[Washington Examiner] New Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a legal opinion that public universities in the commonwealth could not mandate that students receive coronavirus vaccines or booster shots in order to attend in-person classes.
Miyares, who took office earlier this month, issued the memo Wednesday at the request of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who campaigned on ending mask and vaccine mandates.
"Although the General Assembly specifically authorized public institutions of higher education to assist the Department of Health and local health departments in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, the legislation did not grant such institutions power to impose vaccine requirements," Miyares wrote.
The opinion cited a Virginia law that specifically states against what diseases students at public universities must be vaccinated. Miyares said that because of the clarity of the statute, it was unlawful to require COVID-19 vaccinations because of its absence in the statute.
"’[T]here is no question that the General Assembly could enact a statute requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for in-person school attendance,’" Miyares wrote. "As of this writing, it has not done so." |