by: Jackie DeFusco, Emma North
\nABC 8News<\/p>\n
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) \u2014 State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver told 8News on Friday that he plans to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for Virginians once one is made available to the public.<\/p>\n
Virginia state law gives the Commissioner of Health the authority to mandate immediate immunizations during a public health crisis if a vaccine is available. Health officials say an immunization could be released as early as 2021.<\/p>\n
Dr. Oliver says that, as long as he is still the Health Commissioner, he intends to mandate the coronavirus vaccine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is killing people now, we don\u2019t have a treatment for it and if we develop a vaccine that can prevent it from spreading in the community we will save hundreds and hundreds of lives,\u201d Oliver said.<\/p>\n
Under state law, only people with a medical exemption could refuse the mandate.<\/p>\n
The Virginia General Assembly is considering\u00a0a bill<\/a>\u00a0during an ongoing special session that would allow people with religious opposition to opt-out of the requirement. The bill needs to clear a committee in the House of Delegates before the full chamber could vote on it.<\/p>\n Oliver says he strongly opposes the bill. He doesn\u2019t know what the punishment would be for non-compliance but expects that most people will respond well to the mandate.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a\u00a0new poll<\/a>\u00a0suggests more than one in three Americans aren\u2019t interested in getting a coronavirus vaccine. Even though health officials say it will be safe, some have raised concerns about the speed of development.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would not launch a campaign around mass vaccination with anything that hasn\u2019t proven to be safe,\u201d Oliver said.<\/p>\n