Make the COVID-19 Vaccine Optional, Not Mandatory, for Oakland University Students
Make the COVID-19 Vaccine Optional, Not Mandatory, for Oakland University Students
The Issue
UPDATE 8/23/21: This petition was originally created back in April when OU initially announced a COVID vaccine mandate for all students living on campus. I am updating this petition to encompass the most recent announcement from OU. This afternoon, President Ora announced that the COVID vaccine will now be mandatory for ALL students planning to attend in-person courses and other university activities, as well as for all faculty and staff working on campus or at off-site locations. This announcement coincided with the full FDA approval of the Pfizer COVID vaccine.
The timing of this mandate also happened to occur AFTER the due date for the Fall 2021 semester tuition payment. The expanded vaccination mandate requires that those who have not yet been vaccinated receive their first shot by Friday, September 3, and their second shot for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines by Friday, October 1. This gives students just under two weeks to decide whether to vaccinate or not, or what steps they want to take regarding their education. Requests for medical and religious exemptions to the vaccination requirement will be considered, but exempted individuals will be required to have frequent COVID-19 testing. And the incentivization will continue as OU is offering $100 incentives for all students, faculty and staff who upload their data to the portal.
As I stated in the original petition, each student, faculty, and staff member have the right to make informed decisions about their body and their health. OU’s decision to change the original mandate and expand it to all students, whether the vaccine is FDA approved or not, is unfair and unjust especially so late in the registration and decision-making process. The goal of this petition is to show OU that our community will not stand for medical mandates and to have them reconsider and revoke the mandate.
Please continue to share this petition far and wide!!
ORIGINAL PETITION:
As of Monday, April 5th, Oakland University has announced that the COVID-19 vaccine will be mandatory for students living on campus. OU is requiring students who plan to live in the residence halls, apartments and cottages this fall to be vaccinated before moving in on August 27th. Exceptions will be made for those who seek an exemption based on religious or medical reasons.
Oakland is the first public university in Michigan to require COVID vaccination despite the fact that a recent poll found that 71% of Michiganders overwhelmingly oppose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
To mandate a vaccine that has not been approved by the FDA but is authorized for emergency use is a violation of student rights and federal law.
Federal law 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III) requires that the person to whom an EUA vaccine is administered be advised, “of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product, of the consequences, if any, of refusing administration of the product, and of the alternatives to the product that are available and of their benefits and risks”.
The reason for the right of refusal stems from the fact that EUA products are by definition experimental. Under the Nuremberg Code, no one may be coerced to participate in a medical experiment. Consent of the individual is “absolutely essential.”
Even though many university vaccination requirements for licensed and approved vaccines have been upheld in court, no court has ever upheld a mandate for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) vaccine, which all COVID vaccines are at present. In fact, a federal court has held that EUA vaccines cannot be mandated to soldiers in the U.S. military, who enjoy far fewer rights than civilians, Doe #1 v. Rumsfeld, 297 F.Supp.2d 119 (2003). That court held ".... the United States cannot demand that members of the armed forces also serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs."
Moreover, the new rule was justified by telling students via email that “The most effective way to prevent infection and transmission of this virus is vaccination.” This is a misleading statement. According to the director of CBER at the FDA, "At this time, data are not available to make a determination about how long the vaccines will provide protection, nor are we certain that the vaccines prevent transmission...". In other words, the COVID-19 vaccines have not been shown to prevent transmission of or infection with SARS-CoV-2. The vaccines have only been shown to reduce symptomatic COVID-19 illness. Our own state has already seen the evidence of this. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, at least 246 people in Michigan who were “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19 were later diagnosed with the virus, including 11 who were hospitalized and three who died.
Not to mention that adverse events have been reported following COVID vaccination. So far, released VAERS data has shown 50,861 reports of adverse events following COVID vaccines, including 2,249 deaths and 7,726 serious injuries between Dec. 14, 2020 and March 26, 2021. OU must remain cognizant of a potential danger of indiscriminate vaccination to some students. Some students may have side effects, and others may not. It is the right of the student to decide whether they want to take that risk. This potential danger is not only a safety risk, it would also potentially pose a risk of liability to the university.
Finally, OU must respect student rights to informed consent. Informed consent is an ethical concept that is codified in the law and is in daily practice at every health care institution. Three fundamental criteria are needed for clinical informed consent: the patient must be competent, adequately informed and not coerced. Mandating the vaccine as well as using coercion, including the enticement with a free gift, violates informed consent.
The COVID-19 vaccines are 'authorized' under an emergency - they are experimental, unlicensed, unapproved, and lack any long-term safety data. Vaccine mandates violate informed consent, bodily autonomy, and our fundamental freedoms. As students of Oakland University, we must object to this and make it optional for all individuals. We need to prioritize student safety and health, but also student personal liberties.
Students, staff and family members, PLEASE reach out to the Oakland University Dean of Students, President’s Office, Student Congress or University Housing and voice your concerns.
Federal law 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III):
For more information on EUA:
https://www.fda.gov/media/97321/download
What we know about vaccine effect on transmission and infection:
Under FDA Definition COVID Vaccines are Experimental:
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/types-applications/investigational-new-drug-ind-application#Introduction
The Nuremburg Code:
https://media.tghn.org/medialibrary/2011/04/BMJ_No_7070_Volume_313_The_Nuremberg_Code.pdf
Informed Consent:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28974311/
Michigan Residents Overwhelmingly Oppose COVID Vaccine Mandate:
https://www.mrgmi.com/2021/03/25/michigan-residents-overwhelmingly-oppose-covid-vaccine-mandate/
246 infected, 3 dead from COVID-19 in Michigan despite being vaccinated:
VAERS Data:
https://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?TABLE=ON&GROUP1=CAT&EVENTS=ON&VAX=COVID19
The Issue
UPDATE 8/23/21: This petition was originally created back in April when OU initially announced a COVID vaccine mandate for all students living on campus. I am updating this petition to encompass the most recent announcement from OU. This afternoon, President Ora announced that the COVID vaccine will now be mandatory for ALL students planning to attend in-person courses and other university activities, as well as for all faculty and staff working on campus or at off-site locations. This announcement coincided with the full FDA approval of the Pfizer COVID vaccine.
The timing of this mandate also happened to occur AFTER the due date for the Fall 2021 semester tuition payment. The expanded vaccination mandate requires that those who have not yet been vaccinated receive their first shot by Friday, September 3, and their second shot for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines by Friday, October 1. This gives students just under two weeks to decide whether to vaccinate or not, or what steps they want to take regarding their education. Requests for medical and religious exemptions to the vaccination requirement will be considered, but exempted individuals will be required to have frequent COVID-19 testing. And the incentivization will continue as OU is offering $100 incentives for all students, faculty and staff who upload their data to the portal.
As I stated in the original petition, each student, faculty, and staff member have the right to make informed decisions about their body and their health. OU’s decision to change the original mandate and expand it to all students, whether the vaccine is FDA approved or not, is unfair and unjust especially so late in the registration and decision-making process. The goal of this petition is to show OU that our community will not stand for medical mandates and to have them reconsider and revoke the mandate.
Please continue to share this petition far and wide!!
ORIGINAL PETITION:
As of Monday, April 5th, Oakland University has announced that the COVID-19 vaccine will be mandatory for students living on campus. OU is requiring students who plan to live in the residence halls, apartments and cottages this fall to be vaccinated before moving in on August 27th. Exceptions will be made for those who seek an exemption based on religious or medical reasons.
Oakland is the first public university in Michigan to require COVID vaccination despite the fact that a recent poll found that 71% of Michiganders overwhelmingly oppose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
To mandate a vaccine that has not been approved by the FDA but is authorized for emergency use is a violation of student rights and federal law.
Federal law 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III) requires that the person to whom an EUA vaccine is administered be advised, “of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product, of the consequences, if any, of refusing administration of the product, and of the alternatives to the product that are available and of their benefits and risks”.
The reason for the right of refusal stems from the fact that EUA products are by definition experimental. Under the Nuremberg Code, no one may be coerced to participate in a medical experiment. Consent of the individual is “absolutely essential.”
Even though many university vaccination requirements for licensed and approved vaccines have been upheld in court, no court has ever upheld a mandate for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) vaccine, which all COVID vaccines are at present. In fact, a federal court has held that EUA vaccines cannot be mandated to soldiers in the U.S. military, who enjoy far fewer rights than civilians, Doe #1 v. Rumsfeld, 297 F.Supp.2d 119 (2003). That court held ".... the United States cannot demand that members of the armed forces also serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs."
Moreover, the new rule was justified by telling students via email that “The most effective way to prevent infection and transmission of this virus is vaccination.” This is a misleading statement. According to the director of CBER at the FDA, "At this time, data are not available to make a determination about how long the vaccines will provide protection, nor are we certain that the vaccines prevent transmission...". In other words, the COVID-19 vaccines have not been shown to prevent transmission of or infection with SARS-CoV-2. The vaccines have only been shown to reduce symptomatic COVID-19 illness. Our own state has already seen the evidence of this. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, at least 246 people in Michigan who were “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19 were later diagnosed with the virus, including 11 who were hospitalized and three who died.
Not to mention that adverse events have been reported following COVID vaccination. So far, released VAERS data has shown 50,861 reports of adverse events following COVID vaccines, including 2,249 deaths and 7,726 serious injuries between Dec. 14, 2020 and March 26, 2021. OU must remain cognizant of a potential danger of indiscriminate vaccination to some students. Some students may have side effects, and others may not. It is the right of the student to decide whether they want to take that risk. This potential danger is not only a safety risk, it would also potentially pose a risk of liability to the university.
Finally, OU must respect student rights to informed consent. Informed consent is an ethical concept that is codified in the law and is in daily practice at every health care institution. Three fundamental criteria are needed for clinical informed consent: the patient must be competent, adequately informed and not coerced. Mandating the vaccine as well as using coercion, including the enticement with a free gift, violates informed consent.
The COVID-19 vaccines are 'authorized' under an emergency - they are experimental, unlicensed, unapproved, and lack any long-term safety data. Vaccine mandates violate informed consent, bodily autonomy, and our fundamental freedoms. As students of Oakland University, we must object to this and make it optional for all individuals. We need to prioritize student safety and health, but also student personal liberties.
Students, staff and family members, PLEASE reach out to the Oakland University Dean of Students, President’s Office, Student Congress or University Housing and voice your concerns.
Federal law 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III):
For more information on EUA:
https://www.fda.gov/media/97321/download
What we know about vaccine effect on transmission and infection:
Under FDA Definition COVID Vaccines are Experimental:
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/types-applications/investigational-new-drug-ind-application#Introduction
The Nuremburg Code:
https://media.tghn.org/medialibrary/2011/04/BMJ_No_7070_Volume_313_The_Nuremberg_Code.pdf
Informed Consent:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28974311/
Michigan Residents Overwhelmingly Oppose COVID Vaccine Mandate:
https://www.mrgmi.com/2021/03/25/michigan-residents-overwhelmingly-oppose-covid-vaccine-mandate/
246 infected, 3 dead from COVID-19 in Michigan despite being vaccinated:
VAERS Data:
https://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?TABLE=ON&GROUP1=CAT&EVENTS=ON&VAX=COVID19
Petition Closed
Share this petition
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on April 8, 2021