Saud Anwar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe O’Leary | Joe.OLeary@cga.ct.gov | 508-479-4969

April 23, 2026

Amid frequent changes to federal vaccine policy, the Connecticut State Senate today passed legislation preserving a standard of care for immunization and protecting state public health infrastructure from federal rollbacks on common health policies.

State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor), Senate Chair of the Public Health Committee, led the bill’s passage.

“It’s easy to get whiplash from the federal government’s recent decision-making, which has upended decades of standard, accepted practices regarding vaccination,” said Sen. Anwar. “This bill is simply making sure Connecticut knows where it stands, adopting a new standard where state residents can rest assured they can get access to any vaccination needed or desired by themselves and their families. We’re not forcing anything here. We’re expanding options to make sure the public can access the care they desire. It’s a meaningful step forward to support public health in Connecticut.”

Connecticut families should not have to wonder whether the vaccines their children and loved ones rely on will remain available because of federal dysfunction,” said Senate President Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “This legislation ensures that our state’s immunization standards are grounded in the consensus professional judgment of the nation’s leading medical and public health practitioners, not in the ideological agenda of the Trump regime. We are making clear this state will not allow Washington’s recklessness to lead to public health crises here at home. We commend Senator Anwar for his leadership in moving this legislation forward and we are proud to stand with the medical community and the families of Connecticut in protecting access to safe, effective vaccines.”

House Bill 5044, “An Act Establishing Connecticut Vaccine Standards,” establishes a standard of care for immunization specific to the state. In effect, its change is simple: as vaccine access is often tied to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the state’s standard will also incorporate recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

That will effectively allow the state to retain its current vaccination standards amid increased scrutiny on the behaviors and practices of the CDC’s ACIP Committee. In June 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy removed all 17 sitting members of the ACIP and replaced them with new members, at least several of which have been directly tied to vaccine skepticism. Since then, the body has already attempted to remove vaccines from standard schedules, among other actions casting doubt on its dedication to the practice.

The legislation additionally 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. That allows the state increased supply chain flexibility as its current program is tied to the ACIP; expanding that will support the state’s access and care for members of the public accordingly.

Further changes the bill makes include allowing the Public Health Commissioner to develop respiratory virus vaccine requirements in nursing homes, which already allow non-medical exemptions. Schools, higher education, child care centers and family care homes, among other agencies, will retain current requirements.

With about 495,000 schoolchildren currently attending Connecticut schools, the legislation preserves the existing status quo and keeps children safe from preventable illnesses.

It 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 on a 22-12 vote, after the House passed the bill on April 21 by an 89-60 tally, the bill now heads to Governor Lamont’s desk for final signature.