TUCSON, Ariz., April 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Colleges and universities should allow students back to campus without requiring a COVID-19 vaccination, urges the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) in letters being sent to institutions of higher learning across the United States that are planning to impose such mandates.

“Although, at first glance, the policy may seem prudent, it coerces students into bearing unneeded and unknown risk and is at heart contrary to the bedrock medical principle of informed consent,” warns AAPS.

The letter presents referenced facts including the following points:

• Young adults are a healthy and immunologically competent and vibrant group that is at “extraordinary low risk for COVID-19 morbidity and mortality.”
• Even though the FDA granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for three COVID-19 vaccines, they are not FDA approved to treat, cure or prevent any disease at this time.
• The COVID-19 vaccines on the market in the U.S., produced by Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, have been associated with serious side effects. These adverse reactions result in absence from school and work, hospital visits, and even loss of life. More than 2,300 deaths have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) as of April 20, 2021.
• Students who have recovered from COVID-19 already likely have protective immunity, and vaccination risks causing autoimmune reactions.
• Protections expressed by the Nuremberg Code require individuals “to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force.”
• Informed consent is the standard for all medical interventions. The FDA fact sheet for the healthcare provider reads: “The recipient or their caregiver has the option to accept or refuse [the] vaccine.”
• College-age women may be at unique risk for adverse events following administration of the experimental COVID vaccinations currently available. According to the CDC, all cases of life-threatening blood clots subsequent to receiving the J&J vaccine have so far occurred in younger women. In addition, “women are reporting having irregular menstrual cycles after getting the coronavirus vaccine,” and 95 miscarriages have been reported to VAERS following COVID vaccination as of April 24, 2021.
  

AAPS calls university presidents to action: “Please reverse your decision to mandate experimental COVID-19 vaccines before more students are harmed, and make the vaccines rightfully optional. Both unvaccinated and vaccinated students should be permitted on campus.”

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons has represented physicians in all specialties since 1943. Its motto is omnia pro aegroto, everything for the patient.

Contact: Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, janeorientmd@gmail.com