FFLC Sends Letter to VA Public University Presidents On Why They Can’t Lawfully Require Students To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

On Thursday, the Founding Freedoms Law Center sent letters to the presidents and legal counsel of seven Virginia public universities in response to those institutions’ recent decision to require all students to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in order to return to campus.  The universities included the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, William & Mary, James Madison University, Longwood University, and Old Dominion University.

View FFLC’s full PDF letter here.

FFLC informed the universities that they have no lawful authority to require their students to receive a COVID vaccination and strongly urged them to immediately end their mandates and instead ensure the vaccines are voluntary.

State law explicitly lists the diseases for which a public institution of higher learning is permitted to require vaccination for its students. If the General Assembly has not placed it on the list, public colleges can’t require it – even during a declared emergency. COVID-19 is not on that list.

Federal law, moreover, requires that any experimental drug – which all current COVID-19 vaccinations are under their Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) – must be optional and cannot be required. This law is in part based on the Nuremberg Code, which states that “voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential” when conducting a medical experiment. Federal courts have upheld this principle, even saying that the U.S. military cannot require soldiers to receive non-approved vaccines and “serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs.”

Finally, FFLC cites statistics and various data supporting the conclusion that requiring young adult college students to receive a COVID-19 vaccination will likely cause more harm than good.

While FFLC takes no position on whether any person should receive any of the COVID-19 vaccines now or in the future, it is critical that public institutions in particular be held accountable to following the law and refraining from infringing upon the fundamental liberties of students and citizens.

We look forward to hearing the universities’ response to our letter and are closely monitoring the situation. In the meantime, notwithstanding the universities’ inability to lawfully require a vaccination, any student who wishes to request a religious exemption and would like assistance in the process, feel free to reach out to FFLC through our website at www.foundingfreedomslaw.org/request-help.