Franklin — After debating for 40 minutes, the state Senate passed a bill that would stop the COVID-19 vaccine from being needed to get medical care, become a student, or get a job in Kentucky.
Senator Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, pushed Senate Bill 295 forward with 25 votes in favor and 11 against. One member did not vote.
Tichenor said that the bill supports “individual liberties,” but senators from both parties spoke out against it, saying they were worried about public health and how it might affect employers.
- California RESIDENTS To RECEIVE $500 MONTHLY PAYMENTS In New Guaranteed Income Program: Here Is Who Is Eligible
- Us Job Market Booms With 272,000 New Jobs, But Unemployment Rises Slightly To 4.0%
- Credit Scores Of 720+ See Improved Loan Rates This Week
- Examining The Facts: Fact Check On IRS $8700 Stimulus Check Eligibility & Payment Dates
- Gas Prices On Downward Trend As Fourth Of July Road Trips Approach: AAA
It was important for hospitals and nursing homes to protect themselves against COVID-19, which is why Senate President Pro Tem David Givens was against the plan.
People who were against it, like President Pro Tempore David Givens, R-Greensburg, were worried about business owners and other managers who might need or benefit from making workers get vaccines. Givens said that choice shouldn’t be taken away.
Givens said, “By passing this bill, we’re saying that a hospital can’t make their employees get any COVID-19 vaccine.”
Givens, who runs a small business, said that his farm store does not need COVID-19 shots. He said that the bill might not affect him, but it would affect the nearby “vital” hospital and nursing home, as well as the people who work there and take care of the weakest people.
Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, a doctor, voted against the bill because she thought there was “medical disinformation” about vaccines. She said that there are already times when people can refuse to get a vaccine.
“It’s not used very often,” she told me. The vast majority of health care workers believe they have a duty to protect their patients and are happy to get vaccinated.
According to Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Fruit Hill, the bill “ties” company owners’ hands by not letting them require vaccines, which she thinks is “wrong.”
His words, “They might want to require this,” were clear. “They might not need this at all.” They should be able to make that choice.
As an extra reason to vote against the bill, Westerfield said, “We should be very careful about bills that give life to conspiracy.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that the COVID-19 medicines are safe and work.
Senate Bill 295 still needs to go through the committee process in the House and be looked at by the whole House. The Senate would have to fully pass the bill by Friday to keep its power to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto. There are 60 days in the parliamentary session, and today is the 56th day.