Statehouse News Bureau

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DeWine Opposes Bill Preventing Employers And Schools From Mandating Vaccinations

By Jo Ingles

Published June 13, 2021 at 12:38 PM EDT

Gov. Mike DeWine gets second COVID-19 vaccine [Office of Gov. Mike DeWine] — Gov. Mike DeWine gets second COVID-19 vaccine

A bill in the Ohio House would make it illegal for employers or schools to mandate vaccinations. Gov. Mike DeWine says he is opposed to the measure.

The bill (HB 248)would do away with existing vaccine mandates and prevent any new requirements for COVID-19 vaccination shots. But Gov. DeWine says it’s important to remember how far the nation has come by mandating vaccines for illnesses like measles.

“I think it’s important for us to remember what great strides have been made, how our lives have been changed by vaccines," he said. "Probably millions of people’s lives around the world have been changed for the better."

In a recent committee hearing on the house bill, an anti-vax doctor from Ohio made national headlines when she falsely stated COVID vaccines could magnetize people, allowing keys to stick to their foreheads.