Virginia's Attorney General issues first opinion on college vaccine mandates - WDBJ7

RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued his first opinion Friday, saying the state’s public universities may not require students to get COVID-19 vaccines.

The decision reverses an opinion by Miyares’ predecessor, Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring, who said Virginia’s public universities have the specific and implied discretion to mandate the COVID vaccine.

“The opinion just says what the law in Virginia says,” Miyares told WDBJ7 in an interview Friday afternoon.

Miyares acknowledged the General Assembly could enact a statute requiring the COVID vaccine, but said lawmakers haven’t done that yet.

“And the law in Virginia, 23.1-800 of the code, says there are these six vaccines that are currently in the Code of Virginia that you have to have in order to attend and graduate from a public college and university in Virginia,” Miyares said. “The COVID vaccine is not listed on that six.”

Virginia Democrats said Miyares is playing politics with public health.

“Once again, we are left with people trying to scramble to figure out what they should be doing,” said Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax Co.) “I find it frustrating and counter to common sense.”

“Yes, we’re surprised,” said Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax). “Yes we believe strongly that it’s the wrong side to come down on, and arguably may not even be constitutional or legal.”

Miyares said he’s pro-vaccine, and that he and members of his family are vaccinated. He said the issue before him is a legal question he said he believes is very clear.

“I said I was going to be an Attorney General that calls balls and strikes, and tells people this is what the law is. That’s what the law is,” Miyares said.

We reached out to Radford University and Virginia Tech for comment on the Attorney General’s opinion.

A spokesperson for Virginia Tech said leaders are aware of the opinion, and are discussing it. Both schools said when and if administrators have a response they’ll let us know.

EARLIER STORY: Virginia’s new Attorney General has issued his first opinion since taking office this month.

Jason Miyares’ legal opinion states Virginia’s higher education intuitions may not require the COVID-19 vaccine as a general condition of enrollment or in-person attendance for its students.

Miyares released the opinion Friday morning and shared it to his Twitter account.

BREAKING: I've issued my first ever Attorney General opinion – Virginia state universities cannot mandate the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for enrollment or in-person attendance.

Check it out here ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/dliMICczCZ

— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) January 28, 2022

Miyares writes the General Assembly may enact a statute requiring the vaccine for in-person attendance, but as of Friday, it has not done so. He said the Code of Virginia does not state Virginia’s public institutions may require vaccines as a condition of enrollment of in-person attendance.

“Although the General Assembly specifically authorized public institutions of higher education to assist the Department of Health and local health departments in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, the legislation did not grant such institutions power to impose vaccine requirements,” Miyares wrote.

The opinion also notes Miyares himself is vaccinated and boosted and that he encourages everyone to get vaccinated.

You can read the full opinion here.

Copyright 2022 WDBJ. All rights reserved.

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Virginia's Attorney General issues first opinion on college vaccine mandates - WDBJ7
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