Legislative hearing draws wide testimony for and against bill to bar vaccine requirements for entry

Senate Bill S539, which would prohibit requiring COVID‑19 mRNA vaccination or other gene‑altering procedures as a condition of entry to public places, employment or schooling, drew extended testimony at a Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management hearing.

Supporters said the bill is needed to prevent a repeat of what they described as coercive pandemic-era policies. “This bill is about one simple principle … that your private medical decisions are your business, not the government’s,” Senator Peter Durant told the committee when asked to speak in support of S539. Julie Boras of Health Rights MA said the measure would protect people from being “forced to receive mRNA vaccine, or gene altering procedure as a condition of entry” and submitted…