Shamp Bill Would Protect Arizonans From Experimental Vaccines

vaccine
An Arizona National Guard soldier administers COVID-19 vaccine in Payson in this Jan. 4 file photo. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Michael Matkin, Arizona National Guard/Creative Commons)

A freshman lawmaker is hoping her bill will win the support it needs to ensure that Arizonans will be protected from experimental vaccine mandates.

Sen. Janae Shamp introduced SB 1250, which will require all employers to provide their workers with an opportunity to claim a religious exemption from receiving a mandated COVID-19, flu or any other “Emergency Use Authorized” vaccine. The bill also prohibits an employer from inquiring into the validity of an employee’s religious beliefs, or from discriminating against an employee because of their vaccination status.

Shamp says the vaccine mandates handed down by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic were overreaching and forced many Arizonans to make the difficult decision of choosing to receive an experimental, emergency authorized use vaccination in order to maintain employment or attend school. Furthermore, these vaccine mandates were handed down and implemented with little to no respect for an individual’s right to honor their sincere religious and personal beliefs.

Shamp, who is a nurse says that while many employers of varying industries in our state offered accommodations for those who abstained from
vaccination, and also granted employees religious and personal belief exemptions from vaccination requirements, those working in healthcare settings were largely forced to comply and get vaccinated or face termination from their jobs.

“It’s sickening that many healthcare workers, like myself, lost our jobs because we refused to take the jab,” said Shamp in a press release. “The COVID-19 vaccine has not been on the market long enough to determine if there is a correlation between its ingredients and medical issues a number of patients are now experiencing after getting the shot. We already have a dire shortage of medical professionals within Arizona, and these mandates have only exacerbated the crisis.”

This bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Health & Human Services Committee on Tuesday, February 7.