ACT NOW NEW JERSEY: Tell Your Law Makers to Vote NO to Covid Vaccine Mandates at Institutions of Higher Education
Twin bills A4334 and S316 will require students, staff, and others present at institutions of higher education to receive COVID-19 shots to be on campus
Our Stand: At-A-Glance
- On June 20, 2022, Assemblyman Herb Conaway, the primary sponsor, introduced bill A4334 that “requires students, staff, and others present at institutions of higher education to receive COVID-19 vaccine.” A4334 was referred to the Assembly Health Committee, of which Assemblyman Conaway is the Chairperson. Assemblyman Conaway, the sponsor of A4334 also sponsors bill A1991, that seeks to tighten the religious and medical exemptions for child care through school attendance.
- Senator Vitale is the Primary Sponsor of bill S316 which was introduced on January 11, 2022 in the Senate and was referred to the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, of which Senator Vitale is the Chairperson.
- No other state legislature has required the COVID-19 shot for students in higher education.
- Mandates create discrimination based on vaccination status. This is the civil rights movement of our time. Colleges and universities are championing equity at every turn, but these bills, if passed, will allow a new two-class system of inequity to develop.
- College-age adults handle COVID well and have higher risks of vaccine reactions, such as myocarditis, than they do risks from natural infection. The risks of mandatory vaccination far outweigh the benefits in this age group.
- According to the CDC, 95% of the population over age 16 have already developed identifiable COVID antibodies.
- None of the available shots work against the COVID strains currently in circulation. They were formulated for the first two variants back in early 2020, while the current circulating strains are Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5.
- The high rate of breakthrough infections in vaccinated populations demonstrates vaccinated individuals are still spreading COVID-19.
- A recent study shows natural immunity provides the same protection and for a longer window than mRNA vaccines.
- Click to write both the Assembly and Senate health committee members and tell them to oppose A4334/S316.
- These bills will drive some college seekers out of state and eventually into other job markets. Fiscally, this will reduce tax revenue and impact job prospects for businesses across the state.