JEFFERSON CITY 鈥� At a time when the coronavirus remains a formidable threat, Missouri lawmakers are poised to debate a number of proposals that could affect efforts to get more people vaccinated.
On Wednesday, the first day that members of the House and Senate could file legislation for the upcoming session, more than a half dozen bills were introduced that could prohibit vaccine mandates or allow 鈥渘atural immunity鈥� to be considered the equivalent of having been inoculated.
All of the proposals were introduced by Republican lawmakers, who have been at the forefront of the fight against vaccine orders.
鈥淚 think it will be something that will be talked about a lot in the upcoming legislative session,鈥� said Rep. , R-St. Charles.
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The ongoing fight against vaccine requirements comes as St. Louis-area doctors warned of a significant increase in patients hospitalized due to the delta strain of the coronavirus.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the region has grown 55% in the past three weeks, from 241 on Nov. 10 to 374 on Wednesday, according to data reported by the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force.
Along with the delta variant, the omicron variant also is seen as a potential threat, prompting renewed calls for an increase in vaccinations and booster shots.
Nationwide, about 60% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Missouri stands at 51%, according to state data.
Among the bills that could be debated when the Legislature begins meeting on Jan. 5 is one filed by House Speaker Pro Tem , R-O鈥橣allon, designed to protect employers from liability if their workers are injured by required immunizations.
Another filed by Rep. , a St. Charles County Republican, would prohibit schools from mandating COVID vaccinations.
Schroer also wants to bar COVID-19 testing for employees who are not vaccinated if the same testing is not required for vaccinated people.
Schnelting introduced a measure that would prohibit the government or private companies from requiring proof of a vaccination for travel or entry into a business.
鈥淚t prohibits the government and private companies from requiring vaccine passports,鈥� Schnelting said of his legislation. 鈥淚f you want to get the vaccine, you have every right to get it. I鈥檓 against you being forced against your will to get a vaccine.鈥�
Vaccines designed to save lives from a deadly respiratory disease have become a political flashpoint across the nation at the same time health officials are urging people to get the shot.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, for example, says over natural immunity.
On Monday, a federal judge blocked President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration from enforcing a coronavirus vaccine mandate on thousands of health care workers in Missouri and nine other states that had brought the first legal challenge against the requirement.
The court order said that the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid had no clear authority from Congress to enact the vaccine mandate for providers participating in the two government health care programs for the elderly, disabled and poor.
The court order against the health care vaccine mandate comes after Biden鈥檚 administration suffered a similar setback for a broader policy. A federal court previously placed a hold on a separate rule requiring businesses with more than 100 employees to ensure their workers get vaccinated or else wear masks and get tested weekly for the coronavirus.
Officials at CMS had no immediate comment about the preliminary injunction. The Department of Justice, which defended the rule, declined to comment.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who spearheaded the lawsuit, said the ruling 鈥減ushes back on the overreach of power鈥� by those who are 鈥渦sing the coronavirus as a tool鈥� for control over people.
Schmitt, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, has also filed lawsuits seeking to block the Biden administration鈥檚 vaccination rules for large private employers and federal contractors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
COVID-19 in Missouri and Illinois: By the numbers

NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation. That date's data has been removed from this display.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number. That date's data has been removed from this display.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
NOTE: On Oct. 11, Missouri announced that a database error had resulted in an 鈥渋ncorrect inflation鈥� of cases in its Oct. 10 report
Note from St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force: The data includes patients at BJC HealthCare, SSM Health and St. Luke's Hospital. As of Jan. 17, 2022, the data includes patients at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System.
Note from Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: Note: Due to an abrupt change in data measures and the reporting platform issued by the White House on Monday, July 13, and effective Wednesday, July 15, Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) and the State of Missouri were unable to access hospitalization data during the transition. .
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) began counting probable death along with confirmed deaths.
