Who We Are
We are a group of Maryland residents who have been working hard to navigate and address the University System of Maryland's COVID-19 vaccine mandate since April 23, 2021.
Background
April 23, 2021: University System of Maryland* (USM) COVID-19 vaccine mandates were announced. Students and employees were mandated to receive the emergency use authorized COVID-19 vaccines in order to return to campus. The possibility of medical and religious exemptions existed, but USM schools were slow to communicate the process and not all students or employees qualified for an approved exemption. Anyone who did not comply would be un-enrolled or terminated.
January 2022: Boosters were mandated for all USM residential students At least one campus, UMD-College Park, went beyond the system mandate and mandated the booster for all students and employees.
August 2022: USM Chancellor Perman released a statement about the April 2021 vaccine mandate, stating “It was the right decision” and “These are the lessons we’ll apply to our next public health threat.” In response, an Open Letter to Chancellor Perman outlines why the Chancellor’s reasoning and continued support for vaccine mandates is faulty for numerous reasons, including the Chancellor's tenuous evidence that lacks validated and publicly available substantiation without full transparency to the students, faculty, and staff within the USM system.
Currently, the system-wide mandate has been lifted. However, there are still USM campuses with mandates. Nothing is preventing the mandate from being reinstated. There are other publicly funded IHEs in Maryland which also still have mandates.
It is imperative that USM leadership demonstrates transparency of their decision-making, including revelation of USM and school specific data and pre-established metrics used to inform their decisions. Proper, continuous, and verifiable evaluation using transparent data and measures is needed before making any claims to the past, current, or future use and success of USM Covid-19 Mandates.
This has yet to occur.
Maryland HB 699 “Vaccination by Choice”
HB 699 prohibits state and certain local entities from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for employment, or continued employment. The bill includes Maryland Institutions of Higher Education, as they are considered “ subdivisions of the state”. Delegate Morgan has also requested an amendment which would also prohibit COVID-19 vaccine as a requirement for student enrollment or attendance. The hearing is March 6, 2023 starting at 1 pm in the Maryland House HGO committee.
Why It Matters For Maryland
Equitable Access to Education
COVID-19 vaccine mandates block equitable access to employment and education at Maryland’s tax-payer funded IHE’s. Mandates remain in effect at some USM schools and not everyone is eligible for an exemption. And, not everyone who qualifies receives an exemption. Valid concerns for the disparate impact on underrepresented communities need to be evaluated. Students at USM schools need action from the state government to stop these ineffective and dangerous mandates.
Ineffective Vaccines
The original mandates assumed the COVID-19 vaccines would prevent transmission and infection. However, the FDA declared in Dec 2020 that vaccine recipients could still be infected and there is “no evidence that the vaccine prevents transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from person to person." These scientific facts are acknowledged by the CDC, the FDA, HHS, the WHO, health ministries and medical researchers around the world, and are confirmed by vaccine manufacturers.
Serious Vaccine Risks
College students are at high risk of serious adverse reactions from COVID-19 vaccines.
In fact, risk is estimated to be 1 serious adverse event per 800 vaccine recipients (Fraiman et al, Vaccine, Aug 2022). Risks include Myocarditis/ Pericarditis, Menstrual and Reproductive Issues, Clotting, and Strokes. The FDA’s external review panel voted 16-2 against a blanket approval for boosters for this age group.
Low Risk from the Virus
College students were never a high risk group for adverse outcomes from the virus as they are generally young and healthy. UMD/CP recently said the new sub-variants of COVID-19 do not pose a risk for severe illness for most people. Mandates ignore risk-benefit considerations, including age, co-comorbidities, prior infection and emerging data on vaccine safety and efficacy.
Mandates are Ineffective
Vaccine mandates do not result in zero transmission. The fact is that many campuses with mandates had waves of infection despite high vaccination rates. Since mid-2021, the media have reported many examples of highly vaccinated populations experiencing outbreaks.
Mandates Cause Harm
Physical, Mental, and Emotional harms associated with the COVID-19 vaccine and the USM COVID-19 vaccine mandates are documented. An unsponsored survey of USM students, parents, and staff, found the majority of respondents (80%) suffered physical and psychological harm resulting from the mandates. Reported outcomes included: Depression, Anxiety, Isolation, Ostracization, Stress, and Vaccine Injury. The intent of the survey was to inform and affect positive change. To date, there has been no official USM leadership inquiry into the mandate collateral impacts. Peer-reviewed publications (e.g. BMJ Global Health, BMJ Journal of Medical Ethics) also call attention to the wider social harms from mandates.
Natural Immunity is Strong
Natural immunity after COVID-19 infection is as good or better than immunity provided by the vaccine against all variants of the coronavirus according to findings recently published in the prestigious Lancet. Natural Immunity has previously been the scientific standard.
Natural Immunity was ignored.
The Crux of the Matter
It is the college students, NOT the surrounding community, who bear risks of mandated vaccination policies. These risks are real. While there may be disagreement about the degree of risk associated with these vaccines, the fact remains that there is risk.
Although college students are at extremely low risk of suffering adversely from COVID-19 infection, they are at very high risk of vaccine harms. They also experience harms from the mandates.
Please share and subscribe for more insights into College Mandates and actions you can take now and in the future. Thank you!
For more information, contact: sharedmatters@proton.me
*University System of MD includes: Bowie State University; Coppin State University; Frostburg State University; Salisbury University; Towson University; University of Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland Eastern Shore; University of Maryland Global Campus; The Universities at Shady Grove; University System of Maryland at Hagerstown; University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland