Thread by @ashtonpittman

BREAKING: The board that oversees Mississippi's colleges has voted to prohibit the state's colleges and universities from mandating COVID-19 vaccines.

Today's IHL vote comes after MSU and UM's faculty senates voted FOR vaccine mandates on their campuses.
mississippifreepress.org/16046/ihl-proh…

Today's vote to prohibit COVID-19 vaccines comes a day after I asked IHL about a discrepancy in a prior vote on Aug. 27 and a claim in IHL minutes.

On Aug. 27, IHL voted against implementing a vaccine mandate at the state's college—but not a prohibition.
mississippifreepress.org/16046/ihl-proh…

During the Aug. 27 meeting, Trustee Morgan made a motion not to "impose any requirement on the universities to mandate vaccination."

I asked why IHL yesterday why the minutes claimed the motion was to direct colleges "to refrain from mandating" it.mississippifreepress.org/16046/ihl-proh…

IHL answered my question today, saying the board met today & repealed the 8/27 motion, replacing it with this: "except for clinical settings...institutions are directed to refrain from mandating COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of enrollment/employment."mississippifreepress.org/16046/ihl-proh…

Today's IHL vote to prohibit Mississippi colleges and universities from mandating the vaccine was 8-to-1.

The only IHL board member to vote against the motion? Dr. Steven Cunningham, a diagnostic radiologist who sees what COVID does to lungs daily.
mississippifreepress.org/16046/ihl-proh…

Last week, Mississippi became No. 1 in the U.S. for COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 people—surpassing New Jersey and New York, the nation's early pandemic hotspots.

If Mississippi were a country, we'd be No. 2 in the world in COVID deaths—behind only Peru.mississippifreepress.org/15908/mississi…

Last week, the Mississippi State University Faculty Senate voted in favor of mandating vaccines for students and employees at MSU.

MSU admins said they couldn't because IHL prohibited it. That appears to have become true after today's "clarifying" vote. mississippifreepress.org/15876/msu-sena…

Earlier this month, an 89% majority of the University of Mississippi Faculty Senate voted in favor of a resolution urging the administration to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all students, faculty and staff after IHL first voted against a mandate.mississippifreepress.org/15620/universi…

Full disclosure: Here are the emails between myself and IHL Communications Director Caron Blanton.

On Sept. 13, Blanton emailed me concerned that my story on the MSU Faculty Senate vote could be misleading re: whether vaccine mandates are prohibited.

I asked her to clarify. 1/

IHL's Blanton responded with a copy of the Aug. 27 minutes that claimed Trustee Morgan made a successful motion which said "institutions are directed to refrain from mandating the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of enrollment or employment." 2/mississippifreepress.org/16046/ihl-proh…

I replied to Blanton, pointing out that the minutes conflicted with Trustee Morgan's actual motion on Aug. 27, in which he simply said "it's our view...that we would not impose any requirement on the universities to mandate vaccination." 3/ mississippifreepress.org/16046/ihl-proh…

In the email yesterday about the discrepancy between the Aug. 27 motion and the minutes' rendering, I also pointed to IHL's own Policies & Bylaws, which say "Minutes shall be kept of all meetings of a public body...showing...an accurate recording of any final actions taken..." 4/

After my email yesterday asking about the discrepancy between the actual Aug. 27 vote and the minutes' rendering of it, Blanton responded to me today at 4:33 p.m., letting me know that the IHL Board of Trustees had rescinded the Aug. 27 vote and replaced it with a prohibiton. 5/

IHL voted today to prohibit universities and colleges from mandating COVID vaccines—despite the fact that, under IHL, Mississippi’s colleges and universities already mandate proof of immunization for measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and tuberculosis.
mississippifreepress.org/16046/ihl-proh…

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As noted in the story on the Aug. 27 vote, Mississippi's governor appoints members of the IHL Board of Trustees. Current Gov. Tate Reeves has appointed three of the current members; the others were appointed by former Gov. Phil Bryant.
mississippifreepress.org/15299/mississi…

*to prohibit COVID-19 vaccine MANDATES, this tweet should say