Joint Government Operations Committee chairmen release statement on Department of Health

(NASHVILLE) – Joint Government Operations Committee Chairmen Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) and John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) made an announcement today in the Rule Review Committee concerning the Department of Health. The announcement is pursuant to the Joint Committee’s action at its June 16, 2021, meeting to invite the Department to return to the next committee meeting on July 21, 2021, to address further questions and concerns regarding the administration of COVID-19 vaccines to minors without parental consent.

In the remarks read by Chairman Kerry Roberts he reiterated the main two concerns of some committee members were that the COVID-19 vaccine, was being marketed to minors and administered without parental consent.

“We have not discouraged Tennesseans from being vaccinated nor have we discouraged Tennesseans from having their children vaccinated,” Roberts continued. “Further, it has been widely misrepresented that all children’s vaccines have come to a halt. To be absolutely clear, Tennessee’s efforts on childhood vaccinations are unchanged. The only exception is administering a COVID-19 vaccination without parental consent.”

Roberts said that interpreting the concerns of marketing COVID-19 vaccines to children without parental consent as being an anti-vaccine stance is intellectually dishonest and wrong.

“To be clear, the Tennessee Department of Health was not asked to stop vaccinating children nor have they stopped vaccinating children for COVID-19 or any other disease,” Roberts clarified. “Rather, they were asked to stop vaccinating children for COVID-19 without parental consent and stop marketing to minors.”

After the committee meeting on June 16, 2021, Chairman Roberts and Chairman Ragan met with Commissioner Piercey and a member of the Governor’s staff.

“During that meeting, Dr. Piercey and the governor’s office confirmed that it is not the policy of Tennessee Department of Health, Tennessee Department of Education, or our 89 county health departments to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to children without parental consent,” said Roberts. “She further detailed the steps taken to stop any marketing directed at minors.”

About Brad Jones

Brad is the Owner/Operator of BBB TV 12, and has been with the company since August of 1996. Brad is a 1987 graduate of Coalfield High School and a 1995 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Communications. He won the 1995 broadcast production student of the year award. Brad worked at Shop at Home, Inc. a home shopping network that was located in Knoxville, TN from 1993 - 1995 and then at Via TV (RSTV, Inc.) from 1995 - 1996. After some freelance work in Nashville, Brad joined the BBB Communications staff in August of 1996. A short stint at WVLT TV as a news photographer was in 2001, but he continued to work at BBB TV as well. Brad is married to Nicole Jenkins Jones, a 1990 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, who works at Oak Ridge Gastroenterology and Associates in Oak Ridge. They have 3 kids, Trevor Bogard, 27, Chandler 22, and Naomi 13. On December 12, 2013 they welcomed their first grandchild, Carter Ryan Bogard. Brad is also the assistant boys basketball coach at Coalfield High School for the past 11 years. In 2013-14 the Yellow Jackets won their first district title since 1991 and just the 4th in school history.

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