TOPEKA – Republican gubernatorial candidate Derek Schmidt vowed Saturday to block any requirement that Kansas children be immunized against COVID-19 before going to school.
The pledge is a response to Thursday’s widely misunderstood vote by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee that approved COVID-19 vaccines for children and adults.
“The choice to give a child the COVID vaccine should be made by that child’s parents and the parents alone,” Schmidt said. “No Kansas student will ever be forced to get a COVID vaccine to attend school — not on my watch.”
Schmidt made before a similar statement on Twitter in response to Fox News personality Tucker Carlson’s false claim that the CDC was about to make the vaccine mandatory for school children.
Vaccination claims are controlled at the state level, although medical experts can turn to the CDC for advice. In Kansas, the state secretary of health has the authority to add requirements to the immunization schedule for school-aged children. Requirements in Kansas already include polio vaccines; hepatitis A and B; measles, mumps and rubella; chicken pox; and meningitis.
It was not clear how Schmidt, if elected in November, would exercise his authority as governor to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccine is never added to the list of requirements. It’s also not clear why he thinks the COVID-19 vaccine should be treated any differently than others.
Vaccines against COVID-19 are safe and effective in reducing the risk of serious illness or death. But Schmidt and other Republicans have seized political advantage by opposing government mandates, even when it means cheering on misinformed anti-vaxxers.
Author Schmidt’s legislation, passed during a special legislative session last year — and immediately signed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly — allowed Kansas workers to opt out of federal vaccine requirements for religious or philosophical reasons.
On Saturday, Schmidt reiterated his support for Senate Bill 34, which targeted mask mandates, quarantine orders and vaccine requirements. The bill morphed during the closing hours of the regular session into a policy package that received limited or no public hearings. Kelly vetoed the bill after it passed the House 64-53 and the Senate 23-17.
Kelly and Schmidt are locked in a close race for governor with less than three weeks to go before the Nov. 8 election. More than 118,000 advanced ballots have already been mailed.
Connie Satzler, senior operations manager for the Immunize Kansas Coalition, said the group is not seeking changes to school entry vaccination requirements in Kansas.
Satzler stressed that the recommendation of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is not a requirement to get vaccinated. She said the CDC also recommends that children get an annual flu shot, but no state requires a shot for school entry.
“The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and getting vaccinated is safer than getting COVID-19,” Satzler said. “Because IKC’s mission is to protect Kansans from vaccine-preventable diseases, we are committed to raising awareness and educating Kansans about vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Kansas Department of Health and Environment data show 9,601 have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began about two and a half years ago. This includes 11 new deaths recorded last week.
In Kansas, according to CDC data, more than 2.1 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, including 87% of people older than 18. Nationwide, more than 265 million Americans have received at least one dose.
The US Food and Drug Administration has given full approval to vaccines against COVID-19 for adults. The agency also granted emergency use authorization for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in children up to 6 months of age.
