Outspoken Anti-Vaccine Mandate Teacher Reveals She's Vaccinated

SPRINGFIELD, IL — An Illinois teacher who became an outspoken vaccine mandate opponent and was even placed on unpaid leave for refusing to show her vaccine card or submit to COVID-19 testing revealed she's been vaccinated since summer.

Kadence Koen, a math teacher at Southeast High School in Springfield, was placed on leave in September over her opposition to the mandate. At the time, she told the State Journal-Register that she refused to show her vaccine card or agree to be tested regularly for COVID-19, citing the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act and saying the requirements violate civil rights.

"I'm a big fan of liberties and freedom in the country and personal rights," she told the paper in September. "When my employer attempted to overstep my personal rights — my body, my choice — I came to the decision I had to stand up to this."

But Koen — who has frequently taken to social media to compare vaccine mandates to a dictatorship — has since uploaded photos of her vaccination card showing she received COVID-19 vaccines in June and July, according to WMAY.

Koen remains on unpaid leave until next month and has until Wednesday to complete a district-mandated "remediation plan," the Journal-Register reported.

"I didn't want to have to produce a vaccination card because I don't think that's legal or appropriate, but if you ask me to choose between my personal beliefs and my students, my students will win," she said.