Indiana Senate rolls back bill limiting worker vaccine rules
FILE - State Sen. Mark Messmer, center, R-Jasper, talks with Sen. Eddie Melton, left, D-Gary, and Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Bremen, following a session at the Statehouse, Tuesday, April 23, 2019, in Indianapolis. An Indiana Senate panel on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, endorsed rolling back a proposal that aimed to severely limit workplace COVID-19 vaccine requirements, setting up weeks of negotiations with House members on how far the Republican-dominated Legislature will go toward inserting itself on the issue. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings File)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana Senate panel has endorsed rolling back a proposal that aimed to severely limit workplace COVID-19 vaccine requirements, setting up potentially weeks of negotiations with House members on how far the Republican-led Legislature will go toward inserting itself on the issue.
Changes to the bill approved Wednesday by the Senate’s health committee require businesses to grant medical vaccine exemptions to workers along with religious exemptions as required by federal law.
Opponents of vaccine requirements lined up against the Senate’s proposal, arguing that federal laws have been inadequate in protecting the rights of people to make their own health care decisions.