One Minnesota lawmaker has authored a bill that would make proof of natural immunity an acceptable alternative to COVID vaccination.
Rep. Eric Lucero, a Republican from St. Michael, introduced HF 2694 on Monday. The proposed law would prohibit government vaccine mandates and allow unvaccinated individuals whose employers mandated the shot to provide proof of natural immunity instead.
“If any employer conducting business in Minnesota or employing any Minnesota resident chooses to require vaccinations against any infection, the employer must allow proof of presence of natural antibodies as an alternative to the vaccine,” the bill says.
HF 2694 also bars any “government entity” from enforcing vaccine mandates and passports “to ensure the sovereignty of states’ rights guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and to protect the fundamental individual liberties and privacies of all persons against an abusive federal government.”
The next Minnesota legislative session begins Jan. 31 and the bill has been referred to the House Health Committee.
Some may see shortcomings in the bill, namely that it’s premised on the possibility and even legality of private businesses requiring their employees to get the COVID vaccine. The bill only proposes to ban government-enforced mandates, not necessarily all mandates.
Alpha News recently pointed out the inconsistencies in the Twin Cities vaccine mandates. Restaurant workers will no longer be required to take the shot, even though their customers will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to dine in.
That means the unvaccinated can work at restaurants with no restrictions but cannot dine at them without presenting a negative test result.
What’s more, not all negative tests are acceptable. The Twin Cities mandates specifically prevent customers from showing a negative at-home test. Only PCR tests taken at a certified lab or testing site are acceptable. Test results can’t be more than 72 hours old either.
Restaurants are feeling the effects of the mandates. Compared to January 2019, reservations at Minneapolis restaurants this month are down 65%, according to OpenTable data. That figure is right up there with cities like San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, and Portland.
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
