by James A. Bacon
George Mason University has granted Todd Zywicki a medical exemption from its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. The law school professor had sued the university, which had denied him an exemption, on the grounds that, as a COVID survivor, he had acquired natural immunity to the virus and that a vaccination would expose him to unnecessary medical risks.
GMU has assured Zywicki that he will not be subject to disciplinary action, and that he will be allowed to hold office hours and attend in-person events provided he maintains six feet of distance, said the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), which backed his lawsuit, in a press release. However, the professor must get tested for COVID-19 once per week.
“Thanks to NCLA, we have increased public awareness that vaccinating the naturally immune is medically unnecessary and presents an elevated risk of harm to COVID-19 survivors,” said Zywicki. “I speak for tens of millions of Americans in the same circumstances I am in, and I call on leaders across the country to develop humane and science-based approaches as opposed to one-size-fits-all policies.”
“NCLA is pleased that GMU granted Professor Zywicki’s medical exemption, which we believe it only did because he filed this lawsuit,” said the NCLA. “Nevertheless, NCLA remains dismayed by GMU’s refusal — along with many other public and private universities and other employers — to recognize that the science establishes beyond any doubt that natural immunity is as robust or more so than vaccine immunity.”
Now that Zywicki has won his exemption from GMU, his case could set a precedent regarding mandatory vaccination policies across Virginia. The NCLA said it continues to explore litigation against GMU and, additionally, would “welcome hearing from others on public-university campuses in Virginia — particularly tenured faculty — who have naturally acquired immunity backed by antibody testing.”
Zywicki’s lawsuit cited a substantial body of scientific evidence indicating that COVID-19 survivors have naturally acquired immunity to the virus that equals or exceeds that obtained from the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Zywicki had backed his claims of immunity with lab tests showing a high level of antibodies in his system.
GMU has yet to offer publicly the scientific rationale behind its vaccination mandate. For that matter, neither has any other Virginia university.
Indeed, the University of Virginia, which claims that its mandate follows guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and various unidentified medical experts, has defied Freedom of Information Act requests to release any documents or communications that might illuminate the scientific basis for its mandate. The university contends that the university president’s “working papers” are exempt from FOIA.
GMU’s concession to Zywicki brings it close to the UVa mandate, which requires unvaccinated students, faculty and staff to undergo weekly testing. GMU is less restrictive in one way, however: While Zywicki is required to maintain social distance, unvaccinated persons at UVa must wear masks in all public places.
