A bill proposed in Arkansas will allow workers to opt-out of employer COVID vaccine mandates if they can prove they have natural antibodies against the Chinese Communist Party virus — or if they undergo weekly testing.
The state’s House and Senate Public Health committees have endorsed versions of the same bill, according to legislators. The bill would also require the state to pay unemployment benefits to workers who are fired over the vaccine mandate.
“This is what we felt we could get through to give employees some protection,” state Sen. Kim Hammer said, according to The Associated Press.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has bucked the GOP before with his veto, but he has previously criticized President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate, calling them counterproductive.
State Sen. Trent Garner posted a draft of the bill on Twitter on Tuesday.
“We know natural immunity is as strong a protection from COVID-19 as vaccination,” Garner tweeted. “It is time for Arkansas to recognize natural immunity with the same degree as vaccination rates. I filed a bill to treat natural immunity the same as a vaccine for COVID-19.”
We know natural immunity is as strong a protection from COVID-19 as vaccination. It is time for Arkansas to recognize natural immunity with the same degree as vaccination rates.
I filed a bill to treat natural immunity the same as a vaccine for COVID-19. #arpx #arleg #ARNews pic.twitter.com/CpGQ7tCjAd
— State Senator Trent Garner (@Garner4Senate) September 28, 2021