Virginia Commissioner of Health Dr. Norman Oliver says he plans on forcing people to take a coronavirus vaccine once one becomes available.
Virginia law gives the Commissioner of Health the authority to mandate immunizations during a public health crisis if a vaccine is available.
“It is killing people now, we don’t have a treatment for it and if we develop a vaccine that can prevent it from spreading in the community we will save hundreds and hundreds of lives,” Oliver said on Friday.
There were seven people hospitalized in the state because of coronavirus on Aug. 20, according to the Virginia Department of Health website. The peak hospitalizations in Virginia was 120 on May 1. Since July 15, Virginia has had two days with double-digit daily COVID-19 deaths: 12 fatalities on July 25 and 10 on July 29.
A Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted between July 28-30 found that only 42% of all Americans said they would get vaccinated “if and when a coronavirus vaccine becomes available.”