No Vax Mandates in Higher ED – But What About Medical Students?

H.R. 3044 (IH) – No Vaccine Mandates in Higher Education Act, which was brought forth by Indiana Representative Mark Messmer (Congressional District 8) in April 2025, fails to address the students enrolled in healthcare programs, who are still required to get the COVID-19 shot in order to satisfy clinical requirements for their degree. The carve-out lets universities keep cash while dumping mandates on their undergrads, and it leaves future doctors and nurses still subject to jabs because hospitals and med-schools can claim "clinical necessity."

This loophole protects the same medical-industry power centers that pushed the original college mandates. Med students who refuse the shot will still be barred from clinical rotations, effectively blocked from graduation and licensure; meanwhile, the bill’s language is so narrow it could be bypassed by any school that partners with a hospital system. The takeaway: Congress is offering the illusion of medical freedom while keeping the professions that matter most under pharma control.

In the 2024 and 2025 Indiana legislative sessions, a bill was introduced by Rep. Becky Cash which would "provide that a student enrolled in a health profession education program may not be required to receive an immunization as a condition of: (1) participating in; or (2) obtaining; clinical training or clinical experience required by the program when the student has a medical or religious exemption." The bill died in committee and did not pass.

More information:
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/bill-end-funding-colleges-mandate-covid-vaccines-loopholes-med-students-risk/

https://nocollegemandates.substack.com/p/hr-3044-no-vaccine-mandates-in-higher