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Behind the scenes: Investigating Rutgers athletics’ debt

Ryan Ross interviews investigative reporters Jean Rimbach and Abbott Koloff about their recent discoveries involving Rutgers athletics debt.

Ryan Ross, Abbott Koloff, Jean Rimbach and Paul Wood Jr, NorthJersey.com

A federal court judge has refused to grant a temporary restraining order against Rutgers University’s mandate that students receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

Judge Zahid Quraishi ruled Monday that the Children’s Health Defense Fund and 14 students who filed the action in August “cannot show the public interest is served’ if the court issued the order.

“In fact, the public may likely be harmed if the court were to do so,” Quraishi wrote in his 15-page opinion. “Specifically, it would place the health and safety of others inside and out of Rutgers’ community at risk.” 

In its 100-page lawsuit, Children’s Health Defense argued that the mandate is “both illegal and unconstitutional” and is an “affront to human dignity and personal freedom because it violates our basic right to control our bodies.”

Earlier: Hundreds gather to oppose Rutgers’ COVID vaccine mandate

Rutgers maintained it had the right to enforce the mandate.

The judge agreed with Rutgers.

“Given that many students around campuses are returning to in-person classes this semester and the considerable size of Rutgers’ student population, were this court to grant injunctive relief, thousands of students may possibly be at risk,” Quraishi wrote. “Therefore, this court finds that there is a strong public interest against granting injunctive relief.”

The judge ruled that lifting the mandate that serves “the public interest of preventing COVID-19, a virus that has taken the lives of many New Jersey residents, will not be served if this court were to bar Rutgers from enforcing the policy.”

The lawsuit argued that Adriana Pinto, one of the 14 students, “has a constitutionally guaranteed right to informed consent and to refuse unwanted medical treatment.”

Earlier: Rutgers students return to campus — with vaccinations and masks

Children’s Health Defense, a leading player in the anti-vaccine movement, alleged in the lawsuit that “unjustified fear and insatiable greed drive the vaccine industry.”

Children’s Health Defense, chaired by Robert Kennedy Jr., contended in the lawsuit that all vaccines “pose serious risks, including death. Their benefits are not proven to outweigh those risks.”  

In its argument against the lawsuit, Rutgers said similar suits challenging vaccine mandates have failed in district courts around the country.

Rutgers also rejected Pinto’s claims that she may be naturally immune to COVID-19 because there is no recognized mechanism for verifying natural immunity.

For subscribers: How Rutgers athletics quietly racked up $265M in debt

At Rutgers University, 98% of its 71,000 students were vaccinated against COVID-19, a spokesperson confirmed two weeks before the school reopened for full-time, in-person instruction on Sept 1.

“Since the university announced the COVID-19 vaccine requirement in March 2021, we have stated our position on vaccines is consistent with the legal authority supporting this policy, ” the university said in a statement after the judge’s ruling. “We remain committed to creating a safe campus environment, and to support the health and safety for all members of the Rutgers community, the university updated its existing immunization requirements for students and many employees to include the COVID-19 vaccine.” 

Email: [email protected]

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Source: Asbury Park

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