Some people rallying at the West Virginia Capitol on Monday want lawmakers to officially ban vaccine mandates.

About a dozen gathered at the Capitol Complex in Charleston and carried signs with messages that included, “Freedom over fear” and “Political science is not science.”

'"Jim Justice keeps going on and saying that he is not going to mandate this and that he's not for mandates, but he still has not put in any kind of legislation that says that we are not going to do a mandate. Unless he makes it formal and makes it public and all that, his words are useless," attendee Amber Robinson said, who told Eyewitness News her company gave her until Nov. 1 to get the vaccine.

Currently, West Virginia does not have a state vaccine mandate or a ban on vaccines. Lawmakers are in Charleston for a special session and redistricting is on the agenda.

According to the state Department of Health and Human Resources, 54.9% of the state’s population has received a dose of vaccine. The number for those 12 and over who are eligible for the shot is 63.2%,

The DHHR said of the 840 hospitalized with the virus in the state now, 80.8% are unvaccinated. In intensive care, 87.2% of the patients are unvaccinated. Of the 168 on ventilators, 90.5% are unvaccinated.