"West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, who has publicly encouraged parents to vaccinate their children, said Sunday there's "no chance" he will mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for students because he believes "mandates only divide us."
"I truly believe that the mandates only divide us and only divide us more. From the standpoint of mandates, I don't believe in imposing upon our freedoms over and over and over. I don't know how many times I've got to say it," the Republican governor said during an interview on "Face the Nation." "But from the standpoint of our children, I'm going to still encourage in every way, because I truly believe that the more people that we get vaccinated, the less people will die." Less than 50% of West Virginia's eligible population is fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Absolutely the risk of the vaccine is so minimal, it's unbelievable. Absolutely, get your kids vaccinated," Justice said during a live-streamed COVID-19 response press briefing. "It's really safe. Don't take the chance."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-mandate-students-jim-justice-west-virginia-governor/