FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 20, 2022 Contact: Joaquín Romero joaquin.romero@nmlegis.gov (505) 506-5798 Senator Gregg Schmedes Asks Governor to State Position on COVID Vaccine Mandate for Children
SANTA FE – Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee voted to add the COVID vaccine to the immunization schedule for children. In a follow-up statement to the Associated Press, the CDC went out of its way to remind parents that immunization mandates are a function of the state, not the federal government.
In response to the news, Senator Gregg Schmedes (District 19-Tijeras), a physician, penned a letter to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham imploring her to make public her position on a COVID vaccine mandate for schoolchildren.
“The CDC’s recommendation is particularly concerning for New Mexicans, and parents deserve to know where the Governor stands on this issue. During the pandemic, she weaponized CDC guidelines to create some of the most stringent policies in the nation, including now disproven school closures. At least 86% of children have already been exposed to COVID. Parents should not have to worry that the government will force their children to get an unnecessary vaccine in order to go to school. I urge the Governor to make her position on this public immediately.”
The letter to the Governor is attached.
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