*This petition is in no way against the Covid - 19 vaccine, or against vaccines of any kind. This following information is regarding a very small part of the population with severe health issues*
      As it stands, people without vaccines are unable to participate in many activities. In areas of the country that have implemented a vaccine passport, those who are unable to safely get the Covid - 19 vaccine (or a vaccine of any sort) due to an underlying medical condition are not allowed to go to the pharmacy, grocery store, take public transport, attend concerts/games, enter some medical facilities, and more. Recreation aside, people like me are unable to visit their physicians for life saving treatments because they are not eligible for the vaccine passport. They may need to utilize public transport to get to their physicians, and/or in my case, utilize out of town accommodations for specialists who are not local.
      Many people with rare, chronic, little understood conditions run the risk of severe complications. Those complications, coupled with an existing condition could lead to death if they get vaccinated.
      Many conditions, including auto immune conditions, destroy the body through an increased immune response. Things such as vaccines, in particular, the Covid-19 vaccine, create an increased immune response. Someone who's body is already under attack due to an increased immune response is at high risk for complications due to vaccines of any kind. There are some who are allergic to an ingredient present in the vaccines that are currently available.
      In areas where a vaccine passport has been implemented, there are currently no exemptions available. There is no option for entry with a mask if someone is unable to safely get the vaccine. There is no option for "negative test result" or vaccine card. It is simply no vaccine passport, no entry.
      How is it equal, how is it fair, how is progressive to discriminate against people who already have the decks stacked against them? It doesn't matter if you're a republican or a democrat, our leaders have a moral responsibility to put people who are the least fortunate out of harms way and to give them the chance at the closest thing possible to a normal life.
      The vaccine was created to "protect those who cannot protect themselves." Now, those who cannot protect themselves are being forced to make the tough decision - live a life where they cannot so much as go to the grocery store or pick up their prescriptions at the pharmacy, take public transportation, or regain the right to enter establishments outside of their home, or, take a vaccine that could make them even sicker, or worse, kill them. *(This statement is not to say the vaccine would kill someone, but rather, to bring awareness to how those who already suffer from severe medical issues could experience further medical complications due to the immune response vaccines cause.*)
       Having a disability and being chronically ill already prevents those effected the chance at having a normal life. They feel isolated, misunderstood, and alone.
       Without a medical exemption to the vaccine mandates, we are forcing those too sick to get the vaccine to make an impossible decision. We are forcing them out of our society and into the shadows - something our country has worked so very hard to eliminate.
      We ask you as our Governor, as our President, as those who are there to protect us, to please implement a medical exemption for those who have a medical condition that would prevent them from getting the vaccine without potential complications. We ask that you allow those who are too sick to safely get the vaccine to live their lives. We ask that you do not strip us of the few things that give our life meaning and joy. We ask that you stop this discrimination.