Louisiana’s attorney general is scrutinizing some colleges’ vaccine policies to ensure they don’t coerce students who object to getting the shot, even as concerns rise about the spread of the Delta variant and the resulting spike in COVID-19 cases around the state.
The Attorney General’s Office has emphasized that the COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for only emergency use and that Louisianans have a right not to get the vaccine since the Food and Drug Administration has yet to grant the vaccines full approval.
In the case of Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) in Monroe, Attorney General Jeff Landry said that even though VCOM’s vaccine policy had been revised, it does not comply with state law. Three VCOM students have alleged that they have faced coercion over their religious objections to getting the vaccine.
“As I have previously stated, I intend to pursue legal action to protect the rights of Louisiana residents attending VCOM who have declared their objections to the coercive mandate to be vaccinated with an emergency-use-approved vaccine (EUA),” Landry said in a July 28 letter to the VCOM president.
In a previous letter to Louisiana State University, Landry emphasized that under the FDA’s emergency-approval doctrine, residents must be told that they have the option to accept or reject a vaccine.
LSU spokesman Ernie Ballard III indicated in an email to the Louisiana Record that a resolution passed by the LSU Board of Supervisors continues to guide the university’s approach on vaccine issues.
“The board urges and requests the Louisiana Department of Health to include, upon full approval by the FDA, the approved vaccinations for COVID-19 in its schedule of immunizations required for attendance at Louisiana public colleges and universities and will inform students of the relevant statutory opt-outs,” the LSU resolution approved in June states.
In the meantime, the university will use a strategy of incentives and communication to encourage students and employees to voluntarily get the vaccine, according to the resolution.
The Louisiana Department of Health said that on July 27, the state recorded nearly 6,800 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day level since Jan. 6. And nearly 1,400 COVID-19-positive individuals are hospitalized statewide, 90% of whom are unvaccinated, according to the Governor’s Office.