On June 16, Facebook page “ბექა ვარდოსანიძის ბლოგი•Beka Vardosanidze’s blog” published Arizona Governor’s Order about the accessibility of higher education to all students. The author of the post, Beka Vardosanidze writes that according to Arizona Governor’s Executive Order COVID vaccines, masks and tests are banned in schools. Vardosanidze also states that students have no right to receive COVID-19 vaccination, get a COVID test, or wear masks. The post even provides a quote from the governor saying that even though the vaccine works and the public is advised to get it, he considers it an individual choice.
Information disseminated by Beka Vardosanidze is partly false. Even though Governor issued an Order, according to which any student, vaccinated or not, should be allowed in Arizona state universities and colleges, the aforesaid order didn’t restrict vaccination, mask-wearing, or COVID-19 tests because it’s based on a voluntary choice, while a particular category of students might be subjected to mandatory testing.
On June 15, 2021, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey issued an Executive Order, according to which all students, vaccinated or not, should be allowed in Arizona state universities and community colleges. Per the Order, students cannot be mandated to take the COVID-19 vaccine and submit the COVID-19 vaccination document to educational institutions.
Thus, the governor bans higher education institutions from mandating students to receive vaccination, and not COVID-19 vaccination, tests, or masks in general as it was written by Beka Vardosanidze since this process is based on a voluntary choice.
“The vaccine works, and we encourage Arizonans to take it. But it is a choice and we need to keep it that way” – states Governor Ducey
According to Ducey’s Order, colleges and universities shouldn’t mandate students to wear masks on campus or get a COVID-19 test, whereas exceptions might be made for students who work in the clinic or other medical institutions. People who participate in clinical trials are also an exception. It’s noteworthy that the Order doesn’t ban educational institutions from encouraging vaccination or voluntary testing and mask-wearing.
The Governor’s Order also notes that more and more people are being vaccinated in Arizona, reducing the risk posed by COVID-19.
The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.
Read detailed instructions for editing the article.
Read detailed appeal instructions.
