Many hospitals are requiring physicians to take the annual flu vaccine (and now the COVID-19 shot). Flu shot mandates are not because it helps patients, but because hospitals get a tiny increase in reimbursements if the entire staff is vaccinated. Lobbyists for Big Pharma probably put this reimbursement boost into law to sell more of their product.
AAPS does not take a position on the annual flu vaccine, but we do take a position in favor of individual freedom to decline it. Fortunately, hospitals are supposed to recognize a religious exemption, and vaccines are not kosher under some interpretations of the Bible. AAPS has posted a template exemption letter based on Christianity. Other religions and philosophies may have similar rules against this, so this letter can be easily modified to comport with your own beliefs.
[Physician’s letterhead] [Date] [Name of appropriate person][Hospital name]
[Hospital address]
Re: Assertion of Religious Exemption to Vaccination
Dear [appropriate person],
I hereby assert my right to a religious exemption from vaccination. I am a Christian who believes in the Bible, including the teachings in the New Testament. I have a Christian worldview. This perspective recognizes that faith and conscience compel an individual to submit to the proper jurisdiction within the rule of law, in this case, Divine Law.
Specifically, the New Testament teaches that:
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. …
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
I Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19 (KJV).
Accordingly I believe, pursuant to my Christian faith, that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is a God-given responsibility and requirement for me to protect the physical integrity of my body against unclean food and injections.
The broad prohibition against consuming anything that might “defile” the body, and hence the conscience, is stated again in I Corinthians 8:7:
Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
Again, in 2 Corinthians 7:1, there is this admonition against defiling the flesh and the spirit:
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
More broadly, the New Testament requires of Christians that we “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Mark 12:17) When it comes to consuming things into our own bodies, as opposed to make payments to government, compliance with God’s law is required.
The mandated vaccine, with its numerous additives and its mechanism for altering my body, is the equivalent of a prohibited “unclean food” that causes harm to my conscience. Vaccines to me are analogous to what non-kosher food is to orthodox Jews, and no one requires anyone in the United States to consume a substance contrary to their faith. Medical experts may assert that non-kosher food and vaccines are completely healthy, but religious faith compels certain individuals to decline their consumption. I am one of those individuals.
Thus my faith prohibits me from being vaccinated as proposed. Texas law and the U.S. Constitution recognize my right to object to consuming something – this vaccine – because it violates my faith. Therefore I respectfully assert my religious objection to this vaccination.
If desired, I will wear a face mask for infective protection for my patients during periods of influenza risk, upon receipt of this exemption.
I make this request for the glory of God and consistent with my faith. Thank you for your consideration of it.
Respectfully,
[Physician name]Description of how you live this belief in your daily life that demonstrates it is sincerely held:
In strict accordance with my faith, I refrain from partaking in certain activities and defiling my body in ways contrary to my biblical beliefs. I have been baptized into my faith and both read the Bible and pray on a regular basis, which demonstrates the sincerity of my religious beliefs.
LINK TO ANOTHER TEMPLATE LETTER: https://lc.org/Site%20Images/Resources/Memo-SampleCOVID-ReligiousExemptionRequests-07262021.pdf
