Free Republic

A Colorado university’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal court has ruled. The Sept. 1, 2021, mandate “clearly violates the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause as interpreted by our precedents,” a majority of a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit said in the May 7 decision. While the mandate was later updated, the newer version also violates the Constitution, the judges said. The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in 2021 required COVID-19 vaccination of all students and employees. It initially offered religious exemptions to anyone who checked a box, but later said...

A North Carolina Court of Appeals found that a clinic, where personnel gave a 14-year-old boy a COVID-19 shot without his consent or parental consent, was protected by the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act). The court concluded that the Guilford Board of Education, which hosted the clinic, was also covered by the PREP Act.1Despite calling the act of forcing a child to get a COVID-19 shot against his will and without his parent’s consent, “egregious,” the court unanimously concluded that the PREP Act preempted state law and protected the defendants from being held liable for battery, violation...

The American Red Cross is under public scrutiny for its blood donation screening process, which includes a specific question regarding COVID-19 vaccination status. The inquiry is part of the organization’s RapidPass system, designed to expedite the pre-donation procedure by enabling potential donors to fill out necessary paperwork online. The controversy centers around the 79th question on the RapidPass questionnaire, which asks donors whether they have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Those who answer affirmatively are prompted to contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to discuss whether their vaccination status affects their eligibility to donate blood.

Experts from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US are warning that the country is close to a vaccination tipping point: a point where there aren't enough vaccinated people to protect the unvaccinated, leading to deaths that would otherwise have been prevented. A new commentary, written by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and FDA vaccine regulator Peter Marks, highlights COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus as three diseases where vaccinations are crucial in protecting communities. Measles also gets a mention, with a record number of people no longer getting vaccinated against it. That has meant a number of recent...