Senator Ted Cruz
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced a bill to prohibit the federal government and any entity at the federal, state, and local level that receives federal funding, including school districts, from requiring COVID-19 vaccines for minors.
Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said:
“Parents should have the right to decide what is best for their children in consultation with their family doctor. My view on the COVID-19 vaccine has remained clear: no mandates of any kind. President Biden and his administration have repeatedly ignored medical privacy rights and personal liberty by pushing unlawful and burdensome vaccine mandates on American businesses, and now they are preparing to push a mandate on kids by pressuring parents—all without taking into account relative risk or the benefits of natural immunity. I am proud to introduce this legislation today to ensure President Biden and his administration stay out of decisions related to a child’s health—decisions best left to parents.”
BACKGROUND
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (Pfizer) for children 5 through 11 years of age. During the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), several members acknowledged that approval of the Pfizer vaccine for the 5-11 age group under emergency use could effectively function as a mandate of the vaccine. School districts across the country have used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation of masking in schools as a way to mandate their use to attend school. The Federal government, state governments, corporations, and some school districts have also used the CDC’s vaccination recommendation as a way to mandate the vaccine as a condition of employment or attendance.
Specifically, this bill:
- Prohibits the federal government and any recipient of federal funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and/or the CDC at the state, local, Tribal, or territorial level from requiring any individual aged 18 or younger from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine.
- Prohibits any school district or other educational entities from imposing a mandate requiring any students age 18 or younger to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
o If any school district does impose a mandate, that entity shall not be eligible to receive Title IV, Part A and Title II, Part A funding.
- Requires parental consent for the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine to a minor.
- Applies to all COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorized for use under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or, if fully approved, were first approved under EUA.