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Vaccine Tracking in N.J. Is Expanding. ‘Medical Choice’ Group Is Challenging New Rules.
A longtime adversary of vaccine mandates in New Jersey is trying to overturn recent updates to vaccine standards and procedures.
The New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice is appealing changes adopted Jan. 20 by the state Department of Health that expand who’s required to be included in the vaccine registry and allow private institutions to impose additional vaccine requirements.
The group previously filed a lawsuit in December 2025 against the New Jersey Department of Health, former Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown and the Public Health Council challenging both the process and substance of the rule changes.
UW-Madison Students Now Required to Disclose Vaccination Status Under New Policy
It comes after a student was diagnosed with measles, causing multiple points of exposure throughout campus. UW said the new policy requires students to disclose their status for the following vaccines:
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- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
- Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap)
- Varicella (Chicken Pox)
- Meningococcal (ACWY,B)
- Hepatitis B
University officials said in introducing the new policy that it doesn’t mean students need to be vaccinated. They also don’t have to explain why they aren’t vaccinated against one or more of them.
UW said students that fail to submit their records will be subject to their registration being placed on hold until they have met the requirement. Officials said the policy is meant to help in the future with quarantining. After a student on campus tested positive for measles, people who were exposed but weren’t able to prove their immunity status were required to be quarantined.
Kennedy Allies Target States to Overturn Vaccine Mandates for Schoolchildren
Longtime allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, have launched a new effort to repeal laws that for decades have required children to be vaccinated against measles, polio and other diseases before they enter day care or kindergarten.
Galvanized by support from the top reaches of the federal government, a newly formed coalition of vaccine activists is rallying its supporters to target laws that are considered the linchpin of protection from deadly diseases.
States have long mandated childhood immunizations before children can start day care or school, though some exemptions are available. “What we need to do is freaking burst the dam open,” Leslie Manookian, the backer of a law that banned medical mandates in Idaho, told supporters on a recent call. “And that is what this year is all about, bursting the dam open in the states where we think it can happen first.”
Ms. Manookian is a leader of the Medical Freedom Act Coalition, a new umbrella group of at least 15 nonprofit organizations advocating an end to state laws that codify what they call medical mandates, which largely pertain to vaccines.
So far, bills have been introduced in at least nine states that would eliminate all or nearly all school requirements, including Democratic states like New York where there is no chance of passage, to states such as New Hampshire, Georgia, Iowa and Idaho where the proposals have gained some traction. Many vaccine proponents view the state-level push as a second stage in the dismantling of the nation’s vaccine infrastructure, building on Mr. Kennedy’s significant reduction of federally recommended vaccines.
Bill Lets Arizonans Vote on Right to Refuse Medical Mandates
A new bill proposes giving Arizonans the chance to vote on whether the right of refusal in medical situations should be guaranteed in the state Constitution. State Rep. Nick Kupper, R-Yuma, introduced House Concurrent Resolution 2056, which will prevent government entities from forcing people “to accept, receive or administer any medical product or treatment” as a condition for work, school or public access. Kupper proposed the amendment following his experience with being required to accept what he called an unapproved version of the COVID-19 vaccine when he was in the Air Force.
Kupper’s resolution provides exceptions for court order treatments, people in the criminal justice system, life-saving medical care, parental authority and state diagnostic requirements. The resolution also states the constitutional amendment will not override federal legal requirements. If the bill passes the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature, it will be put to a vote by Arizonans in November. Under the state Constitution, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs doesn’t have veto power over the placement of ballot measures.
Kupper told The Center Square that the resolution comes down to whether a “government in most scenarios” should mandate that people put a medical product in their bodies or allow them to choose. Kupper said he wants to give Arizonans “the opportunity to decide for themselves.”
Meta’s A.I. Smart Glasses Are Wreaking Havoc in Schools Across the Country. It’s Only Going to Get Worse.
As the discreet wearable cameras become more popular, students are saying they feel constantly watched and harassed — and professors are reshaping their classrooms in response.
Joziah was tabling on campus for his peer mentor job at the end of last semester at Florida State University when he noticed something strange happening across the quad: A trio of men, wearing Meta AI glasses, were stopping every young woman who passed by and asking them for their social media contacts.
“I recognized them from TikTok, because they’re kind of big, especially in Miami,” the 19-year-old told me. “ I’m seeing them literally go up to every single girl that’s passed by with them.”
‘That Sounds Like Problematic Use’: You’re Not Addicted to Instagram, Says Its Boss — You’re Just ‘Binging’ It Like a Netflix Show
Adam Mosseri, who has been the head of Instagram since 2018, has had some interesting things to say about addiction on the platform. Mosseri was speaking at a high-profile trial in California investigating the mental health impacts of social media.
Meta’s social platforms and YouTube are currently in the dock. They’re accused of designing their apps to be as addictive as possible, leading to compulsive use that drives health problems such as body dysmorphia, anxiety, and depression.
“It’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” Mosseri said (via the BBC). When it was put to him that the main plaintiff in the case, known as KGM, had once spent 16 hours on the platform, he said “that sounds like problematic use”.
“I’m sure I’ve said that I’ve been addicted to a Netflix show when I binged it really late one night, but I don’t think it’s the same thing as clinical addiction,” Mosseri went on to say, refusing to label the user behavior described in the trial as addictive.
