mandated the vaccine. You can look at their Covid dashboards and compare them to some of the Virginia state colleges. From the ones I've seen, there isn't much difference.

That's not true.

Liberty U didn't require it and it was a holy hot mess of covid last fall.