Atlanta, GA – This week, the U.S. House, with its new Republican majority, is expected to vote on a pair of pandemic-related bills. One bill, the “Freedom for Health Care Workers Act,” would end the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers employed at facilities that take part in Medicare and Medicaid. The other bill, the “Pandemic is Over Act,” would end the public health emergency put in place because of the covid pandemic. In response, Tea Party Patriots Action Honorary Chairman Jenny Beth Martin released the following statement:

“The new Republican House is already putting some common sense back into Congress. The covid-related bills they are expected to vote on this week are not only necessary but long overdue. The first bill would end the vaccine mandate for health care workers. This mandate never should have been put in place. Choosing one’s own healthcare should be a matter of concern to a patient and his or her doctor, without government interference. There is no reason that healthcare workers should have been required to get the covid vaccine, and no reason they should be required to get vaccinated now.

“The second bill the House is expected to vote on would declare the pandemic over, putting an end to the public health emergency. This is long overdue. A public health emergency is declared when an extraordinary event puts states at risk of a viciously spreading disease that needs a coordinated international response. The public health emergency for covid was declared three years ago. With natural immunity and the vaccine, we are leagues away from where we were three years ago, and life is returning to normal. Yet the government has kept the charade of a public health emergency to maintain pandemic powers. The House is right to put an end to this. We strongly encourage all members of the House to vote for these two bills, to help bring some common sense into post-pandemic America.”