2022 Report on US State Vaccine Laws by the NVIC

Document Breaking 475 Payments Price Supporting
in State Legislatures this 12 months

Extra vaccine associated laws has been filed in state legislatures throughout the nation in 2022 than in another 12 months.

The COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed to be an historic alternative to encourage energetic citizen involvement within the legislation making course of and educate state legislators in regards to the pressing want to guard the human and authorized proper to train voluntary, knowledgeable consent to vaccination.

After greater than a decade of grassroots organizing and targeted public training efforts within the states, this 12 months NVIC’s 2022 Annual Report on U.S. State Vaccine Laws gives proof the tide is lastly delivering our 40-year mission to forestall vaccine accidents and deaths by means of public training and safe vaccine knowledgeable consent protections in U.S. public well being insurance policies and legal guidelines.

2022 Session Has Most Vaccine Associated Payments

The nonprofit instructional charity National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) studies that through the 2022 legislative session, NVIC analyzed, tracked and issued positions on an unprecedented 875 vaccine associated payments in 44 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) by means of the NVIC Advocacy Portal.

This was the very best variety of payments monitored within the historical past of NVIC’s state-based legislative advocacy program, which was established in 2010, and it’s near 4 instances the variety of vaccine-related payments proposed in a single 12 months in state legislatures.

Since its institution in 1982, NVIC has supplied well-referenced, correct info to the general public about vaccine science, coverage, and legislation and defended the moral precept of knowledgeable consent to medical danger taking. NVIC doesn’t make vaccine use suggestions.

NVIC is against necessary vaccination and likewise has labored with households and state legislators to retain or safe versatile medical, spiritual and conscientious perception exemptions in present U.S. public well being insurance policies and legal guidelines.

In 2010, NVIC launched the NVIC Advocacy Portal (NVICAP), a free on-line vaccine selection advocacy community, for the aim of securing and defending knowledgeable consent protections in U.S. vaccine insurance policies and legal guidelines. During the last 13 years, the NVIC Advocacy Program has analyzed, tracked, and issued positions on 2,471 vaccine-related payments.

NVICAP workers work collaboratively and share legislative info with U.S. well being freedom teams and people supporting NVIC’s four-decade name for the safety of vaccine knowledgeable consent rights in America.

The NVIC Advocacy Portal workforce, which incorporates volunteer NVIC Advocacy state administrators and mission aligned teams, work with households and enlightened well being care professionals to teach legislators and defend vaccine knowledgeable consent rights by advocating for voluntary vaccination and dealing to retain or safe versatile medical, spiritual and conscientious perception vaccine exemptions in present public well being legal guidelines.

NVIC points motion alerts and distributes them by means of electronic mail, on-line posts, social media, and our textual content alert program. The NVIC Advocacy Crew gives referenced, correct vaccine info and speaking factors for NVICAP customers to teach legislators.

When this report was written in early November 2022, some states nonetheless had energetic vaccine-related payments filed for 2022, or their respective legislative classes had been in recess however nonetheless might be reactivated to work on payments. Different states have payments that may carry over till subsequent session. For these causes, it’s particularly necessary for registered customers of the Portal to test it commonly as a result of final minute legislative exercise requiring your motion remains to be attainable.

Details about payments referenced on this report are printed on the NVIC Advocacy Portal. Registered customers can acquire a extra detailed invoice evaluation, together with present standing, in addition to NVIC’s place on every invoice, together with any really helpful motion. Payments that show as a default are the payments which might be present for this 12 months.

Nevertheless, choosing the view to show expired payments will present all different payments chosen for inclusion on the Portal since 2010. This gives a singular and historic perspective not supplied on another web site.

Some payments printed on the NVICAP additionally include language that falls exterior of NVIC’s mission. Invoice evaluation and NVIC positions printed on the Portal are targeted on sections that fall inside NVIC’s mission.

Far Extra Payments Price Supporting Than Opposing in 2022

The 2022 legislative session featured 475 payments worthy of NVIC’s assist, which signifies that this 12 months NVIC supported extra vaccine-related payments posted on the NVICAP than throughout any legislative session since NVIC launched the Advocacy Portal in 2010. Solely 186 payments out of the 875 tracked on the portal had been marked as payments that needs to be opposed.

2022 marks the second consecutive 12 months wherein NVIC supported extra vaccine-related payments than we opposed and, this 12 months, there have been greater than twice as many good vaccine payments launched in state legislatures than dangerous ones. The ratio of payments supported to payments opposed has grown to greater than 2.5 to 1.

There have been 214 payments tracked on NVICAP in 2022 that had been marked as a invoice to “watch.” That is often achieved as a result of our evaluation signifies the invoice could have been well-intentioned and even could have had sections value supporting, however contained issues that might be mounted with amendments.

Sharing this info resulted in lots of optimistic modifications to payments, as constituents used this info to share with their legislators. Legislators and workers additionally reached out to NVIC Portal workers for perception into how they may amend their payments to earn NVIC’s assist.

When evaluating the variety of payments NVIC supported to these NVIC opposed, a formidable 32 states had extra payments filed that had been worthy of supporting than opposing. Of these 32 states, 9 states had no opposition payments filed in any respect: Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Washington.

Solely 5 states filed extra payments that NVIC opposed than supported: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. The District of Columbia was the one location within the U.S. the place NVIC opposed all vaccine-related payments and supported none.

This exhibits us that almost all of states have legislators, who’re listening to constituent issues. These conscientious lawmakers have responded to the unprecedented infringement on human rights and civil liberties that many Individuals have endured through the federal COVID pandemic response.

State legislatures in Arkansas and New Mexico had been the one ones in energetic session this 12 months the place no vaccine associated payments had been filed. Connecticut, Utah and Maine had no vaccine associated payments designated for NVIC assist or opposition, solely watching. Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas have biennial legislative classes and didn’t maintain a session in 2022, as their classes are held in odd numbered years.

Highlights From 2022 Enacted Payments

There are some vital and optimistic take away factors from the 2022 legislative session:

2022 Enacted Payments

Out of the 55 vaccine-related payments that had been enacted in 2022, NVIC supported 19, opposed 18, and watched 18. Of the 18 watched payments, 14 included some optimistic parts worthy of assist and two had been watched as a result of the components that had been opposed had been efficiently eliminated earlier than the payments handed.

The breakout and evaluation of vaccine-related payments that handed in these totally different classes identifies traits throughout the states. This serves as a information to educating state legislators and communities in 2022, and it exhibits why it’s so necessary to talk up and defend vaccine knowledgeable consent rights.

Now greater than ever, it’s vital that folks proceed to be concerned within the legislative course of in any respect ranges of metropolis, county, state, and federal authorities, which incorporates studying the place candidates stand on points necessary to your loved ones and voting accordingly, and persevering with to teach legislators, your governor, and native officers so as to defend knowledgeable consent and reject discrimination, segregation and compelled vaccination.

Your voices are making an enormous distinction as you may see on this report, together with all of the optimistic payments that had been handed defending knowledgeable consent rights listed beneath. NVIC has grouped the payments that handed, which NVIC supported, into the next classes:

Some payments could also be included in a number of classes.

Prohibiting COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates or Passports

Companies and state and native authorities entities go too far after they require patrons, workers, or residents to obtain injections of organic merchandise that may injure or kill them and have unknown future penalties.

Folks want the safety granted by legal guidelines when authorities entities or non-public enterprise violate knowledgeable consent rights, resembling requiring use of a pharmaceutical product, which carries recognized and unknown dangers that may be better for some individuals, as a situation of holding a job or getting a faculty training.

There have been 14 payments handed on this legislative session that affected 11 states and prohibited COVID-19 vaccine mandates or vaccine passports, which NVIC supported or contained sections that NVIC supported.

Prohibiting Discrimination Over COVID-19 Vaccine Standing

It isn’t sufficient to guard the authorized proper to train knowledgeable consent within the vaccine choice making course of and to ban vaccine mandates. An employer, the federal government, or a enterprise shouldn’t be in a position to legally discriminate in opposition to you and retaliate for declining a vaccine you’ve gotten determined you don’t need or want.

Some states, which have prohibited employer vaccine mandates or required exemptions to employer vaccine mandates, have seen employers make working circumstances so depressing for an worker declining a vaccine that the protections in place for permitting workers to train knowledgeable consent to vaccination do little good. Anti-discrimination provisions should accompany authorized protections prohibiting mandates.

There have been eight payments handed in seven states that prohibited elements of discrimination tied to COVID-19 vaccine standing, which NVIC supported or contained sections that NVIC supported.

Including or Increasing Exemptions to COVID-19 Mandates

There’s respectable concern that when state legislatures add exemptions to vaccine mandates in grownup workplaces, the act of including the exemption into state legislation is de facto state authorities endorsement of personal companies requiring vaccination as a situation of employment. Knowledgeable consent rights are violated when the federal government condones — and even encourages — companies and personal companies to require vaccination as a situation of employment.

Whereas NVIC is against vaccine mandates in state legislation, state legislatures, which have codified and expanded vaccine exemptions, have helped many individuals who don’t need a COVID-19 vaccine hold their jobs, keep in class, or proceed to obtain authorities providers.

This legislative session, there have been 5 payments in 5 states, which added or expanded vaccine exemptions associated to some side of COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

• Indiana HB 1001 — Prohibits authorities entities from requiring vaccine passports, with exceptions, and permits employers to mandate COVID-19 vaccine, with restricted exemptions. (Additionally posted in “Prohibiting COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates or Passports”)
• Michigan SB 845 — Requires group schools that mandate COVID vaccine and obtain sure funds to offer exemptions – in an Training Price range invoice.
• Nebraska LB 906 — Requires sure employers to permit for medical and spiritual exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine necessities for employment.
• Tennessee SB 1823 — Requires employers mandating proof of COVID-19 vaccination to grant medical and spiritual exemptions.
• Utah HB 63 — Requires employers mandating COVID-19 vaccines to permit exemptions, with some exceptions.

Acknowledging Pure Immunity

Naturally acquired immunity from earlier an infection has lengthy been acknowledged as being superior to vaccine acquired synthetic immunity. The better means of pure immunity to forestall an infection in comparison with the lack of COVID-19 vaccine to reliably stop an infection, has been acknowledged.

Whereas it’s NVIC’s place that employers shouldn’t be permitted to mandate vaccination as a situation of employment, the acceptance of pure immunity derived from a earlier SARS-CoV-2 an infection in lieu of receiving COVID vaccine will assist some individuals subjected to present employer mandates hold their jobs. Tennessee handed a invoice requiring pure immunity to be acknowledged.

• Tennessee HB 1871 — Prohibits entities from adopting COVID vaccine mandates that fail to acknowledge naturally acquired immunity.

Bettering Exemptions and Limiting Mandates Different Than COVID

Vaccination needs to be an opt-in course of that permits individuals the liberty to make knowledgeable decisions with out threats, coercion, or any type of societal sanction or punishment. People ought to be capable to train knowledgeable consent to make use of a pharmaceutical product or medical intervention that carries a danger with out having to file an exemption or leap by means of different bureaucratic hoops, resembling formally opting-out of vaccine mandates and authorities operated digital vaccine monitoring programs.

New Hampshire handed one invoice to decrease the authorized burden of acquiring a notarization on vaccine exemptions for college kids and one other invoice to forestall authorities entities from requiring companies to restrict entry primarily based on vaccination standing with any vaccine which would come with the COVID-19 vaccine.

• New Hampshire HB 1035 — Removes the notarization requirement for spiritual vaccine exemption requests for college vaccine mandates.
• New Hampshire HB 1495 — Prohibits governmental entities from forcing companies to require proof of any vaccination and prohibits passports demonstrating proof of “immunity.” (Additionally posted in “Bettering Vaccine Exemptions and Limiting Mandates Aside from COVID”)

Prohibiting Discrimination by Shot Standing for Any Vaccine

It’s a welcomed change that some legislatures are beginning to make progress on enacting the prohibition of discrimination primarily based on vaccination standing. These Florida and New Hampshire payments acknowledge that folks had been being penalized over their vaccination standing in particular areas and put an finish to it. Submitting and passing extra payments like these is a excessive precedence.

• Florida SB 988 — Prohibits healthcare services from stopping visitation of in-patients primarily based on a customer’s vaccination standing.
• New Hampshire HB 1003 — Prohibits most healthcare suppliers from discriminating in opposition to sufferers primarily based on their vaccination standing. (Additionally posted in “Prohibiting Discrimination over COVID-19 Vaccine Standing”)
• New Hampshire HB 1280 — Prohibits utilizing dad and mom’ selections to not vaccinate their kids as proof in any authorized continuing to terminate parental rights.

Limiting Emergency Powers

Laws that prohibits vaccine mandates by means of train of emergency powers by public well being officers is one other excessive precedence, particularly for COVID-19 vaccine, a vaccine that does not reliably prevent transmission, severe illness or deaths. Virginia SB 431 falls in need of this, however at the least it acknowledges that overzealous quarantine insurance policies damage kids by maintaining them out of college for much too lengthy. The invoice is a small step in the fitting course.

• Virginia SB 431 — Requires the Board of Training and the Division of Well being to suggest choices and alternate options to the quarantining of the COVID optimistic college students and workers of public faculties.

Limiting and Eliminating Vaccine Monitoring

NVIC has opposed the necessary inclusion of Individuals in authorities operated digital vaccine and well being data monitoring programs for the reason that Nineties. As soon as private medical info is put right into a state authorities database, federal legislation permits that info to be shared with out data or consent for conducting public well being surveillance, investigations, analysis, or interventions and for public well being functions.

See 45 CFR 64.512(b)(2) and see a list of core data elements that may be gathered and included in digital vaccine monitoring registry programs.

Compelled inclusion, pressured reporting, and opt-out (fairly than opt-in) digital vaccine monitoring registries and necessary vaccination programs proceed to threaten the medical privateness of residents and their authorized proper to say no vaccines with out being subjected to coercion or societal sanctions.

NVIC is prioritizing laws that features opt-in knowledgeable consent protections in vaccine monitoring registries, as New Hampshire did with HB 1606, and removes public funding for vaccine registries that don’t embody opt-in knowledgeable consent protections.

• Arizona SB 1346 — Prohibits state workers and contractors from inquiring about an individual’s vaccination standing whereas making door-to-door dwelling contact with residents.
• New Hampshire HB 1606 — Requires people to present opt-in consent for his or her info to be included within the state’s digital vaccine monitoring registry.
• New Hampshire HB 1608 — Requires the well being division to conduct a public info marketing campaign to tell those that if their COVID-19 vaccine standing info has been entered into the state’s digital vaccine monitoring registry with out their data or consent, it may be eliminated.
• New Hampshire HB 1488 — Expands the entities which might be prohibited from discriminating in opposition to people who decline to be included within the state’s digital vaccine monitoring registry.

WINS: Payments NVIC Initially Opposed however Modified for the Higher

There have been a number of payments this session, which NVIC initially opposed, that had been amended in response to NVIC’s issues. There have been three payments, which finally handed with amendments that fully eliminated sections that NVIC had opposed.

• California AB 1102 — Is a invoice regarding telemedicine, however the proposed offensive modification to permit employers to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for workers was not adopted.
• California SB 1302 — Initially would have supplied extra funding for vaccines in school well being facilities. This provision was faraway from the invoice earlier than it handed, however the invoice was finally vetoed.
• Connecticut SB 457 — As amended, removes the expiration date for medical assistant training necessities. NVIC opposed the invoice’s language that may have expanded the vaccine monitoring registry and mandated that folks of all ages be included in it. That provision was faraway from the invoice earlier than it handed.

Opposed Payments That Handed

Out of 186 payments filed, which NVIC opposed, all however 18 had been killed. The adverse vaccine-related payments, which did move within the 2022 legislative session, had been confined to eight states and the District of Columbia.

Increasing Vaccine Directors

Three states expanded authority for sure people to manage vaccines. There’s respectable concern that pharmacists have much less coaching than medical doctors or nurses when it comes to figuring out and screening out kids and adults, who’re probably at high-risk for struggling vaccine reactions and shouldn’t be vaccinated, and for recognizing and finally reporting critical well being issues, accidents and deaths following vaccination to the federal Vaccine Opposed Occasion Reporting System (VAERS).

• Alaska HB 145 — Codifies into state legislation the authority of pharmacists to instantly prescribe and administer vaccines.
• Pennsylvania HB 2679 — Permits pharmacists and interns to manage influenza and COVID-19 vaccines to kids 5 years outdated and older with parental consent, and requires reporting of these vaccinations to the state digital vaccine monitoring registry. (Additionally posted in “Opposed Payments that Handed”)
• Virginia HB 1323 — Permits pharmacists to manage vaccines to kids three years outdated and older below a statewide protocol developed by the Board of Pharmacy in collaboration with the Board of Drugs and the Division of Well being vaccines included on the Immunization Schedule printed by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention or which have a present emergency use authorization from the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration.
• Virginia HB 939 and SB 647 — Offers authority to the Board of Well being to permit individuals, who are usually not usually licensed to manage vaccines, to take action by means of emergency orders.

Pointless Payments

Typically payments are handed, which aren’t significant. New Hampshire SB 288 was initially filed to ban COVID-19 vaccine mandates for youngsters. It was considerably downgraded to a research invoice, so it fails to guard kids from COVID-19 mandates for daycare or college attendance.

• New Hampshire SB 288 — Establishes a committee to check the itemizing of immunizations required for youngsters and take testimony on COVID-19 vaccines for college and childcare.

Vetoed Payments

It’s much more troublesome to move a great invoice than to cease a nasty one. There have been good vaccine-related payments that NVIC has supported and state legislatures have spent a big period of time growing and voting to move, solely to have a governor veto it.

There have been no vetoes of dangerous payments throughout this legislative session, however governors in 5 states vetoed payments that contained provisions NVIC both absolutely or provisionally supported. Typically, the governors didn’t present substantive proof justifying their vetoes.

Evaluating Current Periods to 2022

875 payments characterize essentially the most proposed vaccine-related payments NVIC has recorded within the historical past of the NVIC Advocacy Portal, surpassing the earlier all-time excessive of 473 payments filed in 2021, and 232 payments launched in 2020. It is very important observe that this enhance occurred even with out payments from the 4 states, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas, that meet biennially in odd numbered years.

Additionally noteworthy, in 2022, simply 44 states and the District of Columbia yielded the very best variety of proposed vaccine associated payments falling below NVIC’s mission.

There have been barely extra payments that NVIC opposed in 2022 – 186 – in comparison with the final two years, or 130 and 137 respectively however, with nearly double the quantity of whole vaccine associated payments filed this 12 months, that was not surprising. In 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to dramatically escalate curiosity in vaccine associated laws within the states.

Nevertheless, there have been much more payments filed in 2022 that NVIC supported than in another session. NVIC supported 475 payments this session, which is sort of 200 extra payments than the 278 supported in 2021, and greater than 4 instances the 99 payments supported in 2020.

The hole between supported and opposed payments has continued to widen as extra households, well being care suppliers and lawmakers acknowledge the necessity to safe vaccine knowledgeable consent protections in public well being insurance policies and legal guidelines.

Enlightened legislators are usually not solely listening to involved constituents in better numbers, many extra are persevering with or starting to withstand aggressive lobbying efforts by the pharmaceutical business, medical commerce, authorities well being officers and different particular curiosity teams, who profit from legal guidelines that compel kids and adults to make use of each vaccine offered by drug corporations and really helpful by federal well being companies and medical commerce associations.

Solely 18 dangerous vaccine payments handed out of the 186 proposed payments that NVIC opposed within the 2022 legislative session, which is identical quantity that handed in 2016 and 2019 earlier than the federal authorities issued a COVID pandemic emergency declaration firstly of 2020.

Particular person citizen involvement within the legislative course of, by means of private communications and training of lawmakers, continues to make an incredible affect on the outcomes of vaccine associated payments filed in state legislatures.

Though federal authorities officers tried to affect state COVID vaccine insurance policies in 2022, extra state legislators grew to become conscious of proof demonstrating the adverse well being results of COVID vaccine, whilst some employers are nonetheless attempting to mandate the vaccine as a situation of employment.

The latest vote by the CDC’s Advisory Fee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) so as to add the COVID vaccine to the kid vaccination schedule, together with for infants as younger as six months outdated, will place strain on legislatures in some states so as to add the COVID vaccine to mandates for daycare and faculty attendance in 2023.

NVIC predicts that persevering with lobbying efforts by the vaccine and medical commerce industries and federal authorities officers to power kids and adults to get COVID vaccine will proceed to drive extra Individuals in each state to get extra concerned within the legislative course of at each degree to guard their knowledgeable consent rights.

Recommendations of Good Payments to File for 2023

Public well being legal guidelines that fail to respect knowledgeable consent rights have an effect on you and your loved ones. It’s so necessary to contact your legislators and allow them to understand how you’re feeling about vaccine legal guidelines that use coercion and a risk of punishment to power use of federally really helpful vaccines, such because the COVID vaccine, fairly than permitting knowledgeable and voluntary vaccine choice making.

To have essentially the most affect, we’ve compiled an inventory of a few of the finest payments within the nation from totally different states filed in 2022 which might be worthy of submitting in different states. You’ll be able to discuss together with your legislators about refiling payments in your state that NVIC supported in 2022, which didn’t move or had been vetoed by governors.

This “finest invoice” record incorporates hyperlinks to these payments and is printed on the NVIC Advocacy Portal in a publish on our announcement web page titled “The Best Bills From 2022 to Share with Your Legislators NOW for Next Session.”

Additionally, Texas SB 1669 filed in 2021, is one other complete invoice that may prohibit vaccine mandates and discrimination over vaccine standing. It’s value having your legislators learn and think about submitting this sort of invoice in your state.

What Else Can You Do?

In gentle of the truth that all COVID-19 vaccine mandate payments did not move the states and that many payments defending vaccine knowledgeable consent rights had been handed in 2021 and 2022, NVIC expects that the federal authorities, the vaccine business and their medical commerce affiliation companions will proceed to step up efforts within the 2023 legislative session to compel each resident of each state to get COVID vaccinations, and can transfer to limit or remove vaccine exemptions in public well being legal guidelines.

Please be part of the tens of 1000’s of Individuals working with NVIC to carry the road within the states. Please change into a registered consumer of the free on-line NVIC Advocacy Portal at present and test in usually to find out about methods to personally educate your legislators when vaccine payments that have an effect on your rights are transferring in your state. Please encourage your loved ones and your entire mates to do the identical. Additionally, register for our textual content alerts by texting the complete title of your state to (202) 618-5488.

Clearly grassroots efforts within the states are making a way more vital distinction than the mainstream media and people pushing “no exceptions” pressured vaccination insurance policies and legal guidelines are prepared to confess, and your energetic participation is significant to defending knowledgeable consent rights and vaccine decisions in America.

In the event you see inaccurate info in information media studies or on-line conversations, particularly in gentle of all of the censorship that has occurred since 2020, please take the time to reply by making a constructive touch upon the general public remark boards. You can even present correct, properly referenced Diseases and Vaccines information and correct state vaccine law information, which yow will discover on our web site NVIC.org.

NVIC’s illustrated and absolutely referenced Guide to Reforming Vaccine Policy and Law is one other good vaccine training device for legislators and family and friends, too.

NVIC has printed many glorious referenced articles, commentaries and movies on vaccine science, coverage and legislation posted on NVIC.org that you should use and ahead. You’ll want to additionally subscribe to the free weekly digital journal newspaper The Vaccine Reaction that options breaking information articles.

If you’re censored on-line for offering correct details about vaccination, infectious ailments and well being, contest it and make an effort to teach these doing the censoring. The knowledge seeds you plant at present could make a distinction tomorrow and into the longer term.

As at all times, the challenges are nice, however so are the alternatives to teach and empower legislators and residents of each state to defend vaccine freedom of selection. NVIC is dedicated to persevering with to make that occur, and we look ahead to working with you thru the NVIC Advocacy Portal that can assist you defend vaccine knowledgeable consent rights in your state within the remaining days of 2022, and in 2023 and past.