President Orders Schools, Universities That Require COVID-19 Vaccinations To Lose Federal Funding

The New York Times (2/14, Mueller) reported White House officials have announced that “President Trump ordered on Friday that federal funding be withheld from schools and universities that require students to be vaccinated against Covid.” However, the impact of the order is uncertain in that “no states require K-12 students to be vaccinated against Covid. Only 15 colleges still required Covid vaccines for students as of late last year, according to No College Mandates, an advocacy group.” The Hill (2/14, Lonas) reported, “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the head of the Department of Education are directed to create a plan to end these mandates and end federal funding for entities that do not comply. ... The order helps Trump fulfill his campaign to end the mandates many schools enacted after the COVID-19 vaccines were developed and as cases were ravaging the country under his first presidency.”