are vaccine religious exemption letters confidential

HSU: Now, I should say that list didn't change anyone's mind. MATT TROUP: They need to know that if they're going to be consistent in their beliefs, that applies to a lot of different things other than the COVID vaccine. He sent this list out to everyone who applied for a religious exemption, and here's what he said about why he did that. And this list, which I have right here, it includes things like Tylenol, ibuprofen, Claritin, even Tums. He had his team compile a list of 28 common medicines that also used fetal cells in testing, or research, or development.

You know, Troup told me that he took this as an opportunity to educate his workforce.

And they're all based on the fetal cell issue that Shannon just talked about. He's gotten 45 requests for religious exemptions, way more than he normally gets for the flu vaccine. He's the CEO of Conway Regional Medical Center. And, Andrea Hsu, you've been talking with some of the employers who are seeing these requests come in. SHAPIRO: OK, so, Shannon, you've been following the conversations among objectors on social media. But these vaccines themselves, they do not contain any fetal cells. Other fetal cell lines are being used in the production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. And that's a common practice in pharmaceutical research. Now, to be clear, public health officials say fetal cell lines developed decades ago in the laboratory were used to develop and test the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. And people who oppose abortion have raised that as a moral concern.

And one line of reasoning that people in these groups often cite is the false claim that these COVID vaccines contain fetal cells. And a common question I'm seeing pop up in these groups is members asking each other, where can I get a religious exemption? What should I say - you know, trading tips on what to tell their employers. And in particular, I've been looking at Facebook groups that are opposed to vaccine mandates. I've been following a lot of these discussions on social media. SHAPIRO: And so what kinds of objections are people raising on the individual level?īOND: Well, so I cover tech. And, Ari, that's exactly why this is so complicated when it comes to religious exemptions from vaccine mandates - you know, for employers, for schools - because it's not about what religious institutions or leaders say. It leaves it up to individuals to make that decision. Here's Pope Francis telling Catholics that getting vaccinated is an act of love.īOND: He says, 'love for oneself, for families and friends and for all people.' Even the Christian Science Church, which counsels prayer rather than medical care, says it doesn't have an official policy on vaccinations. In fact, prominent religious leaders are endorsing them. SHAPIRO: Shannon, to start with, what have leaders of major religious groups been saying about getting vaccinated?īOND: Well, so far, no major religion opposes the COVID vaccines. To discuss this latest complication in getting more people vaccinated, we're joined by NPR business desk reporters Shannon Bond and Andrea Hsu. In Los Angeles, roughly a quarter of the police department is expected to seek religious exemptions. Here in Washington, D.C., more than 400 fire and emergency medical workers applied for religious exemptions to the city's vaccine mandate. More employers are requiring workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine without the option of getting tested instead, and some workers are pushing back.

Are vaccine religious exemption letters confidential