Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that Ulster County legislators voted 16-6 Dec. 21 against a resolution that would have put the Ulster County Legislature on record opposing “COVID-19 vaccine mandates by any local, state or federal government that affects citizens’ rights to make their own health care choices.” Legislators Mary Wawro and Laura Petit sponsored the resolution. Currently, New York requires vaccines to attend school for Diphtheria and Tetanus; Hepatitis B; Measles, Mumps and Rubella; Polio; and Chickenpox. “This is about risk of harm to others,” said Eve Walter, D-New Paltz, who is an epidemiologist and senior research scientist with The Institute For Family Health. “The only way we are going to eradicate this virus is if we have full vaccination or close to full vaccination.... If we ever want to see this virus eradicated, we have to be OK with requiring everyone to be vaccinated,” she said. Legislators heard similar arguments about infringing on individual freedoms when the Ulster County Legislature voted to ban smoking in restaurants, Legislature Chairman David Donaldson said. Besides Wawro and Petit, other voting for the resolution against vaccine mandates included Thomas Corcoran, Craig Lopez, Kevin Roberts, and Herbet Litts. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.