Ohio GOP leaders wanted a fast vote granting exemptions for COVID-19 vaccine mandates. They got pushback – The Columbus Dispatch

Only a day after details were revealed, Republican leaders in the Ohio House of Representatives attempted Wednesday to voteouta bill that would establish exemptions for COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed by employers and schools.

Instead, it was never brought up for a vote in the first place.

"Members wanted to take a little more time to consider some of the provisions andnew ideas surfaced. And so we're just taking a little more time to consider, Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, told reporters.

House Bill 435,sponsored by Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, and Rep. Rick Carfagna, R-Genoa Township, was given special priority by GOP leadership, who were rushing to pass it out without public testimony.

But the short timeframe was criticized by multiple lawmakers and groups. Carfagna had said there's been plenty enough testimony on vaccine mandates in hearings of other vaccine bills.

Another possible reason for the delay, though Cupp said it wasn't a factor: interest groups from both sides who announced they opposed the leadership's proposal.

The bill was meant to offer an alternative approach to complete bans on vaccine mandates, to help appease hospital and business groups. The influential Ohio Chamber of Commerce has opposed past bills telling businesses what they can or cannot do.

On Wednesday, the chamber made clear it opposed House Bill 435.Hospital groups also remain opposed to the bill, saying the approach still derailed efforts fighting the virus.

"House Bill 435 infringes upon the rights of Ohios employers. One-size-fits-all government mandates limiting employer rights are not the right approach, the Chambersaid in a written statement.

But advocates against vaccine mandates didn't like how rushed it was as well, andsaidit didn't go far enough.

"SUB HB435 does not prevent mandates," wrote Health Freedom Ohio on Facebook.

Cupp said that House leadership would "immediately" go back to the drawing board to see what methods are to be pursued.

Despite the speed,details ofHB435 were already undergoing scrutiny.

Under the bill, private and public schools and employers can mandate the COVID-19 shot, but only ones fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is currently the only one; others are still under emergency authorization.

Anybody can be exempt from the requirement for reasons of conscience, medical reasons or "natural immunity," defined as"presence of COVID-19 antibodies in an amount at least equal to those conferred by a COVID-19 vaccine."

Rep. Beth Liston, D-Dublin, noted there's no medical standard on proving immunity effectiveness from antibodies from previous COVID-19 infections. Whether immunity from infection is effective as vaccine immunity is still unclear.

Some also questioned how flexible the exemptions are. For those choosing a conscience exemption, for example,one only would need a written statement saying such and couldn't be questioned further.

Seitz said he hopes people exempting themselves are "doing so in good faith," comparing having peoplequestioned further about their religion or beliefs to the Spanish Inquisition.

Not everybody can get exemptions. Those working in children's hospitals and hospital intensive care units can't, and Democrats questioned why other health care settings weren't included, too.

Carfagna responded that many children aren't eligible for the vaccine and ICUs tend to have the most vulnerable patients, so that's why they were singled out.

"Hopefully other health care settings are mostly already vaccinated by now," he said.

Republicans had questions as well, asking why all employees hired after the bill's effective date would not be eligible for exemptions.

Carfagna said that's because a job hunter should already knowthat vaccination is or isn't a work requirement before accepting the job offer. On the other hand, currently employed people saw their work conditions change whentheir bossesbegan requiring vaccinations.

Quite a few conservatives have said the bill doesn't go far enough in protecting "medical freedom."

"When a weak bill is passed, the momentum is lost, and then whenever a conservative representative tries to do anything further on the issue, leadership tells them, 'we already passed a bill about that,'" wrote Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana, in his newsletter.

Titus Wu is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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Ohio GOP leaders wanted a fast vote granting exemptions for COVID-19 vaccine mandates. They got pushback - The Columbus Dispatch