Here are the states that are rejecting mandatory COVID-19 shots for kids

(Daily Caller) – As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted to add the COVID-19 vaccine to children’s recommended list of vaccines for pediatricians, many states are rejecting the recommendation.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously decided on Thursday to add COVID-19 shots to children’s immunization schedule, which some schools and states use to create their vaccination requirements. Many states, however, have laws in place that prohibit schools from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for students.

In Wyoming, the Wyoming Department of Health said it will not be adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the school vaccine schedule following the CDC recommendations, according to the Cowboy State Daily. Republican Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon’s office reinforced the decision, announcing that the state would not be listening to the guidance by the CDC.

“Wyoming has no plans to pursue adding COVID vaccine to its required (school) list,” Gordon’s spokesman Michael Pearlman told the Cowboy State Daily. “The governor has not mandated vaccines for adults or children, and believes that COVID-19 vaccination is a personal choice.”

Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced in a Thursday tweet that the state would not be taking the CDC’s guidance, citing the state’s laws against such a measure. In July 2022, an Iowa law went into effect exempting students in K-12 schools from vaccine requirements until 2029, the Des Moines Register reported.

Reynolds officer referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to the law when asked for comment.

“Regardless of what the CDC says, as long as I am governor, we will never force kids to get a COVID vaccine to go to school,” Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote in a Thursday tweet.

In Oklahoma, Stitt signed SB 658 into law in 2021 which prohibits schools from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine to attend the school.

In Montana, HB 702 prohibits discrimination based on one’s vaccination status and applies to all “educational opportunities,” the National Academy For State Health Policy (NAFSHP) stated. Indiana law prohibits public school districts from requiring students, employees and parents from showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination.