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Dear Editor:
Democratic Senators Tim Lanane of Anderson and Fady Qaddoura of Indianapolis recently said, “We shouldn’t politicize Hoosiers’ health or lives” referring to HB1001, which supports businesses who give the choice to employees on choosing whether to take the vaccine or not.
This bill would protect employees from being forced to take the COVID vaccine due to religious and or medical exemptions; it would respect the natural immunity of an employee who tested positive with the virus and recovered from the illness; it would also require the employer who insists on unvaccinated employees to take a weekly test to pay for the costs of the tests and it also would not allow an employer to “take an adverse employment action against an employee because the employee has requested or used an exemption from an employer’s COVID-19 immunization requirement.”
Our economy just experienced the most horrific set back due to the forced “lockdown” of businesses in 2020. The hardest hit were small businesses such as individual entrepreneurs, personal care, restaurants and bars, and entertainment – to name a few.
We don’t need to hinder anyone who chooses to work by mandating a vaccine. Every human being is individual in biological make up, and the “one size fits all vaccine” does not work for everyone. Each and every person’s medical situation is unique, and that uniqueness may or may not tolerate the COVID vaccine.
Everyone – the media, the medical industry, social media, politicians, Hollywood, family members and the Chambers of Commerce – needs to stop manipulating and harassing individuals who choose not to take the vaccine. Unvaccinated people have their reasons for not taking the vaccine and we must accept that. This group of unprotected people needs to be added to the protected class groups such as the ethnic, gender identity, race, age, LGBTQ, et al., for protection from discrimination.
As quoted by the two Indiana Legislative Senators, I agree: We should not politicize Hoosiers’ health care and lives, and should support HB1001 and stop the discrimination.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Mari Briggs
Sheridan
In Indiana, businesses are able to set their own terms of employment which has been a hallmark of Indianas supermajority Republican state legislature policy for many years.
Comes now hypocrisy in the form of HB 1001
This same legislature does indeed mandate a full menu of vaccines when children are enrolled in school.
Absent is any apparent outrage requiring new law .. curious if they are in fact sincere regarding vaccine mandates.
A partial list ;
Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTaP and Tdap)
Hepatitis B
Meningococcal ACWY (MCV4)
Meningococcal B (MenB)
12 Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR)
Polio
Substantial vaccination rates are the very thing that will allow us to avoid lockdown events .. keeping businesses large & small operational.
HB 1001 is squarely nothing more than an exercise in pandering to their perceived base, which is apparently comprised of those who are easily misled.
The politics of grievance needs to end as it does nothing to move Indiana forward – shame on the sponsors of such proposed legislation.
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