Downtown Fresno church holds town hall for legal questions on vaccine requirements
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- "If someone believes this is the wrong thing for them to do, they should have the right to say no to that," says Jim Franklin with Cornerstone Church.
This year, Cornerstone Church took part in one of several lawsuits against the State of California and Governor Newsom over religious freedom and forced closures during the height of the pandemic and won.
Tuesday night, they shifted their attention to vaccine mandates by inviting Attorney Brad Dacus, the founder of Pacific Justice Institute, to answer legal questions.
"They want to know and get the information from an attorney who is not just speculating, and they are not just reading it on Facebook and Twitter," says Michael Osmer.
RELATED: US gives final clearance to Pfizer COVID vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11
Osmer attends Cornerstone Church and was among the hundred-plus people who came out Tuesday night to hear a legal perspective on vaccine requirements.
Despite the approval from the CDC for Pfizer vaccines for kids 5-11 years old on Wednesday, Osmer says if he's not willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, vaccinating his child is out of the question.
"My religious beliefs don't tell me that that is the right thing to do," he said. "That if I am not going to put it in my body, I am certainly not going to have my daughter put it in hers."
In Tulare County, there are 20,000 pediatric doses expected to arrive in the county to be shared among public health and providers.
Tiffany Swarthout from the Tulare County Pubic Health Department says she hopes her own five-year-old daughter will be among the first in line to get the shot.
RELATED: Tulare County school districts ready to discuss COVID-19 vaccine with parents
"School is a scary place," she said. "You can't get your little ones to keep masks on and so this is one of the ways that I can protect her. If as a parent, I choose not to have my child vaccinated, I would just encourage people to continue accessing testing."
6,000 doses for kids are headed straight to the county of Fresno, with thousands more on the way to local providers from federal and state supply
Some Fresno County providers have already gotten their pediatric doses, with several set to receive them Wednesday.
Doses could start being administered this week.
RELATED: Fresno County preparing to receive pediatric COVID-19 vaccine
"It's a great opportunity to add another layer of protection to our families during this holiday break," says Fresno County Health Division Manager Joe Prado.
