Virginia attorney general says public universities can’t mandate COVID-19 vaccines

New Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a legal opinion that public universities in the commonwealth could not mandate that students receive coronavirus vaccines or booster shots in order to attend in-person classes.

Miyares, who took office earlier this month, issued the memo Wednesday at the request of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who campaigned on ending mask and vaccine mandates.

“Although the General Assembly specifically authorized public institutions of higher education to assist the Department of Health and local health departments in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, the legislation did not grant such institutions power to impose vaccine requirements,” Miyares wrote.

SEVEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS SUE YOUNGKIN AS ORDER AGAINST MASK MANDATES KICKS IN

The opinion cited a Virginia law that specifically states against what diseases students at public universities must be vaccinated. Miyares said that because of the clarity of the statute, it was unlawful to require COVID-19 vaccinations because of its absence in the statute.

“‘[T]here is no question that the General Assembly could enact a statute requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for in-person school attendance,’” Miyares wrote. “As of this writing, it has not done so.”

Several public universities in Virginia had previously mandated vaccination as a condition of attendance for in-person classes, including the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech University, James Madison University, and George Mason University.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

In the press release announcing the memo, Miyares’s office said that he is vaccinated against COVID-19 and has received a booster shot, and he “encourages everyone to get the vaccination.”

But, his office added, “nowhere in the Code of Virginia does the law say that Virginia public institutions can require vaccinations as a condition of enrollment or in-person attendance.”