I am very disturbed by the fact that a vaccine mandate is even being considered for our children. I also find it quite disturbing that the parent presenting this petition actually works for the state of Virginia and therefore works for us as citizens of the state of Virginia. This is not only a conflict of interest, but also an abuse of power. Parents should be trusted to make the best health and safety decisions for their children and it should not be in the hands of an office in Virginia to make this drastic of a decision. The number of covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all going down. The need for “emergency use” is also losing its relevance and need not be abused in order to railroad restrictions and regulations on the people of Virginia.  Our children do need to go back to a more “normal” way of life, but forced vaccinations for a disease that has been proven to affect children much less often and less severely than adults (which also have a 99% survival rate of this disease) should not and cannot be mandated.