{"id":1261741,"date":"2022-02-01T13:53:27","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T18:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1261741"},"modified":"2022-02-01T13:53:33","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T18:53:33","slug":"three-virginia-universities-end-vaccine-mandate-after-ags-legal-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-virginia-universities-end-vaccine-mandate-after-ags-legal-opinion\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Virginia Universities End Vaccine Mandate After AG\u2019s Legal Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthree-virginia-universities-end-vaccine-mandate-after-ags-legal-opinion%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1261741&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Three large Virginia universities have ended their COVID-19 vaccine mandate following a new legal opinion by Attorney General Jason Miyares.<\/p>\n<p>Miyares released the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oag.state.va.us\/files\/Opinions\/2022\/22-004-Youngkin-issued.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opinion<\/a> on Friday that stated Virginia university campuses cannot require the mandate unless it is listed among required immunizations for higher education institutions.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Miyares highlighted in the opinion that \u201cas recognized in the prior opinion, \u2018[t]here is no question that the General Assembly could enact a statute requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for in-person school attendance,&#8217;\u201d according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oag.state.va.us\/media-center\/news-releases\/2295-january-28-2022-attorney-general-miyares-issues-legal-opinion-that-public-universities-cannot-mandate-covid-19-vaccine-for-students\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> from Miyares\u2019 office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs of this writing, it has not done so. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Assembly has amended other statutes to address pandemic-related issues,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: I&#8217;ve issued my first ever Attorney General opinion \u2013 Virginia state universities cannot mandate the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for enrollment or in-person attendance.<\/p>\n<p>Check it out here \u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dliMICczCZ\">pic.twitter.com\/dliMICczCZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JasonMiyaresVA\/status\/1487069372262883330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough 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,\u201d the opinion included.<\/p>\n<p>The legal opinion follows an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.virginia.gov\/media\/governorvirginiagov\/governor-of-virginia\/pdf\/ed\/ED-2---Executive-Branch-Employees.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">executive directive<\/a> signed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on his first day in office.<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin signed 11 executive orders and directives on his first day in office after being sworn in last month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo matter who you voted for, I pledge to be your advocate, your voice, your governor,\u201d Youngkin&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/wjla.com\/news\/local\/read-virginia-governor-glenn-youngkins-inauguration-speech\">said<\/a> at his inauguration speech. \u201cWe stand here on January 15, 2022 filled with hope and optimism for the years ahead. This hope and optimism springs from a shared vision for the future, and also from knowing what we have been through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The three Virginia universities included Virginia Tech, George Mason University, and the University of Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven our high vaccination rate, the continued decline of the omicron variant, the Governor\u2019s recent executive orders and directives, and the recent Attorney General\u2019s opinion, we will now strongly encourage vaccination protocols for all Mason students, faculty, and staff, though we no longer require them,\u201d George Mason University President Gregory Washington said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/president.gmu.edu\/news\/2022-01\/president-washington-announces-covid-next-steps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">message<\/a> to the university on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia Tech President Tim Sands also send a <a href=\"https:\/\/vtx.vt.edu\/articles\/2022\/01\/president-message-013122.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">message<\/a> on Monday to university students and staff following the opinion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast week, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oag.state.va.us\/files\/Opinions\/2022\/22-004-Youngkin-issued.pdf\">legal opinion<\/a> concerning vaccine requirements that reverses the preceding attorney general\u2019s opinion upon which our vaccine policy was based. Consequently, Virginia Tech will no longer require students to be vaccinated as a condition of enrollment or in-person instruction, effective immediately,\u201d Sands added.<\/p>\n<p>University of Virginia President Jim Ryan shared a similar <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.virginia.edu\/updates\/message-regarding-uva-vaccine-and-booster-requirements\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> with the university community on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast Friday, the Virginia attorney general issued an advisory opinion indicating that public colleges and universities do not have the legal authority to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for students as a condition of enrollment or in-person attendance,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis advisory opinion supersedes the advisory opinion from the prior attorney general, which concluded that universities do have the legal authority to mandate COVID-19 vaccines. Attorney general opinions, though they do not have the force of law the way a court ruling does, nonetheless warrant careful consideration,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\">member<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three large Virginia universities have ended their COVID-19 vaccine mandate following a new legal opinion by Attorney General Jason Miyares. Miyares released the opinion on Friday that stated Virginia university campuses cannot require the mandate unless it is listed among required immunizations for higher education institutions. Attorney General Miyares highlighted in the opinion that \u201cas &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1261741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1261741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1261741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1261741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1261741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}