Under Virginia law, if you wish to attend an institution of higher learning, you must be vaccinated for no fewer than 8 different diseases. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, however, the newly-minted Republican Attorney General for Virginia has decided that the COVID-19 vaccine will not be among those inoculations required for enrollment or in-person attendance. 

The three-page opinion was issued by Attorney General Jason Miyares on Friday and states that while there is “no question” the Virginia General Assembly could enact a statute requiring the COVID-19 vaccine” for in-person school attendance, it so far has not done so. 

Under the existing statute in Virginia, though first-time higher education students must be vaccinated for diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles (rubeola), German measles (rubella), mumps, there is an exception for any student that lodges a religious objection unless the Board of Health has declared an emergency or epidemic of disease. Students could also show a note from a doctor explaining why the long-mandated vaccines go against their medical advice. 

Back in April, Virginia’s then Democrat attorney general Mark Herring issued an opinion stating that Virginia’s colleges and universities “may condition in-person attendance on receipt of an approved COVID-19 vaccine” during the pandemic. 

The order was carefully worded, making clear that it was up to each student to decide whether they wanted to receive a vaccine while also giving colleges and universities the freedom “to determine whether requiring students to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination has a real or substantial relation to protecting public health safety on their campus[es]”. 

In his order Friday, Miyares noted both Herring’s opinion from the previous spring as well as the existing statute’s language around a declared state of emergency. 

”While the prior opinion notes the existence of a state of emergency and references the impact of that emergency on institutions of higher education, states of emergency do not constitute a general grant or implication of expanded powers for entities that are expressly subject to the control of the General Assembly,” Miyares wrote. 

The power to mandate vaccines during a public health emergency, he added, belongs to Virginia’s health commissioner. 

The health commissioner did not respond to Daily Kos for comment immediately Friday. Miyares’ office did not respond to multiple requests for comment as of Friday morning, a voicemail box for his press secretary was not set up. 

Miyares noted in a statement accompanying the order that he is fully vaccinated and boosted and encourages others to do so the same. 

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and House Representative Don Beyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the new legal opinion on Friday.

The decision from Miyares comes merely two weeks after Virginia’s new Republican governor Glenn Youngkin rescinded vaccine requirements for employees at various universities in the commonwealth including the University of Virginia, George Mason University, James Madison University, the College of William & Mary, the University of Mary Washington, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech. 

Youngkin also lifted a mask mandate for K-12 students on his first day in office, 

As of Thursday, cases of COVID-19 in Virginia were beginning to trend downward. According to the COVID-19 tracker Our World in Data, Virginia’s total vaccinated population is roughly 70%.