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WILLIAM J. OLSON
(VA, D.C.)
HERBERT W. TITUS
(VA OF COUNSEL)
JEREMIAH L. MORGAN
(D.C., CA ONLY)
ROBERT J. OLSON
(VA, D.C.)
WILLIAM J. OLSON, P.C.
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
370 MAPLE AVENUE WEST, SUITE 4
VIENNA, VIRGINIA 22180-5615
TELEPHONE (703) 356-5070
FAX (703) 356-5085
E-MAIL: wjo@mindspring.com
114 CREEKSIDE LANE
WINCHESTER, VA 22602-2429
TELEPHONE (540) 450-8777
FAX (540) 450-8771
June 18, 2021
NOTE: Personalized versions of this letter were sent to the President and Board Chair of
the following Public Colleges and Universities in Virginia:
Christopher Newport University
College of William & Mary
George Mason University
James Madison University
Longwood University
Old Dominion University
Radford University
University of Mary Washington
University of Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Tech
Subject: Request for Reconsideration and Revocation of Mandatory COVID-19
Inoculation Requirement; Notice to Preserve Documents
It is our understanding that [your institution] was adopted a policy by which students
are being required to receive an experimental vaccine against COVID-19 before returning to
campus for the fall semester.1 We are writing to urge you in the strongest possible terms to
reconsider and revoke this coercive policy, before your students are harmed or killed by these
dangerous experimental inoculations.
This letter is sent on behalf of parents, students, and a variety of other organizations,
some of which have formed specifically to oppose Virginia college and university policies
requiring students and staff to receive the COVID-19 inoculation before returning to campus:
1 A similar letter is being written to each of the Virginia colleges and universities that
have been identified as requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for students and/or staff, based on a
variety of sources, since we have found no one depository of this information in the
Commonwealth. If your institution does not require such vaccination, we would greatly
appreciate your advising us so we can let others know.
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• Center for Medical Freedom
• Health Freedom Virginia
• Virginia Coalition for Medical Freedom
• CNU Parent Covid-19 Mandate Concerns
• University Parents for Informed Consent
• Students for Medical Freedom
• Virginia Tech Freedom of Choice
• JMU Freedom of Choice Parents
• Virginia Freedom Keepers
• The Virginia Project
• America’s Future
• Students for America
It is our understanding that these groups include parents of students or students
attending most, if not all, of the colleges and universities in Virginia.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
There are many thousands of students who have been planning to attend Virginia
colleges and universities this fall, but who refuse to yield to mandates that they first participate
in unmonitored experimental genetic therapy by taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Your
institution’s policy is putting these students, and their parents, in an untenable situation, where
they must choose between accepting the significant risk of bodily injury, possible lifelong
disability, or death or continue their education at your institution.
The evidence is now clear that some statistically significant number of those students
receiving the inoculation will be harmed seriously, and some may die. We cannot see how
imposing the risk of such harm is consistent with your fiduciary duty of protection of these
students. Moreover, a policy of coercion can impose on your institution great responsibility,
as well as liability. Have you counted the cost? The same principles apply to your
institution’s staff to the extent the vaccination mandates apply to them.
Indeed, it is our view that this coercive policy is contrary to law, contrary to science,
and out of line with how other institutions are handling this issue, and therefore flawed from
its inception.
This letter first explains that the federal government has refused to adopt the type of
draconian policies adopted by your institution, making your decision an outlier. Next, we
bring to your attention new evidence that has been developed against the vaccine. Then we
address the medical arguments against mandating the COVID-19 experimental inoculation and
the legal arguments. We conclude by asking your institution to reconsider and revoke that
decision, and failing that, to take certain steps to preserve documents. Please take these steps
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now, as each day more and more students are being vaccinated due to these mandatory
policies.
YOUR INSTITUTION’S POLICY IS OUT OF STEP
WITH NOTED EXPERTS IN THE FIELD
If coerced COVID-19 vaccinations were necessary as a matter of public health, it would
have been adopted by the same federal government that granted the Emergency Use
Authorizations (“EUAs”). However, the federal government recently adopted a policy for its
employees which is completely opposite your institution’s policy. The federal government
does not generally require federal employees or contractors to be vaccinated. More than
that, federal agencies may not require federal employees or contractors to disclose such
information about vaccination status. See General Services Administration Safer Federal
Workforce Vaccination Status.
If coerced vaccinations were necessary as a matter of public health, surely the federal
agency charged with being “the nation’s medical research agency” — the National Institute of
Health (“NIH”) — would have mandated it. However, on April 25, 2021, the Director,
Francis S. Collins, told NBC News that he will not mandate his employees at NIH to get
vaccinated: “I’m certainly encouraging everyone who works for me … to get vaccinated, but
I’m not mandating it.”
Likewise, if coerced vaccinations were necessary as a matter of public health, surely
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) — the national public health
agency of the United States — would require its employees to be vaccinated, but Dr. Anthony
Fauci, in Congressional Testimony,2
estimated that “a bit more than half, around 60 percent,”
of CDC employees had been vaccinated.
Finally, if coerced vaccinations were necessary as a matter of public health, surely it
would be required for the United States military. However, in a recent interview with NBC’s
Today Show, President Biden stated that even if the experimental COVID-19 inoculation
were to receive full FDA approval, which it has not, he called it a “tough call” as to whether
members of the military would be required to receive it — and that he would leave that
2 On May 11, 2021, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
held a hearing on ongoing federal efforts to combat COVID-19. https://www.help.
senate.gov/hearings/an-update-from-federal-officials-on-efforts-to-combat-covid-19. The
witnesses at that hearing were Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, NIH; David Kessler, Chief Science Officer, HHS; Peter Marks,
Director, CBER, FDA; and Rochelle Walensky, Director, CDC. The answer about
vaccination rates at the other national health agencies was similar. https://youtu.be/
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decision to the military, rather than compelling the vaccine. Thereafter, at a press briefing on
May 20, 2021, the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Dr. Terry
Adirim, stated: “there’s no plans at this time to make the vaccine mandatory. If and when the
FDA does license the vaccine we’ll make a decision at that time.”
Your institution’s mandatory vaccine policy is out of step with the policies that have
been adopted by these federal institutions.
CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRE RECONSIDERATION
OF ANY MANDATORY INOCULATION POLICY
Some colleges and universities adopted their forced vaccination policies weeks ago,
well before deeply troubling new information about the risks of accepting the vaccine were
known. In recent days, new information about these inoculations has emerged which ethically
require your reconsideration of this decision, and a revocation of this mandate, for many
reasons.
On June 2, 2021, Forbes reported that Israel’s health ministry said it has observed a
correlation between the Pfizer vaccine and myocarditis, particularly in young males.
On June 9, 2021, Dr. Tess Laurie, Director, Evidence-based Medicine Consultancy
Ltd. in the United Kingdom, recommended that all COVID vaccinations be suspended after
examining the British Equivalent of the American Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
(“VAERS”), the Yellow Card System, based on data received through May 26, 2021:
We are sharing this preliminary report due to the urgent need to
communicate information that should lead to cessation of the vaccination roll
out while a full investigation is conducted….
The MHRA now has more than enough evidence on the Yellow Card
system [similar to the VAERS system in the United States] to declare the
COVID-19 vaccines unsafe for use in humans. Preparation should be made to
scale up humanitarian efforts to assist those harmed by the COVID-19 vaccines
and to anticipate and ameliorate medium to longer term effects. [Open Letter to
Dr. Raine, the Chief Executive of the MHRA from Dr Tess Laurie (Director,
Evidence-based Medicine Consultancy Ltd and EbMC Squared CiC Bath, UK)
(emphasis added).]
On June 10, 2021, Germany’s vaccine advisory committee recommended that only
children and adolescents with pre-existing conditions should be given the COVID-19 vaccine.
“German panel gives limited approval for COVID-19 shot for adolescents,” Reuters (June 10,
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On June 10, 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that the CDC has
confirmed 226 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis in persons ages 30 and younger who have
received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and are investigating about 250 more reports. As a
result, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (“ACIP”) of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention will hold an emergency meeting on June 18, 2021, to assess
this new development.
On June 12, 2021, Reuters reported that the “Italian government said on Friday it was
restricting the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people over the age of 60, after a
teenager who had taken the shot died from a blood clot.” “Italy halts AstraZeneca vaccine for
under-60s after teenager dies,” Reuters (June 12, 2021).
As of June 14, 2021, George Mason University, the largest public university in
Virginia with over 37,000 students, reported two student positives and zero employee positives
in the past 14 days.
On June 14, 2021, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “University
Vaccine Mandates Violate Medical Ethics: College Students Aren’t Guinea Pigs.” That
article stated:
Some 450 U.S. colleges and universities — including our institutions — have
announced policies mandating that all students be fully vaccinated against
Covid-19 before the fall semester, with some requiring vaccination now for the
summer term. Schools have for decades required vaccination against infectious
diseases, but these mandates are unprecedented — and unethical. Never
before have colleges insisted that students or employees receive an
experimental vaccine as a condition of attendance or employment. [Emphasis
added.]
On June 15, 2021, Jane M. Orient, M.D. wrote an article explaining the recent
information on risk to the heart and other threats posed by the vaccinations, citing a recent
video by Dr. Peter A. McCullough, M.D., MPH:
You might be able to get a college degree with a damaged heart, but the
door may be slammed permanently on athletics, military service, or any
physically demanding occupation.
Your daughter also is at risk. The heart problems are less frequent in
women, but women are not exempt. And where else do those lipid
nanoparticles enclosing the instructions for spike protein go? Those college
administrators don’t know, and if Dr. Fauci knows, he’s not telling.
Would putting a hold on your college education be worth it? [Jane M.
Orient, M.D., “Sending your son to college? Is the vaccine risk worth it?”
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This letter is written in agreement with the Wall Street Journal article — believing that
these mandates are not only unprecedented, but also are unethical. Moreover, your policy is
subjecting students to great danger with virtually no corresponding benefit, particularly as
college and university age students face little danger from this virus.
ARGUMENT
I. MEDICAL ARGUMENTS
A. None of the Experimental COVID-19 Inoculations Have Been Approved by the
FDA.
None of the so-called COVID-19 “vaccines” have been approved by the FDA. Here is
the status of each of these products:
Pfizer-BioNTech
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) issued December 11, 2020
Revised EUA issued December 23, 2020
Second Revised EUA issued February 25, 2021
Status: Currently authorized for emergency use
Moderna
EUA issued December 18, 2020
Revised EUA issued February 25, 2021
Status: Currently authorized for emergency use
Janssen (formerly called Johnson & Johnson)
EUA issued February 27, 2021
Revised EUA issued June 20, 2021
Paused on April 13, 2021 (after six cases of blood clots reported)
Resumed on April 23, 2021
Status: Currently authorized for emergency use
AstraZeneca
Submitted letter seeking approval to U.S. clinical trial investigators April 21, 2021
FDA responded with a request for more data
Status: Additional data required before authorization for use
Merck
Status: Vaccine development discontinued January 25, 2021
If and when FDA approval is obtained, it would mean “the agency has determined,
based on substantial evidence, that the drug is:
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• effective for its intended use, and
• that the benefits of the drug outweigh its risks when used according to the
product’s approved labeling.”3
The EUAs for those vaccines specifically require the manufacturers to pursue full FDA
approval, but until then, because this approval has not been obtained, it can be understood that:
• the vaccines HAVE NOT been shown to be effective for their intended use, and
• the benefits of the vaccine HAVE NOT been shown to outweigh the risks.
Based on this fact alone, mandatory vaccines are simply wrong.
B. COVID-19 Inoculations Are Not Typical Vaccines.
Vaccines are well known to the American people as “any preparation used as a
preventive inoculation to confer immunity against a specific disease, usually employing an
innocuous form of the disease agent, as killed or weakened bacteria or viruses, to stimulate
antibody production.” Dictionary.com. The COVID-19 inoculations are of an entirely
different nature from traditional vaccines. They are better understood as a type of
experimental gene therapy. The Mayo Clinic describes the vaccines as follows:
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use
messenger RNA (mRNA). Coronaviruses have a spikelike structure on their
surface called an S protein. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines give cells instructions
for how to make a harmless piece of an S protein….
The Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is a vector vaccine.
In this type of vaccine, genetic material from the COVID-19 virus is inserted
into a different kind of weakened live virus, such as an adenovirus. When the
weakened virus (viral vector) gets into your cells, it delivers genetic material
from the COVID-19 virus that gives your cells instructions to make copies of
the S protein…. [“COVID-19 vaccines: Get the facts,” Mayo Clinic (emphasis
added).]
The use of a SPIKE Protein in these vaccines had been thought to be benign, but
increasingly it is being understood that the SPIKE Protein itself is the problem. Dr. Mike
Yeadon, former Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Allergy and Respiratory
Unit of Pfizer Drugs, has explained: “The spike protein is not a passive protein that the virus
uses to anchor to human cells. Its biologically active … and prompts cells to stick together.”
3 FDA, “Understanding the Regulatory Terminology of Potential Preventions and
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Additional medical, legal, and anecdotal reports about problems with the “vaccine” are
collected at http://www.centerformedicalfreedom.com.
C. The Efficacy of the Experimental Inoculation.
An article in the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research
assesses that the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, based on data provided by the
manufacturers, is negligible:
While the high estimates of risk reduction are based upon relative risks, the
absolute risk reduction is a more appropriate metric for a member of the
general public to determine whether a vaccination provides a meaningful risk
reduction personally. In that analysis, utilizing data supplied by the vaccine
makers to the FDA, the Moderna vaccine at the time of interim analysis
demonstrated an absolute risk reduction of 1.1% (p= 0.004), while the Pfizer
vaccine absolute risk reduction was 0.7% (p<0.000) (Brown 2021). [“Worse
than the disease? Reviewing Some Possible Unintended Consequences of the
mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19,” International Journal of Vaccine Theory,
Practice, and Research (Vol. 2, no. 1 (2021)).]
See also Lancet Microbe Comment: COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and effectiveness —
the elephant (not) in the room (April 20, 2021) (“the absolute risk reduction (ARR), which is
the difference between attack rates with and without a vaccine, considers the whole population.
ARRs tend to be ignored because they give a much less impressive effect size than RRRs:
1·3% for the AstraZeneca–Oxford, 1·2% for the Moderna–NIH, 1·2% for the J&J, 0·93% for
the Gamaleya, and 0·84% for the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines. ARR is also used to derive an
estimate of vaccine effectiveness, which is the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent
one more case of COVID-19 as 1/ARR. NNVs bring a different perspective: 81 for the
Moderna–NIH, 78 for the AstraZeneca–Oxford, 108 for the Gamaleya, 84 for the J&J, and
119 for the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines.” (Emphasis added))
Furthermore, when weighed against the very low mortality rate among the age range
typical of college students, the benefits do not outweigh the risks. According to CDC Data,
only 0.2 percent of COVID-19 deaths were younger than 25. “COVID-19 Deaths By Age,”
Heritage Foundation (February 17, 2021).
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D. The VAERS System Now Shows Tremendous Death and Illness from the Disease.
On June 16, 2021, the most recent date that data are available, VAERS4
has received
326,239 events (a range of adverse events) reported for the COVID-19 vaccines.5 Of this,
there are 4,946 deaths that have been reported to be related to the COVID-19 vaccines. The
number of COVID-19 vaccine-related deaths exceeds the 4,598 deaths for every other
vaccine-related deaths reported to VAERS as long as records are available up to December
31, 2020 (including 19 deaths related to the COVID-19 vaccine during that time period).
The VAERS data, based on a voluntary reporting system, is generally understood to
significantly underestimate adverse reactions. Steve Kirsch, Executive Director of the
COVID-19 Early Treatment Fund, presented a video analysis of CDC data on TrialSiteNews
on June 16, 2021, showing that the number of vaccine-related deaths thus far is more likely to
be about 25,000 (“Kirsch video”).
Beyond the demonstrated danger for all those who are inoculated, what is most
remarkable is the disproportionate appearance of young people in those Adverse Event
Reports:
More than half of the cases reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting
System (VAERS) after people had received their second dose of either the
Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna (MRNA.O) vaccines were in people between the ages of
12 and 24, the CDC said. Those age groups accounted for less than 9% of doses
administered. [“Heart inflammation in young men higher than expected after Pfizer,
Moderna vaccines – U.S. CDC,” Reuters (June 10, 2021).]
E. The COVID-19 Inoculation Does Not Protect All Inoculated Persons from
Contracting COVID.
Even proponents of the COVID-19 inoculation do not claim that it prevents the
recipient from getting the COVID-19 infection — what is known as “sterilizing immunity.”
Consider the following:
Eight people in Maine have died with COVID after being fully
vaccinated, according to the latest numbers from Maine’s
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which
confirmed a total of 457 breakthrough cases in the state…. In
4
See https://vaers.hhs.gov/data.html.
5 VAERS data is updated every Friday, and it is believed that there is a significant
backlog of reports that the CDC has not yet processed.
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Maine and other states, anyone who tests positive for
SARS-Cov-2 two weeks after receiving the single-dose Johnson
& Johnson shot or completing the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer
vaccination is recorded as a breakthrough case. [“8 Fully
Vaccinated Die of COVID in Maine, as States Continue to Report
‘Breakthrough’ Cases,” Clarion News (June 14, 2021).]
F. Persons Have Very Little Need for the Inoculation Due to the Availability of
Successful Treatments.
An EUA can be issued only when the underlying infecton is not treatable. And if
COVID-19 is readily treatable, it alters the risk/benefit calculation dramatically. As just one
example of a treatment, COVID-19 is being successfully treated around the world with
Ivermectin. On June 1, 2021, it was reported that Ivermectin is overwhelmingly successful in
treatment of COVID-19. “Ivermectin obliterates 97 percent of Delhi cases,” The Desert
Review (June 1, 2021). This same result has been shown in other countries: “The impact of
ivermectin use in Zimbabwe,” MedicalUpdateOnline (April 19, 2021); “Uttar Pradesh
COVID-19 Case Decline Continues as Authorities Lift Restrictions in 72 or 75 State Districts:
What Was in those Medicine Kits?” TrialSiteNews (June 6, 2021); “Immediate Use of
Ivermectin Medicine Globally Can End COVID-19 Pandemic: Scientists,” Newsbreak (May 8,
2021); “Latest peer-reviewed research: Immediate global ivermectin use will end COVID-19
pandemic,” Association for the Advancement of Science (May 7, 2021); “Ivermectin in
COVID-19,” Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC). See also Kirsch video,
supra, addressing numerous effective treatments which are currently being used.
G. Persons Who Have Had COVID-19 Should Not Be Vaccinated.
The vaccine can be more dangerous for people who have already had COVID-19. Any
policy must take into account the protections already afforded by national antibodies present in
the human body, which are far superior to the immunity that could be obtained by a vaccine.
H. Vaccinated Women Are Experiencing Serious Bleeding Disorders.
A published letter to the British Medical Journal states:
Many women across the world after receiving CoViD vaccines are
complaining of irregularities in their menstrual bleeding; some experiencing
heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia), some bleeding before their periods
were due or bleeding frequently (metrorrhagia/polymenorrhea), whereas some
are complaining of postmenopausal bleeding.
As of 5th April 2021, there have been ~958 cases of post-vaccination
menstrual irregularities, including vaginal haemorrhages, that were recorded in
MHRA’s adverse event reports. There were twice more cases of menstrual
irregularities with CoViD Vaccine AstraZeneca than Pfizer (643 vs 315
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respectively)…. It is anticipated that the actual numbers of cases are much
higher than the numbers recorded in the pharmacovigilance systems as many
women in different cultural context may have felt uncomfortable to talk about it,
may not have thought that it was vaccine-related, or may have not been
encouraged by their clinicians to make an official report into the adverse events
reporting system. [“Thrombosis after covid-19 vaccination,” The BMJ (April
14, 2021).]
Professor Peter McCullough, M.D., MPH, provided a lengthy video interview
(beginning at 1:10) discussing the many dangers posed by the vaccines, including to pregnant
women, who were excluded from the COVID-19 trials.
II. LEGAL ARGUMENTS
A. Attorney General Herring Advisory Opinion Provides No Cover for Coerced
Vaccines, particularly by Private Colleges and Universities.
On April 26, 2021, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring issued a Legal Opinion
(21-030) which concluded that the Commonwealth’s public colleges and universities have the
authority to impose a requirement that students must provide evidence of receipt of an
approved COVID-19 vaccination in order to attend the institution in person. His opinion relied
on Virginia Code section 32.1-48, which authorizes the Commissioner of Health to require
“immunization of all persons in case of an epidemic of any disease of public health importance
for which a vaccine exists other than a person to whose health the administration of a vaccine
would be detrimental as certified in writing by a physician licensed to practice medicine in this
Commonwealth,” and Virginia Code section 32.1-43, which served as the basis for an opinion
of a previous Attorney General that the Health Commissioner has the power “to require
quarantine, vaccination or treatment of any individual when he determines any such measure to
be necessary to control the spread of any disease of public health importance.” The
Commissioner of Health has not exercised this power.
Mr. Herring’s opinion then reasoned that each public board of visitors and the State
Board for Community Colleges can require vaccination as a condition of in-person attendance,
citing Virginia Code sections 23.1-1301(A)(1), 23.1-1304(B)(14), 23.1-2904, and 23.1-2905.
Those statutes authorize such boards to make regulations relating to protecting the general
physical and psychological well-being of students.
Neither the Herring opinion nor the opinion of his predecessor addresses the issue of
whether the student may oppose a vaccination requirement by asserting a constitutional right to
bodily autonomy or other traditional objections based on medical, religious belief or
conscience. Additionally, the Herring opinion refers to “an approved COVID-19 vaccine,”
but there is no such approved vaccine.
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It is our view that this Legal Opinion is flawed, does not apply to the unapproved
COVID-19 inoculations, and does not address the issue of exemptions.
B. Coerced COVID-19 Immunization Breaches a Contract with Students and Parents.
Those students who decided to attend or entered your college did so prior to any
requirement of receiving an experimental vaccine. Your institution is changing the rules in the
middle of the game, unilaterally changing the terms of a previously agreed upon contract.
C. It Is a Violation of Bio-Ethics to Coerce Use of An Experimental Drug.
After World War II, the United States conducted the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.
One of those was United States v. Karl Brandt, et al. where Karl Brandt was prosecuted for
crimes against humanity in conducting medical experiments with prisoners. The U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum has preserved the documents of that trial. The Court’s decision
established what came to be called the Nuremberg Code, establishing 10 principles governing
medical experimentation on human subjects. The experimental COVID-19 vaccine being
forced on students is very much subject to the principles governing medical experimentation,
and it fails on the very first point. The students objecting to the COVID-19 vaccine cannot be
said to have given their voluntary consent. In fact, some may be below 18 years of age and do
not have the legal capacity to give consent. They are not able to exercise free power of choice
without coercion. Nor are they being given sufficient information about the dangers to make
an informed choice, and thus these students do not accept the hazards that have been shown to
occur with some regularity.
The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means
that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be
situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention
of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, over-reaching, or other ulterior
form of constraint or coercion, and should have sufficient knowledge and
comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to enable
him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. This latter element
requires that before the acceptance of an affirmative decision by the
experimental subject there should be made known to him the nature, duration,
and purpose of the experiment; the method and means by which it is to be
conducted; all inconveniences and hazards reasonably to be expected; and the
effects upon his health or person which may possibly come from his
participation in the experiment. The duty and responsibility for ascertaining the
quality of the consent rests upon each individual who initiates, directs or
engages in the experiment. It is a personal duty and responsibility which may
not be delegated to another with impunity. [Id. (emphasis added).]
Lastly, these Nuremberg Principles require the following:
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During the course of the experiment the scientist in charge must be prepared to
terminate the experiment at any stage, if he has probable cause to believe, in the
exercise of the good faith, superior skill and careful judgment required by him
that a continuation of the experiment is likely to result in injury, disability, or
death to the experimental subject. [Id.]
The United States has a long and sad history of conducting experiments on humans
without full disclosure, full understanding of risks, and full assumption of risks. Just one
illustration of this practice was the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male,”
conducted between 1932 and 1972 in Tuskegee, Alabama by the U.S. Public Health Service.
Another case came to light in United States v. Stanley, 483 U.S. 669 (1987), which
ruled that a U.S. Serviceman given LSD without his consent could not sue the U.S. Army for
damages, but was later awarded over $400,000. The dissenting opinion of Justice O’Connor is
instructive:
No judicially crafted rule should insulate from liability the involuntary and
unknowing human experimentation alleged to have occurred in this case.
Indeed, as Justice Brennan observes, the United States military played an
instrumental role in the criminal prosecution of Nazi officials who experimented
with human subjects during the Second World War … and the standards that
the Nuremberg Military Tribunals developed to judge the behavior of the
defendants stated that the ‘voluntary consent of the human subject is
absolutely essential … to satisfy moral, ethical and legal concepts.’ ….If this
principle is violated the very least that society can do is to see that the victims
are compensated, as best they can be, by the perpetrators. [Id. at 709-710
(emphasis added).]
In 1964, the international medical community, working through the World Medical
Association, adopted the Declaration of Helsinki, which contains bio-ethical principles
designed to restrict human experimentation. It appears that the minimum requirements of that
Declaration have not been met here. Based on the information that we have seen, none of the
Virginia colleges and universities have observed complete disclosure of the risks of the
COVID-19 vaccine, have not made an effort to ensure students understand those risks, and
thus have not obtained true “informed consent” of the students. As such, these students have
been coerced into participating in a dangerous human trial without meeting the minimum
standards required by modern notions of Bio-Ethics. At some point, those injured by these
vaccines will seek compensation, and it will be very difficult for any institution that mandates
these vaccines to avoid liability for its coercive policy.
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D. Every College or University Must Offer a Religious and Medical Exemption.
Virginia Code section 23.1-800 (“Health histories and immunizations required;
exemptions”) states:
Any student is exempt from the immunization requirements set forth in
subsections B and C who (i) objects on the grounds that administration of
immunizing agents conflicts with his religious tenets or practices, unless the
Board of Health has declared an emergency or epidemic of disease, or (ii)
presents a statement from a licensed physician that states that his physical
condition is such that administration of one or more of the required immunizing
agents would be detrimental to his health. [Emphasis added.]
We have been advised that some colleges and universities are not expressly advising
students of these two exemptions, which would violate this code section.
Also, some colleges and universities appear to be tightening the requirement for a
religious exemption beyond that which was previously applied, requiring detailed statements
about the basis for a religious exemption, as if the college and university would be a judge
over the personal religious beliefs of the student. In our view, any such effort would violate
both the statute and the Constitution of Virginia, Article I, Section 16 (“No man shall be
compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor
shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise
suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief.”).
Additionally, the Virginia Department of Health’s Administrative Code, 12 VAC5-110-
80, allows for exemptions from immunization requirements by those who can demonstrate
existing immunity. We have not seen a mandatory policy which provides this allowance.
E. Colleges and Universities Should Not Mandate Use of Pharmacologic Products
Developed or Manufactured Using Aborted Fetal Tissue.
The religious and moral objections of many persons who object to use of vaccines
which may have been developed or tested with or manufactured using aborted fetal tissue
should be honored. See “Which COVID-19 vaccines are connected to abortion?,”
LifeSiteNews (Dec. 11, 2020).
F. Bodily Autonomy under Virginia Law.
A recent survey of the law of bodily integrity by Professor Caitlin Borgmann provides
this historical background of the right to bodily integrity:
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The common law right not to have our bodies touched or invaded without our
consent is so well established that most of us take its existence for granted. The
Supreme Court has described it as the most “sacred” of rights. [Caitlin
Borgmann, The Constitutionality of Government-Imposed Bodily Intrusions,
2014 U. ILL. L. REV. 1059 (2014).]
For this principle, Professor Borgmann cites Union P.R. Co. v. Botsford, 141 U.S. 250, 251
(1891) (“No right is held more sacred or is more carefully guarded by the common law than
the right of every individual to the possession and control of his own person, free from all
restraint or interference of others unless by clear and unquestionable authority of law.”). As
Professor Borgmann explains, the Supreme Court has been uneven in its defense of the notion
of bodily integrity, but that ambiguous record should provide no comfort to educators who
should respect that right of students and staff.
A challenge to a vaccination requirement imposed by a private institution likely would
be based on the common law right to determine “what shall be done with one’s own body.”
Cruzan v. Dir., Mo. Dep’t of Health, 497 U.S. 261, 305-09 (1990) (Brennan, J., dissenting)
(tracing the history of the common law right). The common law right to be free from
unwanted medical attention is “a right to evaluate the potential benefit of treatment and its
possible consequences according to one’s own values and to make a personal decision whether
to subject oneself to the intrusion.” Id. at 309. In Albright v. Oliver, 510 U.S. 266, 272
(1994), the Court recognized that “matters relating to marriage, family, procreation, and the
right to bodily integrity” are subject to substantive due process challenge.
It would be tragic indeed if colleges and universities were to rely for authority on the
U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927), which upheld Virginia’s
statute authorizing sterilization of “feeble-minded” individuals, but has never been overruled.
Moreover, the Virginia statute at issue in Buck v. Bell has since been repealed, and the
Supreme Court appeared to limit that ruling in Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson, 316
U.S. 535 (1942).
G. Federal Law Prevents Coerced Administration of the Vaccine.
Finally, we urge you to consult with your counsel about whether your institution has
any authority to impose any COVID-19 vaccine mandate, when the Federal statute governing
EUAs specifies the conditions on which the EUA products may be authorized and
administered.
(ii) Appropriate conditions designed to ensure that individuals to whom the
product is administered are informed—
(I) that the Secretary has authorized the emergency use of the product;
(II) of the significant known and potential benefits and risks of such use, and of
the extent to which such benefits and risks are unknown; and
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(III) of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product, of the
consequences, if any, of refusing administration of the product, and of the
alternatives to the product that are available and of their benefits and risks. [21
U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III) (emphasis added).]
Note that this federal statute expressly anticipates that each individual will be given the
option to refuse the EUA product.
REQUESTED RELIEF
For the reasons set out above, and on behalf of our clients, we respectfully, but in the
strongest possible terms, urge you to reconsider and then revoke your policy mandating an
experimental COVID-19 inoculation for students or staff. Further, we make the following
requests.
A. Request for Your Institution’s Policy.
Many colleges and universities are advising students and staff of their vaccine
requirements via email or their website, with changing views on how their policy will be
implemented. To avoid confusion, we would ask that we be provided a copy of your
institution’s current COVID-19 Vaccine Policy or revised policy rescinding the mandate,
which we would be able to share with others.
With the illness and death of increasing numbers of students around the country, there
will come a time of accountability for compelling a dangerous experimental inoculation.
Therefore, and in the interest of transparency, it is critical for the public to know who made
the decision. Was it a vote of your governing board? Was it a decision of the President?
Who were the lawyers who advised that this policy be adopted? What information did they
have available to them when the decision was made? Did the institution reconsider that
decision in response to this letter, or for some other reason?
B. Request for a Commitment to Assume Financial Liability for Death, Disability, or
Illness of Students Being Required to Take the COVID-19 Inoculation.
Federal law immunizes vaccine manufacturers from liability, and appears to immunize
those administering vaccines, but does not appear to immunize colleges and universities from
liability for coercing students and staff to get vaccines.
We are not privy to the insurance coverage that your institution may have that could
apply here. Moreover, while Virginia’s public colleges and universities may be able to assert
a variety of defenses to assert against liability, there is no guarantee that such efforts will be
successful. Certainly the mere possibility of immunity should never cause anyone to make
decisions which endanger others.
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We would suggest that you ask your institution’s legal counsel about liability and
whether you should advise your insurance carriers of potential claims. Parents and students
would like to know if your institution has the resources and/or insurance coverage to ensure
payment for personal injury claims resulting from your coercive mandates.
C. Notice to Preserve Evidence.
Pursuant to the Virginia and federal rules of civil procedure, we are placing your
institution on notice to preserve electronic and discoverable evidence. This requires your
immediate attention without regard to what position you may or may not ultimately take
concerning any institutional vaccination and exemption policy.
This notice applies to the institution’s on- and off-site computer systems and removable
electronic media plus all computer systems, services, and devices (including all remote access
and wireless devices) used for your institution’s overall operation. Email and other electronic
communications are especially important to preserve. This means halting any automatic
erasure or deletion of documents or communication that are relevant to the institution’s medical
policy or practices in connection with its student body and staff. Please notify your IT
department immediately to cease adherence to its record retention disposition policy. This
includes disposition of electronically stored information and hard copies of documents.
As litigation often involves complex issues, we are also requesting that all student and
staff documentation involving past vaccinations, boosters, immunizations, and related
voluntary or mandatory medical treatment required or solicited as a condition of admission,
matriculation, or employment, be preserved. This request also covers PHI, student records
protected under federal law, and all waivers, exemptions, and exceptions to any vaccination,
vaccination-related, or preventive or protective medical policy or practice of the institution.
This request includes without limitation and by way of example, TB, meningitis, flu, SARS,
and COVID-19 data, records, policies, and exemptions.
This request to preserve also covers medical licensing and insurance documentation.
This includes documents and communications authorizing institutional agents, contractors, and
employees’ state medical licensure documentation, including claims and malpractice history for
each such person going back 10 years. It also includes any documents that authorized
unlicensed persons to administer vaccinations and hold harmless, indemnification and release
agreements or forms that may be relevant.
Our request covers the institution’s insurance policies, communications specific to
vaccination coverage and liability, and any riders specifically related to coverage or waiver of
liability for harm caused pursuant to a mandatory vaccination policy. Please ask your counsel
about your duty to place all such carriers on notice of a possible claim and request assignment
of legal counsel under a reservation of rights if necessary.
We are advised that many institutions require students to obtain health insurance as a
condition of admission to the institution. Student Health and Wellness records come within
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this preservation request as well as all records, communications, and documents addressing
coordination among health insurance carriers of claims arising from illness, disability, injury,
or death resulting from an institutionally required vaccination. Records identifying who pays,
in what amounts, and in what order, including policy limits, reinsurance, and institutional
liability beyond policy limits are also to be preserved.
Moreover, please preserve all records consulted in developing an institutional
vaccination policy. These include records related to preservation or exercise of any individual
right associated with declining medical treatment. This in turn also covers records pertaining
to development of a policy protecting the individual right to refuse blood or blood transfusions
from COVID-19 vaccinated persons or sources and liability associated with malpractice
relating thereto.
Our request to preserve also includes all privileged documents and communications. A
court can sort out production of those documents under seal or in camera or otherwise later on.
Since these matters are often discussed at the Board and administrative level, we want you to
understand that communications regarding COVID-19, the institution’s responses and policies,
as well as vaccination-related communications by and between the Board and its institutional
decision makers and/or administrative officers, are of particular importance to ensure unaltered
preservation. Often these communications take place on both institutionally issued computers
and phones, but in many instances personal devices are used.
This notice to preserve covers all devices without regard to institutional ownership.
Normally, a letter to that effect would be sent to your governing Board and officers as well as
your General Counsel. That letter should include this communication and also ensure that all
such devices are physically delivered to the institution. Once delivered, each of their drives,
texts, and emails must all be secured on an ongoing basis. If in civil discovery, we find this
notice or procedure was not followed or your Board members were not placed on immediate
notice, court rules provide for sanctions to punish this behavior. See Va. R. Sup. Ct. 4:1;
Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(e)(1).6 Please consult with your legal counsel.
6 Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 37(c): Failure to Preserve Electronically Stored Information.
If electronically stored information that should have been preserved in the anticipation
or conduct of litigation is lost because a party failed to take reasonable steps to preserve it, and
it cannot be restored or replaced through additional discovery, the court:
(1) upon finding prejudice to another party from loss of the information, may order
measures no greater than necessary to cure the prejudice; or
(2) only upon finding that the party acted with the intent to deprive another party of the
information’s use in the litigation may:
(A) presume that the lost information was unfavorable to the party;
(B) instruct the jury that it may or must presume the information was unfavorable to the
party; or
(C) dismiss the action or enter a default judgment.
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We are also advised that the CDC has addressed “COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Health
Disparities.” See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/
racial-ethnic-disparities/index.html. Our request to preserve documents is intended to address
all such documentation identified in the CDC memorandum regarding special attention the
institution has taken in connection with its COVID policy as it affects racial and ethnic
minority groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19. We assume that any companion
development of a COVID-19 vaccination policy will have thoroughly addressed the equivalent
concerns regarding the health effects of vaccinations on racial and ethnic minority groups
disproportionately affected by vaccinations. This request to preserve includes all such policy
and developmental documents addressing the health effects of vaccinations on racial and ethnic
minority groups disproportionately affected by vaccinations, including any COVID-19-related
vaccinations.
Since electronically stored information is easily corrupted, altered, and deleted in
normal daily operations, an important method for preserving data in its original state is to have
a forensic image (mirror image or clone image) made of pertinent hard drives of both office
and home computers used for business and of network servers. This image captures all current
data, including the background or metadata about each document. Simply copying data to a
CD-ROM or other common backup medium is not adequate. For each captured image file,
record and identify the person creating the image and the date of creation. Secure the file to
prevent subsequent alteration or corruption, and create a chain of custody log. Once the
forensic data image file is created, the pertinent computer or other device can be placed back
into operation.
This preservation notice covers the above items and information between the following
dates: January 1, 2020, to date, except as otherwise noted.
Again we remind you that to properly fulfill your preservation obligation, stop all
scheduled data destruction, electronic shredding, rotation of backup tapes, and the sale, gift, or
destruction of hardware. Notify all individuals and affiliated organizations of the need and
duty to take the necessary affirmative steps to comply with the duty to preserve evidence.
CONCLUSION
On May 25, 2021, the Chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges, Glenn Dubois,
issued a policy for those institutions:
After consulting with presidents and senior leaders across our 23 community
colleges, I believe it is in the best interests of our faculty, staff, and students to
encourage everyone to get their COVID-19 vaccine. However, we will not
require an individual be vaccinated to attend or to work at one of our
colleges. [“No Vaccine Mandate to Attend, Work at a Virginia Community
College Masks are Optional for Those Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19,”
Virginia’s Community Colleges News (May 25, 2021) (emphasis added).]
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The Community College policy apparently was based in part on “lack of residence halls
on community college campuses” (id.), but there are great numbers of students at Virginia’s
four-year colleges which live off campus. There is no reason to believe that Chancellor
Dubois is less concerned about the health of his students than the four-year colleges requiring
vaccines.
On April 24, 2021, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (“AAPS”)
issued an Open Letter to Universities entitled “Allow Students Back Without COVID Vaccine
Mandate.” In this letter, which is attached as an appendix, Paul M. Kempen, M.D., Ph.D.,
AAPS President, offered 15 facts supporting the recommendation. The AAPS letter
concludes:
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.
[“Open Letter from Physicians to Universities: Allow Students Back Without
COVID Vaccine Mandate,” AAPS (Apr. 24, 2021) (emphasis added).]
On behalf of the organizations, students, and parents we are writing, we join AAPS’
request. Please reconsider and revoke your policy requiring COVID-19 vaccines of students
and staff.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Patrick M. McSweeney /s/ William J. Olson
Patrick M. McSweeney William J. Olson
McSweeney, Cynkar & Kachouroff, PLLC William J. Olson, P.C.
13649 Office Place, Suite 101 370 Maple Ave. W., Suite 4
Woodbridge, VA 22192 Vienna, VA 22180
Appendix: AAPS Open Letter
Page 21 of 22
Appendix — Page 1
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Open Letter from Physicians to Universities:
Allow Students Back Without COVID Vaccine Mandate
Dear Deans, Governing Boards and Trustees,
On behalf of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, I am writing to ask you to
reconsider your new policy mandating COVID-19 vaccination of students prior to returning to
campus.[i] Institutions of higher learning are divided on this issue.[ii] ,[iii] 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.
There are multiple reasons to reverse your policy. I ask you to consider the following:
1. Young adults are a healthy and immunologically competent and vibrant group that is at,
“extraordinary low risk for COVID-19 morbidity and mortality.”[iv]
2. College and University students, however, are under significant mental health strain already
from COVID-19 fears, circumstances, distance learning problems and the imposition of
government health policy restrictions.[v]
3. 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.
Clinical trials will continue for at least two years before the FDA can even consider approval
of these vaccines as effective and safe.
4. The COVID-19 vaccines on the market in the U.S., mRNA (Moderna and Pfizer) and DNA
(Johnson & Johnson – Janssen), have caused notable side effects, pathology and even death
(4.178 deaths per VAERS as of May 5, 2021). These adverse reactions result in absence from
school and work, hospital visits, and even loss of life.[vi]
5. 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, reported so far in the
United States, occurred in younger women.[vii] The vast majority of cases of anaphylaxis
have also occurred in women.[viii] In addition, “women are reporting having irregular
menstrual cycles after getting the coronavirus vaccine,”[ix] and 95 miscarriages have been
reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS) following COVID
vaccination as of April 24, 2021.[x]
6. Recent research data demonstrates that the spike protein, present on the SARS-CoV-2 virus
and the induced primary mechanism of action of COVID-19 vaccines, are the primary cause of
disease, infirmity, hospitalization and death.[xi]
7. Students who have had self-limited cases of COVID-19 already possess antibodies,
activated B-cells, activated T-cells (detectable by lab testing). This durable, long-term
immunity would not only prevent them from getting recurrent COVID-19, but would also
represent herd immunity to protect others in the college or university community.[xii],[xiii]
8. COVID-19 convalescent students may be harmed by college and university policy requiring
COVID-19 vaccines.[xiv] They already have extensive immunity and would be likely harmed
from a forced confrontation with COVID-19 vaccine induced spike protein causing
autoimmune reactions leading to illness and possible death.[xv]
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Appendix — Page 2
9. Students and their families may justifiably believe these policies discriminate against
individuals who aren’t candidates for this vaccine, have pre-existing conditions, previous
COVID-19 disease, cite religious objections, or are otherwise exercising their freewill
choosing not to participate in this optional vaccine experiment. Refer to the Nuremberg code
from WWII, which requires individuals, “to be able to exercise free power of choice, without
the intervention of any element of force….”[xvi]
10. Institutional policies that permit faculty to choose or refuse vaccination, but do not allow
students the same options, raise equal protection constitutional issues.
11. The ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, requires “reasonable accommodations,” be
provided based on an individual’s own unique health situation. This includes rejection of an
experimental vaccine intervention which may exacerbate known health problems and thereby
cause harm.
12. Colleges and Universities should consider whether they might be liable for damages, poor
health outcomes, and loss of life due to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies.[xvii]
13. “Positive cases,” as defined by laboratory testing alone, may be false positive testing
errors or asymptomatic infection that is not clinically proven to spread disease.
14. Ambulatory outpatient early treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection / COVID-19 has been
demonstrated effective in adults.[xviii]
15. Informed consent is the standard for all medical interventions. The FDA factsheet for the
healthcare provider reads, “The recipient or their caregiver has the option to accept or refuse
(Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine.”
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. Thank you for your time and attention. We
would appreciate hearing back from you as soon as possible and welcome further discussion
with you and other leaders at your institution.
Sincerely,
Paul M. Kempen, M.D., Ph.D. – AAPS President (2021)
[Footnotes omitted.]
ABYSSUS ABYSSUM INVOCAT / DEEP CALLS TO DEEP 