Varnum LLP’s Post

Recent court cases have challenged school vaccination rules that don’t allow religious exemptions. The Supreme Court has made it harder for governments to defend these rules if they treat religious practices differently. Some courts agree that only medical exemptions are necessary to protect public health, while others disagree. The legal landscape continues to evolve, and we will see how it shapes public health policies. #PublicHealth #Vaccination #ReligiousExemptions https://lnkd.in/eeCr9iEW

Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement? A landmark legal decision underscores the crucial importance of defending employee rights. Tanja Benton, who was fired for refusing BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee's COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds, has been awarded nearly $700K. This case is a powerful reminder of the legal protections for personal and religious beliefs in the workplace and sets a significant precedent for future disputes over health mandates and individual freedoms. Learn more about this impactful case: https://lnkd.in/edmV3c4a #EmployeeRights #LegalVictory #WorkplaceFreedom #COVID19 #ReligiousFreedom #EmploymentLaw #MobileDrugTesting Www.drugtesters.net

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging time for all of us. However, vaccination has proven to be the most effective public health intervention in human history. More lives have been saved and more misery averted through vaccination than any other public health measure. While there are a few legitimate reasons to decline vaccination, such as documented allergies to its ingredients or certain medical conditions, religion is not one of them. The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines have been proven both effective and safe, and declining vaccination due to misinformation is simply not worth the risk. Unfortunately, some people have been misinformed by a group of fake experts, some with fraudulent CVs, who are acting as political operatives for Trump and the GOP. It's important to rely on credible sources of information when making decisions about your health and the health of those around you. Let's all do our part to protect ourselves and our communities by getting vaccinated.

History offers us a chilling lesson. The notorious medical experiments on non-consenting concentration camp inmates during World War II, led by Nazi physicians, mark the extremes of unchecked power. Such atrocities birthed the Nuremberg Code, which enshrines the principles of voluntary and informed consent for human experimentation. Its standards, foundational to modern medical ethics, emphasize that patients must be comprehensively informed and make voluntary health decisions. The question that so far has not been addressed openly is whether the Nuremberg Code was violated during the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. If solemn promises are made saying such atrocities should never be repeated, how are we to verify if these promises are actually kept?

While we are clearly in a different jurisdiction here in Australia, the reasoning behind this court case may eventually be seen as relevant to the thousands of similar cases here in Australia. This bio-statistical research scientist's argument that '... she "cannot in good conscience" receive the vaccine because it "would not only defile her body but also anger and dishonor God.' seems a very valid one in terms of rejecting the mandate on religious grounds. Perhaps a time will come even here in Australia when conscientiously held religious views may be seen as relevant. Also there may come a time when our judges accept that the 13 Federal Privacy Principles should have been adhered to and therefore that the mandates were actually illegal (and not just unethical and immoral).

A wave of lawmakers who oppose #vaccine requirements are winning elections for state legislatures amid a national drop in childhood vaccination rates. Their victories come as part of a political backlash to the #covid19 pandemic restrictions and the proliferation of misinformation about the safety of vaccines introduced to fight the coronavirus. Interestingly, once advocated by left-leaning activists, the current anti-vaccine movement is driven by conservatives under the banner of protecting individual rights. Of note, the share of Americans who believe vaccines are safe has fallen by six percentage points to 71 percent since 2021, while the number of those who believe that vaccines cause #autism and contain toxins is rising. 

Quick reminder: We invite you to join the online event on 24 September: ‘A Mother’s Ignorance: Gender, Trust, and Law in Vaccination,’ organized by the #MinervaLAWNetwork. In this talk, Rebekah McWhirter will discuss how legal measures have improved vaccination rates over the past two centuries and examine the impact of gender expectations and public trust on vaccination laws. Register here: https://lnkd.in/dfUpj78Y #PublicHealth #Vaccination #HealthLaw #MinervaLAWNetwork #GenderandLaw #TrustInLaw

#hotoffthepress https://lnkd.in/dHFx2ugq In this new paper just out now in #PNASnexus, using 24k+ people in the G-7 countries, we show that a hypothetical #default vaccination policy lowers #behavioural #intentions to take the vaccine. When people are made to think about this #default #nudge with a nudge+, the behavioural intentions decrease even further but now #public #support for the nudge also decreases. We argue reflection on policies can help align #policy (dis)#effectiveness and #policy #support. The study was funded by The British Academy and joint with Peter John Brendan Nyhan Andrew Hunter Richard Koenig Manu Savani Peter John Loewen Blake Lee-Whiting John McAndrews

Sharing this information in case you have friends who need a gentle reminder: A more serious clade of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) has emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and is now spreading through sexual contact, particularly among sex workers. Given this development, it’s crucial to prioritize vaccination, especially with events like the gay pride parade approaching. Vaccination appointments can be scheduled through myturn. #infectionprevention #vaccination

Are vaccine mandates in a Queensland workplace an unlawful breach of your human rights? This week's headlines suggested the answer is now yes. But if you thought so, because of the headlines, you'd be wrong. The case in the Supreme Court actually turned on the process used to make the decision. Commissioner Carroll directed all police officers to be vaccinated (with some limited exceptions). She did not consider the human rights which would be limited by her decision [135]. It was that failure of procedure which made her direction unlawful. If she had followed the correct procedure, the Court decided: The alternatives to mandatory vaccination would not have achieved the same purpose [452]. The limit imposed on the human right was justified [459]. So a direction to vaccinate could lawfully have been given. It would not have breached the Human Rights Act. This is not quite the victory that some in the anti-vaccination community have claimed. H/T to Peter Roney KC for his helpful summary and generous patience answering my questions. Link to the judgment in the comments. #humanrights #humanrightslaw #police #queenslandbusiness #queensland #covid19 #covid19response #covid19vaccine #covidvaccine #vaccines #vaccination #mandates #thisisqueensland