The state of Alabama will be immune from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) expected decision to add the COVID-19 shot to the agency’s Vaccines for Children Program.
A CDC advisory committee voted Wednesday to recommend the COVID-19 shot’s addition to the program, which would make the vaccine free for children across the United States. The agency is anticipated adopt the recommendation today.
While the CDC’s action could make the shot mandatory for children in many states, Alabama is shielded from the decision due to state law. States hold the ability to determine whether or not the CDC’s scheduled vaccines for children are required for school admittance.
Attorney General Steve Marshall told Yellowhammer News the addition of a new vaccine has no impact on Alabama’s inoculation schedule due to the state non-adherence, statutorily or by practice, to the CDC’s current schedule.
NOTE: The CDC’s vote this week on child immunizations and the COVID-19 vax will not impact Alabamians. Read up on our law here: https://t.co/F2UJFXC9EB
— Attorney General Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) October 20, 2022
Senate Bill 267, passed by State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) in May 2021, banned vaccine passports in the Yellowhammer State. Included in one of the bill’s provisions is the prohibition of public schools requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for students.
Shortly after the bill was signed into law, Marshall issued a public notice detailing the law’s interpretation.
“[N]o government, school, or business in Alabama may demand that a constituent, student, or customer, respectively, be vaccinated for COVID-19 or show proof of his or her vaccination for COVID-19,” the attorney general’s notice stated.
Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.