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Governor Opposes Bill That Prevents Ohio Employers And Schools From Mandating Vaccines

Gov. Mike DeWine gets second COVID-19 vaccine
Office of Gov. Mike DeWine
Gov. Mike DeWine gets second COVID-19 vaccine

A bill in the Ohio House would make it illegal for employers or schools to mandate vaccinations. Gov. Mike DeWine has some thoughts on the measure.

The bill (HB 248)would do away with existing vaccine mandates and prevent any new requirements for COVID-19 vaccination shots.

But Gov. Mike DeWine says it’s important to remember how far the nation has come by mandating vaccines for illnesses like measles. 

“I think it’s important for us to remember what great strides have been made, how our lives have been changed by vaccines. Probably millions of people’s lives around the world have been changed for the better," DeWine says. 

DeWine has pushed Ohioans to get COVID vaccines - even creating the Vax-A-Million weekly lottery to award a million dollars each to five vaccinated Ohio adults and college tuition to five teens between 12 and 17. But he's said he would not mandate the vaccine.

In a recent committee hearing on the bill, an anti-vax doctor from Ohio made national headlineswhen she falsely stated COVID vaccines could "magnetize" people, allowing keys to stick to their foreheads. One supporter of that bill tried to show the committee how a key stuck to her neck, but it quickly fell off.

Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.