Competing Vaccination Bills

BY  MATTHEW MERITT​

Scott Esty at Assemblyman Chris Friend’s office kindly replied to my recent inquiries about an assembly bill that could make the COVID vaccine mandatory. He made me aware of an additional bill that would prohibit mandatory vaccination against COVID. 
 
Mr. Esty, Assemblyman Friend’s chief of staff, noted there is no companion to these bills in the Senate and that January is the earliest further work on them can be done. 

​I have emailed the office of Assemblyman John Salka, sponsor of the bill to prevent mandatory vaccinations. I’m hoping he clarifies whether the prohibition would apply to the government only, or to schools, businesses and employers as well. In other words, for example, could a COVID vaccination be required for a child to attend school? 
 
There’s an interesting quote from what’s called the “Justification” section of the Salka bill. It reads:
 
Vaccines take up to 5 years to be fully developed and researched. Phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials typically take one to two years, and the Vaccine for Coronavirus passed these trials within months.
 
This would seem to be the concern of those who would prefer to be cautious about taking the vaccine or having their children take it.