Rep. Ron Estes: Vaccine mandates are not the solution
Instead of trusting you to make your own health care decisions — as has always been the case in the U.S. — President Biden has directed an arm of the administrative state, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), to force businesses with 100 or more employees and federal workers to require COVID-19 vaccination. It’s hard to imagine a more heavy-handed, top-down, or divisive course of action for a president to take.
While the mandate has yet to be codified, it’s already been reported that military lawyers have directed chaplains to “Note any comments made by the member that make it appear they are using the religious exemption as a ruse to avoid the vaccine.” This is an egregious violation of their rights. Religious liberties should not be manipulated or trampled for political or any other purposes. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation that would codify that religious freedom exemptions must apply to any OSHA regulations. It would also prohibit OSHA from ever using an emergency temporary standard to mandate a vaccine.
Despite Biden’s announcement on Sept. 9, OSHA has yet to release any guidance or direction to businesses regarding what will be in the mandate. Many companies have nonetheless begun a process that could result in terminations. This highlights that OSHA was never meant to dictate personal medical decisions to Americans, and to do so is a gross overreach of the agency.
Not only is Biden’s order unconstitutional, it does not contribute to building a stronger health care industry. We’re seeing hospitals that were already dealing with staffing issues now unable to staff beds in part as a result of Biden’s unreasonable and unaccommodating mandate. One hospital was even forced to put baby deliveries on hold after maternity workers quit in protest to the mandate. The reduction of the health care workforce caused by this mandate will dramatically lower capacity to respond to COVID or other infectious diseases and high-risk events like heart attacks or strokes.
With the White House pushing political opinions over the medical facts, many seem to believe unvaccinated and vaccinated Americans should be pitted against each other. It’s been claimed that unvaccinated Americans pose a danger to society. Some public figures have even suggested they should be denied medical care and have compared them to terrorists. Rhetoric like this is shameful and should be denounced.
Opposition to federal vaccine mandates doesn’t equate to being anti-vaccine — those two opinions are not mutually exclusive. Millions of Americans have chosen to be vaccinated after determining that taking the COVID-19 vaccine is the right choice for them and their family. While the vaccines have been an important tool for many to lower the risk they may face from severe illness, others have been advised against taking the vaccine by their doctors for personal medical reasons. That’s their right, as well as the best choice for them with their unique medical history. If you are an American citizen, you are entitled to the same rights as any other citizen, no matter your medical history or religious beliefs.
We have many options to help keep our communities safe in addition to the vaccines created from Operation Warp Speed, including regular, rapid testing. Wichita State University’s Molecular Diagnostic Lab is a shining example of the research and innovation here in our own community.
Around the world, our country, and especially our state, has always been known as a place with good-natured neighbors who trust one another. I believe it’s time we get back to that. Instead of pushing people into opposing camps based on their medical status, religious beliefs and choices, we must face the adversity of a pandemic without turning Kansas into a place where suspicion and mistrust of a neighbor’s intentions become standard. While there’s much that Kansans disagree about, I hope we can all agree that the government should respect your right to make personal medical decisions.