‘Definitely Not’: Dr. Oz Comes Out Against Vaccine Mandates in Fox News Interview
Dr. Mehmet Oz said there should “definitely not” be vaccine mandates — especially for children — and that American doctors should never “feel pressure” from the government to force vaccines on their patients.
He shared his thoughts on the matter while appearing on The Story With Martha MacCallum on Fox News on Wednesday. MacCallum asked Dr. Oz for his take on the news Florida was working to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including those for schoolchildren.
“This is a decision that a physician and patient should be making together,” Dr. Oz said. “Parents love their kids more than anybody else could love that kid, so why not let the parents play an active role in this?”
Dr. Oz — who was tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — added that some states have seen a rise in homeschooling due to parents “running from the healthcare system” and vaccine mandates.
“[Doctors] shouldn’t feel pressure from the government to decide what to do with the vaccination schedule,” Dr. Oz continued. “They should do what is in the best interest of the person in front of them, the child, and what those parents desire. That is how the system is supposed to run.”
On Wednesday, Dr. Oz said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was suffering from a “trust crisis” following its poor leadership during the COVID pandemic. He said “only single-digit numbers of parents are vaccinating their kids against COVID” and about one-third of healthcare workers are doing the same, since they are not worried about the effects of the virus.
“People like me, doctors, are not taking the vaccine, because it doesn’t really seem to make sense to a person if they’re young and healthy,” Dr. Oz told Fox News. “If you’re older — Medicare, by the way, pays for vaccines, so my agency will pay for your vaccine if you want it — but why would I force you or put pressure on you to do something you don’t think is in your best interest?”
You can watch that portion of Dr. Oz’s appearance on Fox News above.
