Republican lawmakers nationwide have submitted legislation to ban COVID-19 vaccine mandates and passports – The Boston Globe

In more than 40 states, Republican lawmakers have submitted legislation aimed at restricting coronavirus vaccine passports and mandates, according to data compiled as recently as early July by the National Academy for State Health Policy. The bills largely target the ability for businesses to require vaccinations as a condition of work or to receive service, and schools to require immunization for attendance.

At least eight states have enacted legislation that limits or bans coronavirus shot mandates, according to the NCSL. Such states include Tennessee, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, and Montana. More than a dozen states have such legislation still pending.

But states are also taking aim at the ability of businesses to require shots through bills targeting vaccine passports, which provide proof of vaccination for various activities, such as travel, sporting events, and concerts. At least 11 states have enacted legislation prohibiting their use among them Florida, Iowa, North Dakota, Texas, and Indiana, according to the NCSL. More than a dozen states have such legislation still pending.

In Florida, for instance, Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation banning vaccine passports in his state in May, citing local and state government overreach. Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings sued the state over its prohibition on vaccine requirements on Tuesday. The company accused the state of preventing it from being able to resume safe trips.

White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci decried the partisan divide over the weekend, repeating his long-standing refrain that the virus does not know whether a person is a Democrat, a Republican, or an independent. He also said there should be additional coronavirus vaccine requirements at the local level.

Were talking about life-and-death situations, Fauci told Jake Tapper while on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday. Weve lost 600,000 Americans already, and were still losing more people. There have been 4 million deaths worldwide. This is serious business.

Recent polling has also suggested that vaccine hesitancy has largely been driven by Republicans. Over 67 percent of adults nationwide have received at least one vaccination against the deadly virus, according to data from the CDC. But of those surveyed in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 47 percent of Republicans said they were not likely to get vaccinated, compared to only 6 percent of Democrats who responded the same.

The politicization of the virus and subsequent vaccination campaigns exacerbated last year by former president Donald Trump has contributed to a number of wins across the country for the antivaccine crowd, threatening the nations progress against the pandemic in the process.

The partisan divide over vaccinations was highlighted in full force on Tuesday when the Tennessean reported that the Tennessee Department of Public Health was halting all vaccine outreach efforts to adolescents regardless of disease amid growing pressure from Republican state lawmakers.

The report came only days after a top vaccine official in the state said she was fired over the issue of vaccinating teenagers and warned in a blistering statement that the public was in grave danger because of the actions of lawmakers.

Some Republican governors, for their part, have been imploring residents to get vaccinated against the virus as their states see a spike in cases and hospitalizations, driven primarily by the Delta variant. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson expressed his own concern while speaking with Dana Bash on CNNs State of the Union in early July.

We are in a race, Hutchinson said. And if we stopped right here, and we didnt get a greater percent of our population vaccinated, then were going to have trouble in the next school year and over the winter. So, we want to get ahead of that curve.

The majority of state legislatures have adjourned for the year except for about a dozen, including in Massachusetts, according to the NCSL. Although its unclear if similar bills will be introduced in the next session, Republican lawmakers have already made considerable headway in altering public health policy.

This is no time for politics. This is a public health issue, Fauci said on ABCs This Week on Sunday. Weve got to get away from this divisiveness that has really been a problem right from the very beginning with this outbreak.

Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shannonlarson98.

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Republican lawmakers nationwide have submitted legislation to ban COVID-19 vaccine mandates and passports - The Boston Globe