Mastriano looks to forbid Pennsylvania colleges from enforcing strict vaccine mandates

Mastriano wants to ban coronavirus vaccine requirements for students and faculty in public and private colleges, and place guardrails around immunization mandates for other diseases.

A Pennsylvania senator says the government should restrict colleges and universities in the commonwealth from issuing vaccine mandates for their students, arguing that there are other ways to prevent the spread of disease on campus. 

Sen. Doug Mastriano, a far-right Republican from Franklin County who ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor, on Oct. 21 released a memo outlining his proposal to prohibit COVID-19 vaccine mandates and limit other immunization requirements. 

“Individuals must have the freedom to make choices about their health in consultation with their healthcare providers, without facing coercion from universities or other organizations,” Mastriano wrote in the memo. 

What would Mastriano’s vaccine bill do?

The legislation itself hasn’t yet been made public. But Mastriano said it would ban coronavirus vaccine requirements for students and faculty in public and private colleges and would place guardrails around immunization mandates for other diseases.

Colleges and universities would have to offer broad vaccine exemptions that allow people to opt out based on their medical needs or religious or philosophical beliefs, “allowing the decision regarding vaccination to rest with the individual.” Students’ educational opportunities should not be contingent on their stance on vaccination, he contends. 

Institutions would not be allowed to refuse admission to a student based on their vaccination status, and Mastriano’s proposal would also promote the use of masking, testing and social distancing as ways of containing diseases. 

Pennsylvania now requires higher education institutions to mandate vaccination against meningococcal disease for students planning to live in dormitories. However, it offers exemptions to students who are unvaccinated for religious or other reasons as long as they receive information about the risks of meningitis, a sometimes-deadly illness that causes swelling in the brain and spinal cord tissues.

Why is the memo coming now?

Mastriano’s push is coming amid a wave of vaccine hesitancy and misinformation that intensified during and after the coronavirus pandemic. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose doubts about immunization date back years, is installing vaccine skeptics in high-level roles in the nation’s public health agencies and limiting access to the COVID-19 booster. 

These sentiments are also affecting policies in some GOP-controlled states, with Florida officials recently announcing they would try to end mandates for school-age children. 

By contrast, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has been trying to make sure the COVID-19 shot and childhood vaccines remain accessible in the commonwealth. His administration has also been trying to counter unreliable information flowing from the federal government and elevate scientifically accurate public health guidance.