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MSU Vaccine Overview:
- Who: A Michigan State University administrative employee sued the university over its COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
- Why: Norris says because she already contracted COVID-19 and has antibodies, she should not have to be vaccinated, and MSU’s requirement violates her constitutional rights.
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Michigan.
A new class action lawsuit argues Michigan State University (MSU) employees who have already contracted COVID-19 and now have antibodies should not have to get the vaccine to return to work.
MSU Administrative Associate and Fiscal Officer Jeanna Norris filed the lawsuit Friday in a Michigan federal court, alleging her constitutional rights to bodily autonomy and to decline medical treatment had been violated by the university’s vaccine mandate.
Norris is represented by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a conservative non-profit law firm that is funded in part by the Koch brothers.
The firm’s other recent non-profit cases include representing a law professor who refuses to get the COVID-19 vaccine or wear a mask, and representing landlords opposing the federal eviction moratorium.
Norris says MSU announced its COVID-19 directives for the Fall 2021 semester by email and on its website on July 30, which included a “Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccine.”
She says the university has mandated that all faculty, staff, and students must either be fully vaccinated or have received one of a two-dose series by Aug. 31, unless they obtain a religious or medical exemption — of which natural immunity does not count. Those who do not comply face “potential disciplinary action, including termination of employment.”
However, Norris alleges she should not be required to get the vaccine because she has already contracted and fully recovered from COVID-19.
“As a result, she has naturally acquired immunity, confirmed unequivocally by two recent SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests,” the complaint states.
“Her immunologist, Dr. Hooman Noorchashm, has advised her that it is medically unnecessary to undergo a vaccination procedure at this point (which fact also renders the procedure and any attendant risks medically unethical).”
Norris claims that if she follows her doctor’s advice not to get the vaccine, she faces disciplinary consequences from the college which are unlawful.
She’s looking to represent all employees of MSU who have naturally acquired immunity to COVID-19 and who feel that the vaccine directive represents a violation of their constitutional rights to bodily autonomy and to decline medical treatment.
“Given her naturally acquired immunity, MSU cannot establish a compelling governmental interest in overriding the personal autonomy and constitutional rights of Plaintiff and those who are similarly situated by forcing them either to be vaccinated or to suffer adverse professional consequences,” the lawsuit says.
She’s seeking an injunction preventing the university from enforcing a vaccine mandate.
Do you think a university employee who has already contracted COVID-19 should be allowed to be unvaccinated on campus? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Harriet Hageman, Jenin Younes and John Vecchione of the New Civil Liberties Alliance.
The MSU Vaccine Class Action Lawsuit is Jeanna Norris et al., v. Michigan State University et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-00756 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
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