With more and more businesses stating that COVID-19 vaccines will be required to use their services or frequent their establishments — and nearly 20 vaccine passport models under development nationwide — it’s crucial that North Carolina passes health freedom legislation to protect its citizens!
On April 13, 2021, Rep. Larry Pittman (R-83) introduced HB558. This bill prohibits multiple entities in North Carolina from mandating vaccines and protects citizens from discrimination based on their vaccine status. Unfortunately, the House Health Committee would not hear HB558, killing any possibility of it becoming law.
In an interesting turn of events, the health committee heard a proposed substitute for HB558, HB572, and it was passed. HB572 is entitled “No Vaccine Mandate by EO, Rule, or Agency.” Essentially, it is section 1 of HB558 and states, “… no public health authority in the State, including the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the State Health Director, the Commission for Public Health, or the director of any local health department, may issue an order requiring any individual to submit to a COVID-19 vaccination or series of vaccinations.” However, the protections that HB572 affords are very limited. That leaves the door wide open for the government to impose mandates after a state of emergency is lifted and for private businesses to try to require COVID-19 vaccines and the use of vaccine passports.
In light of this, we need North Carolina residents to rise up and demand better protections now! Advocates, please urge your legislators to take the private-sector prohibitions on vaccine mandates and passports that are in HB558 and add them to HB572. Specifically, we want protection for state licensing boards; hospital patients, physicians, residents and interns; nursing home and adult home care residents; employers of the state and private business; places of public accommodation; insurance companies; and the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.
Under the PREP Act of 2005, drug manufacturers, doctors, government agencies and all others aren’t liable for injuries or deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccines. As such, we need to add a section to HB572 that imposes liability and damages for all harm (injuries, illness, reactions and deaths) when an employee, customer, patron, visitor, guest or other member of the public is mandated to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
North Carolina has a very strong biotech and pharmaceutical industry presence, with a dozen major corporations and hundreds of other life sciences and biomanufacturing firms. Just last year, more than $2.3 billion in pharmaceutical investments and 2,800 new jobs in biopharma manufacturing were announced in North Carolina.
That’s why it’s critical to pass proactive legislation that protects North Carolina citizens from coercive measures like forced vaccination and vaccine passports, which will usher in medical tyranny and institutionalized segregation. Time is of the essence! With just one click, you can send a pre-drafted, customizable email to your legislators NOW urging them to stand up for your rights and to add private-sector amendments to HB572!