Prairie State Wire

Illinois GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey vows to oppose the COVID-era mandates that Gov. J.B. Pritzker so fervently supported during COVID-19.  

"As governor, my administration will oppose mandating COVID vaccines for grade school, college and employment. We all know the mandate candidate, J.B. Pritzker, will force it on your kids because he thinks the government knows better than parents,” Bailey said. 

Republicans across the country are running on opposing vaccine mandates and promoting parents' rights on this issue and on a whole host of others.

According to CNN, Republicans like Senate candidates Blake Masters in Arizona and Adam Laxalt in Nevada are making the issue mandating COVID-19 vaccines for schoolchildren the next fight in the parental rights movement. 

This comes after a unanimous vote from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in favor of updating the recommended immunization schedule for 2023 to include the COVID-19 vaccine. 

CNN noted that this is just guidance and that the final decision whether or not COVID-19 vaccines will be mandated is determined by local leaders. However, Laxalt said that the decision could lead to children being forced to vaccinate and that “the fate of our children may have just been decided by 15 unelected bureaucrats on a Zoom call in a unanimous vote.” 

Laxalt vows that he will fight for the right of parents to make these decisions. Masters said of the vote that “the ‘experts’ are coming for our kids.” Republican gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin Tim Michels also chimed in tweeting, “The COVID vaccine is new and should not be treated like more established vaccines. When I’m governor, parents, not the state, will decide what’s best. We won’t mandate it for school attendance.” 

Tudor Dixon in Michigan, who is challenging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, said, “Parents should be in charge of deciding if the COVID-19 vaccine is right for their child – not the CDC or Gretchen Whitmer’s bureaucrats.” 

According to the Chicago City Wire, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot decided against enforcing her 2021 vaccine mandate for Chicago Police officers. 

This came after she apparently suspended numerous officers for refusing to get the COVID-19 jab. In response, Chicago radio personality and frequent Lightfoot critic Dan Proft tweeted, “As I said on @MorningAnswer, Mayor Triple Threat is just another in the long line of press release pols in Chicago, her 'bring it on' bravado notwithstanding. She blinked. Chicago police who failed to comply with vax mandate will not be placed in no-pay status at this time.” 

After this, she filed a lawsuit asking Chicago Police officers to stop “from engaging in, supporting or encouraging any work stoppage or strike by refusing to comply with the city’s lawful [vaccination policy].” 

The Fraternal Order of Police responded on Twitter saying that it never supported this, and it told officers to “hold the line.”