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Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Trumpster Anti-Vaxxers Target BYUH
By News Release @ 5:40 PM :: 5504 Views :: Higher Education, COVID-19

Trump-aligned anti-vaxxers are targeting BYUH over its vaccine mandate.  Here are the pieces of the puzzle:

FIRST: BYUH Announces Vaccine Mandate, Making itself a Target of Anti-Vaxxers

COVID-19 Immunization Requirement for Students Beginning Fall 2021

News Release from BYUH, June 16, 2021

Brigham Young University–Hawaii will add the COVID-19 vaccination to its student health clearance requirements beginning Fall 2021 Semester. This requirement applies to all students and follows current university policies governing student immunizations, including a process by which exemptions for medical or religious reasons may be requested.    

Students should, whenever possible, receive the COVID-19 vaccine before coming to campus. BYU–Hawaii will facilitate vaccination for students who are unable to be immunized before arriving on campus.

“The decision to add this vaccination requirement was reached after careful consideration of available data about COVID-19 vaccination safety and efficacy and consultation with experts in medicine, public health, and epidemiology,” said BYU–Hawaii President John S.K. Kauwe III. “This action promotes the safety of our students and our community. It also supports our efforts to provide students who choose to pursue their education at BYU–Hawaii with a quality on-campus experience and minimizes disruption from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” 

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has highlighted the Church’s long-standing support for vaccinations in recent statements, announcements, and policies. The addition of COVID-19 to the immunization requirements is supported by the BYU–Hawaii Board of Trustees.

For more information, please view the COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions.

NEXT-- Anti-Vaxxers find their poster girl but leave out one inconvenient fact ....

Timeline:  June 16 BYUH announces vaccine mandate.  June 21 Olivia Sandor gets vague letter from an osteopath, not an MD

Key sentence:  “Olivia Sandor has been a patient of mine for many years.  In January of 2019, she received an influenza vaccine and within a couple of years developed Guillen Barre Syndrome and was very ill for a couple of months.” 

If you are confused about the quackery, read Forbes:  Osteopathic Physicians Versus Doctors.

On July 12, 2021, CDC reported rare GBS side-effect is associated with J&J vaccine, not Moderna or Pfizer.

July 12, 2021 is also the date of a final response from BYUH to Sandor regarding her request for medical exemption.

Within two days of receiving the July 12, 2021 (below) response from BYUH, Olivia Sandor's case is highlighted by Turning Point USA, a key Trump group.  Five days after that she was on the Hannity Show.

Was it a tactical error to deny Sandor admission?  If she had been allowed in, the anti-vaxxers would have been denied their poster-girl.  But hindsight is 20-20.  The risk here is that the '15-minutes of fame' given 'medical exemptions' transforms them into an attention-seekers' fad -- like gluten-free diets.

 
 

A key phrase from the BYUH Answer to Sandor is missing from the article below:  

 “Guillain-Barré patients shouldn’t get the J&J vaccine but Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines would be OK.  This is because the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are messenger-RNA vaccines not viral-vectored vaccines like the J&J and Astra-Zeneca vaccines.”

Now read to see how the reader is manipulated by this selective omission:

  *   *   *   *   *

BYU Hawaii refuses to grant student exemption from vaccine that could paralyze her

She at one point became paralyzed from a different vaccine

by Hannah Lalgie, College Fix, July 19, 2021

Brigham Young University Hawaii has refused to grant a medical exemption to incoming freshman Olivia Sandor despite her having a condition that makes receiving a COVID vaccine potentially dangerous.

Sandor wrote on Instagram on July 13 that she developed Guillain-Barré Syndrome in 2019 as a side-effect of a vaccination, though she did not say what vaccine she received.

“Guillain Barre is an auto-immune disease caused by vaccines which resulted in me being hospitalized and being paralyzed from the waist down,” Sandor wrote on Instagram. She shared her story of being able to regain the ability to walk.

On July 13, the FDA said that people who received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine have “an observed increased risk,” of developing GBS.

“GBS is a neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system damages nerve cells, causing muscle weakness, or in the most severe cases, paralysis,” the FDA explained.

But, despite the fact that her doctors and the CDC have said that vaccines could lead to her being paralyzed again or lead to death, the Mormon university denied her exemption. University officials have not mandated the vaccine for employees.

“Was this a joke? I was devastated to say the least,” Sandor asked.

(Insert key fact missing from this article here: BYUH Answer to Sandor:   “Guillain-Barré patients shouldn’t get the J&J vaccine but Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines would be OK.  This is because the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are messenger-RNA vaccines not viral-vectored vaccines like the J&J and Astra-Zeneca vaccines.”)

She continued that she took this issue higher up the chain of command. Sandor and her family spoke to the President of BYU Hawaii. Sandor told him her story, how she dreamed of attending BYU and how hard she worked to get to her goal.

“Fortunately enough we were able to get a response back from him,” Sandor said. “He told us that he would re-review my case with the medical panel and get back to me as fast as they could.”

A few days later, her request was denied again.

“Again, I was devastated, but at the same time I felt peace,” Sandor said. “I may have worked so hard to get there, but now I know that wasn’t the Lord’s plan for me. I’m proud to say I did everything I could to fight it.”

Sandor did not respond to a July 14 email and a July 15 Instagram direct message that asked her to share communications she had received from the university. The College Fix also asked her if she had any religious objections to the vaccine as well and if there are any inoculations she can safely receive.

Conservative group has recently launched a ‘No Forced Vax’ campaign

Recently, Turning Point USA launched its “No Forced Vax” campaign to assist students fighting COVID vaccine mandates.

It shared the communications between Sandor and the university, which included a letter from her doctor.

The university told Sandor that it could not grant her an exemption, but recommended she attend another of the BYU campuses. The Provo and Idaho BYU institutions have not mandated the vaccine yet.

“I’m not really sure how that’s humane,” Sandor wrote in response.

“If everyone around me has had the vaccine and those on the island have tested negative for COVID (including me) how am I a threat to the community,” Sandor asked.

University takes notice

University officials have taken notice, it appears, of Sandor’s comments.

“We kindly ask that questions and comments concerning the COVID-19 vaccination policy be directed to COVID19@byuh.edu to help mainstream communication in light of recent events on social media,” BYUH wrote on its Instagram page.

It did not respond to a July 16 email from The College Fix that asked for comment on the situation, the exemption policy and how many students had asked to be exempted from the mandate and how many students had been approved to not be vaccinated.

It has not posted anything else on its Instagram page as of July 17.

---30---

Trumpster AntiVaxxers Target BYUH

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