Rising College Freshman with Autoimmune Disorder Is Denied COVID-19 Vaccine Medical Exemption from BYU-H

Sandor is one of many students who have begun sharing their stories about not being able to attend their dream college because of vaccination requirements.

Sandor was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome. She says the syndrome was caused by another vaccine, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has been linked to some recent cases of GBS. GBS causes muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.

In Sandor’s case, she was paralyzed for more than a month from the waist down. She says a vaccination like the COVID-19 one could cause “permanent paralysis, and possibly death if it spreads up my body.”

“This is not a choice for me,” she said in a TikTok video.

Sandor said she applied for a medical exemption from the college’s vaccine requirement, but she was denied.

“This is obviously something I don’t want to mess around with,” she said. “So, with that being said, me and my family took that response and went to a higher authority.”

The president of the college agreed to re-review her case, but the school’s medical board again denied her case.

“Again, I was devastated, but at the same time, I felt peace,” Sandor shared on Instagram.

“I may have worked so hard to get there, but now I know that wasn’t the Lord’s plan for me,” she continued. “I’m proud to say I did everything I could to fight it. I brought it to every authority I could. Do I understand why they denied me? No. Do I think it’s okay that they did that? No. Do I think it’s humane? No, but I do know that the Lord has something better in store for me.”

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Morsa Images

Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.