SEN. KUSHNER VOTES TO PRESERVE CONNECTICUT’S CURRENT VACCINE STANDARDS FROM TRUMP INTERFERENCE
HARTFORD – Amid frequent changes to federal vaccine policies, state Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) and the Connecticut State Senate today passed legislation preserving a standard of care for immunizations and protecting state public health from the Trump administration’s federal rollbacks on essential, common-sense health guidelines.
House Bill 5044, “An Act Establishing Connecticut Vaccine Standards,” establishes a standard of care for immunizations in Connecticut. Its changes are simple: although vaccine access is often tied to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Connecticut’s vaccine standard will now also incorporate recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
This will effectively allow Connecticut to retain its current vaccination standards regardless of what the Trump administration attempts to dictate.
“The Trump administration and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have gutted the vaccine experts in the federal Centers for Disease Control and essentially replaced them with science deniers,” said Sen. Kushner. “I have zero confidence that the actions of Washington, D.C. are in the best interests of Connecticut residents and our health and the health of our children, so I proudly cast my vote today for vaccine independence from the Trump administration.”
HB 5044 creates a Vaccines for Adults program, which will provide free vaccines to uninsured and underinsured adults ages 19+ through free clinics, municipal health departments, and other eligible providers, allowing Connecticut increased supply chain flexibility.
HB 5044 clarifies what the General Assembly intended in 2021 when it voted to allow only medical exemptions from state vaccination policy, thereby ensuring there are no such exemptions in schools, childcare and college. With about 495,000 schoolchildren currently attending Connecticut schools, HB 5044 preserves Connecticut’s vaccine status quo and keeps children safe from preventable illnesses.
Connecticut currently has a best-in-the-nation vaccination rate of 98.2%. Just .02% of Connecticut students have non-medical exemptions compared to 3.4% nationally.
HB 5044 also requires individual and group health insurance policies to cover immunizations on the standard of care and allows pharmacists to administer any vaccine on Connecticut’s own immunization schedule, preserving and expanding access to vaccinations regardless of federal action.
With today’s Senate passage, the bill now heads to Governor Lamont’s desk for his final signature into law.
###