Coalition letter sent to Private Colleges in Virginia
Coalition letter sent to Public Colleges in Virginia
Many of Virginia’s public four-year colleges are notifying students, claiming that COVID-19 “...Vaccinations will be REQUIRED for all students….” this fall. Universities do not appear to be offering exemptions to this policy for pregnant, nursing, COVID-19-recovered or any other individuals.
Clearly, speaking of transmission, the high-risk time has passed (GMU, the largest public university in Virginia, with 37,000+ students, reports two student positives & zero employee positives in the last month).
Yet GMU and other 4-year schools are attempting to coerce students, who have a minuscule danger of serious health effects, to receive an experimental "vaccination" as a condition of on campus attendance.
Fortunately, Virginia law allows persons to opt out of mandatory vaccination requirements based on MEDICAL and RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS.
We would like to help you make an informed decision and to know how to claim religious exemption to the COVID-19 "vaccination".
Higher Education Religious Exemptions Virginia law (§ 23.1-800 D)
“D. Any student is exempt from the immunization requirements... [who] objects on the grounds that administration of immunizing agents conflicts with his religious tenets or practices....”
When submitting your notice of religious exemption you should use wording consistent with the language from § 23.1-800 D (in red above), have it notarized, mail and email it as soon as possible to your school, and retain some receipt for the letter. The “practice” of one’s faith is much more of an assertion of personal beliefs versus established doctrine.
Beyond informing schools of your claim to be exempt on the basis of religion (religious exemption), some schools are also threatening to require masks and frequent COVID-19 testing for those who file a religious exemption. Hopefully, as the fear of future outbreaks decreases, schools will not enforce this.
