HARRISBURG – The Medical Freedom Act pending passage in Pennsylvania proves itself vital after the federal government reversed its draconian quarantine and vaccination policies for COVID-19, Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33) said today.
“This drastic change in guidance is the last nail in the coffin for COVID-19 vaccine mandates that ostracized millions, crippled our economy and destroyed lives,” Mastriano said. “I introduced this bill to shield people from retribution over the medical decisions they alone have the right to make and I won’t stop fighting for that right until its guaranteed by law.”
Earlier this week, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its recommendations for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 to indicate that testing should only occur for symptomatic individuals, contact tracing is only appropriate for health care and certain congregate living settings, and that vaccines don’t protect from breakthrough infection – meaning that unvaccinated Americans should no longer face different rules for masking, quarantines and other intrusive measures.
“The CDC’s about-face comes too little, too late for millions of Americans who were shunned for refusing the vaccine,” Mastriano said. “Protecting the right of all Pennsylvanians to make medically-informed decisions for themselves must happen now to prevent further erosion of our freedoms.”
That’s why Mastriano sponsored the Medical Freedom Act, Senate Bill 471, which prevents state government from imposing vaccination requirements on adults and their children without consent. The legislation also bans employer-mandated vaccine requirements.
The Medical Freedom Act was approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in November and now awaits consideration on the chamber floor.
CONTACT: Doug Zubeck