Donald Trump to sign order barring federal funds for schools mandating COVID-19 student vaccinations.
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US President Donald Trump will sign an order Friday prohibiting federal funds for educational institutions that mandate COVID-19 student vaccinations.
This directive emerged approximately five years following the coronavirus’s introduction to the US, which resulted in over 1 million fatalities and caused significant disruption to economic, social, and educational systems.
The vaccines, developed efficiently in late 2020 through Trump’s Operation Warp Speed initiative, have faced opposition from Republicans regarding mandates for federal employees and various governmental entities, New York Post reported.
“President Donald J Trump listens to Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speak with members of the coronavirus task force during a briefing in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Friday, April 17, 2020 in Washington, DC.”
Current variants of the virus show reduced lethality, whilst vaccines demonstrate decreased effectiveness in preventing transmission.
According to the National Academy for State Public Health, twenty-one states, including both Republican-led Texas and Florida, and Democratic-governed Arizona and Michigan, currently prohibit school-based coronavirus vaccine requirements.
The financial implications of non-compliance by state and local officials remain uncertain.
“Anti-vaccine activists hold signs in front of the Massachusetts State House during a protest against Governor Charlie Baker’s mandate that all Massachusetts school students enrolled in child care, pre-school, K-12, and post-secondary institutions must receive the flu vaccine this year on August 30, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts.”
Federal education funding has historically served as a tool for Washington’s involvement in local education matters.
A historical example includes the Senate’s 1994 proposed regulation, supported by then-Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.), to withhold federal funding from schools promoting homosexuality as a positive lifestyle choice. This proposal did not receive House approval.
Since taking office on January 20, Trump has authorised Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) programme to reduce annual federal spending by up to $1 trillion through extensive staff and grant reductions, targeting organisations like USAID, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Education Department for eventual elimination.