'Operation Shoe Drop' at BHS protests legislation that could mandate COVID-19 vaccine to attend school

A group of parents gathered at Batavia High School last night to drop off shoes with anti-vaccine mandate messages.

Each pair of shoes, they said, represented a child who wouldn't be able to attend school if Assembly Bill 8378 passes.

The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (District 81), would require school-aged children to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to attend classes.

Jo Coburn, one of the organizers of the event said whether to get a child vaccinated should be a parental choice, an informed choice, she said.

"Operation Shoe Drop is a statewide silent protest that came about because of Dinowitz's bill mandating COVID vaccine for school-aged children," Coburn said. "It is still an emergency use. It's still not fully tested, and parents should have the right to choose."

When reminded that the Pfizer vaccine is now approved by the FDA, Coburn said, "they're still collecting data." 

Which is true.  It's also true that the VAERS database, operated by the CDC as an "early warning system" about adverse events (all reporters in the database are unverified and should not be used to draw conclusions about any vaccine), collects data on dozens of vaccines, some decades old. The research on vaccines, even ones approved by the FDA, never stops.

Coburn was reminded that the state has long mandated vaccines -- Baby Boomers remember being required to get the polio vaccine -- to attend school and she said, "There were exemptions until 2019. In New York State, there were exemptions for every single vaccine. And New York State is going to be the first state to mandate it for their kids and it should be available just for the children and the parents that want it. But it should be a choice."

According to the NYS Department of Health website, the list of required vaccines to attend public school include Diphtheria, Tetanus, Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella,  Polio, and Chickenpox.  The state still allows for medical exemptions.

A8378 was introduced by Dinowitz on Oct. 20 and referred to the Assembly's health committee and has only two co-sponsors.

According to the CDC, all three COVID-19 vaccines are considered safe and effective.