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"....underlying laws....allow states to mandate vaccines in an emergency....throw out exemptions....impose quarantines and isolation outside of our homes," and the only way around this is to "chang(e) state policy and law."
US laws are similar. They can mandate vaccinations and let states isolate and quarantine Swine Flu victims if authorities call the disease infectious and life-threatening.
Under the proposed Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA), civil liberties may be suspended in case of a public health emergency, with or without verifiable evidence.
The September 2003 Turning Point Model State Public Health Act (MSPHA) lets state, local, and tribal governments revise or update public health statutes and administrative regulations. According to James Hodges, executive director of Johns Hopkins and Georgetown University's Centers for Law and the Public Health, over half the states have these laws that can order flu testing, ban public gatherings, mandate quarantines, and issue other emergency public health directives.
Federal laws already do it, including the 2006 Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act that lets the HHS Secretary declare any disease an epidemic or national emergency requiring mandatory vaccinations. It also protects drug companies from tort liability, except in cases of "willful misconduct."
US State Responses to Swine Flu
Growing numbers of states are exploiting the hyped scare by declaring a public health emergency. Others are passing laws that order forced quarantines, impose fines or imprisonment for offenders, and prepare to govern under martial law with local police, National Guard, or federal troops for enforcement.
Florida ordered voluntary or mandatory detentions at home or in state-designated facilities as well as closures of suspected buildings and areas. Quarantine Detention Orders state:
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