November 15, 2021 - Washington, DC— Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) sent a letter last Monday to Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Mitchell Wolfe at the 
Center for Disease Control, urging them to expand their use of exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Congressman Brooks cited two cases in his district where individuals had adverse reactions to a COVID-19 vaccine, and will still lose their jobs if they do not receive their second dose because adverse reactions not related to an allergy, doctor recommendations, and other exemptions are not covered by the CDC’s current guidelines.
Congressman Brooks said, “It is wrong for the government to insert itself into a personal healthcare decision, and bureaucrats in Washington have no right to replace a doctor in these decisions. A growing number of Americans are having adverse side effects directly related to their receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. If an individual has an adverse reaction not related to an allergy, or a doctor recommends they do not receive the vaccine, the CDC should recognize these exemptions.”
Congressman Brooks concluded, “As Federal Agencies are looking for guidance on exemption guidelines, the CDC can err on the side of liberty and freedom, or they can side with oppressive and dictatorial mandates that leave no room for the input of doctors dealing with individual patients. I urge the CDC to expand their guidelines, and allow American citizens the ability to make the decision best for their own personal health, without having Washington intervene. Lives and livelihoods are at stake, and the American people expect the CDC to set aside partisan politics and do what is right.”
Click HERE to download the letter.
Full text of the letter follows:
November 08, 2021
Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, Director
Dr. Mitchell Wolfe, Chief Medical Officer
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
395 E Street, SW, Suite 9100
Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Dr. Walensky and Dr. Wolfe,
As you know, on January 20, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden announced Executive Order 13991[1], which established the Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce under his authority from 5 U.S.C. § 7902(c). Later, on September 09, 2021, President Biden announced Executive Orders 14042[2] and 14043[3], which promoted his authority to mandate vaccines for federal employees and federal contractors under 5 U.S.C. § 3301, 3302, 7301, 40 U.S.C. 101, and 3 U.S.C. § 301 respectively. Building on his previous Executive Order 13991, the President tasked the Safer Federal Workforce with implementing a vaccine protocol for all Federal employees and contractors, as well as Federal buildings and lands.
Since then, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force has instituted guidelines for employers and employees as it relates to the vaccine mandate. As a part of these guidelines, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force requires all Federal Agencies to comply with laws where an exception is required, including but not limited to, religious and disability claims.[4] Further, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force requires each Agency to establish and implement their own exemption process.[5] Though, several Agencies seem to be unaware of their exemptions process, my office has been informed that many Agencies plan to follow the exemption guidelines laid out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[6][7][8]
This is concerning as the CDC only lists “a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) or an immediate allergic reaction”[9] to be the criteria on who should not get vaccinated. By way of background, there are two people in my district, who got vaccinated and had ill effects.
The first is a young woman who, until she became sick, served in the U.S. Navy. She received her second Pfizer vaccine in March and by July she was paralyzed. After several tests, the doctors informed her that there is no other explanation than this being an adverse reaction from the vaccine.
The other is a woman who upon receiving her first Moderna vaccine became very ill and partially paralyzed on her left side. Her doctors have recommended she not get the second vaccine, as they say her partial paralysis is from the Moderna shot. However, her Agency informed her that she will likely be denied for an exemption because the CDC does not list non-allergic reactions, also known as adverse reactions, or doctor recommendations as a qualifying exemption. She now faces losing her job.
Let me be clear, the government should never take the place of a doctor. It is clear the CDC needs to expand their qualifying exemptions list to better assist Agencies in establishing and implementing an exemption process.
As such, I request the CDC to include adverse reactions (non-allergic) and doctor recommendations to their qualifying exemptions list so Agencies can better accommodate exemption requests.
I appreciate your consideration of this request and look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
[1] White House, Executive Order 13991 on Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing, Jan. 20, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-the-federal-workforce-and-requiring-mask-wearing/.
[2] White House, Executive Order 14042 on Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, Sep. 09, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/09/09/executive-order-on-ensuring-adequate-covid-safety-protocols-for-federal-contractors/.
[3] White House, Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees, Sep. 09, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/09/09/executive-order-on-requiring-coronavirus-disease-2019-vaccination-for-federal-employees/.
[4] Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, Vaccinations, https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/faq/vaccinations/, October 28, 2021.
[5] Id.
[6] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety, Oct. 28, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/Moderna.html.
[7] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety, Oct. 28, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/Pfizer-BioNTech.html.
[8] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety, Oct. 28, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/janssen.html.
[9] Id.
Source: Congressman Mo Brooks
