A Maryland health official admitted during a recorded public meeting Tuesday that county officials in Montgomery County chose to include small children in their local vaccine mandate not because of any specific health concerns or data-drive "public health" reasons - and there isn't one, considering children are at a nearly zero percent risk of suffering from or dying from COVID and even quadruple-vaccinated individuals can still contract and spread the disease - but because they wanted to force hesitant parents to give their kids as young as 5 the jab.
“That’s why we chose to include the 5- to 11-year-olds because that is an area where we need to see increased uptake of the vaccine,” said Dr. Earl Stoddard, director of the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security. “That was a choice that was made to try and encourage vaccinations in that population specifically.”
The local ordinance would mandate anyone over the age of 5 be required to show proof of vaccination to dine indoors at a restaurant, enter a move theater or other indoor recreational area, or go into a gym. The plan is set to go into effect on January 22 and apply to those 12 and older, with a March 1 deadline to include children ages 5-11.
All this even as the FDA has yet to fully approve the vaccine in children beyond an emergency authorization, and as experts have stated not enough information yet exists to say definitively that the vaccines are safe for kids.
Bethany Mandel, a conservative columnist and homeschooling mom of 5 in Montgomery County, fired off at a Montgomenry County council meeting this week, saying that she and a coalition of local parents, business owners, and residents will begin targeting local officials’ seats at the polls thanks to the new mandate.
“This is going to be the end of your cushy government, bureaucratic careers,” she said. “For those of you who are facing term limits, we’re coming for your seats. This resolution is the final straw for a number of businesses, groups, and individuals in this county who have seen you come close to destroying everything they’ve built.”
My testimony at the @MoCoCouncilMD about their proposed vaccine passports. Join us in making change here #ReviveMoCo: https://t.co/HCydcxbjPJ pic.twitter.com/sr5jk1fjcY
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) January 18, 2022