Health Commissioner: Trump Court Appeal Shows Value Of CT’s Vaccine Law

by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie

HARTFORD, CT — News that the administration of President Donald Trump is appealing a court order as it continues to try to reduce recommended childhood vaccinations demonstrates why the recent passage of House Bill 5044 was so critical, Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani said Thursday in a written statement.

The bill, which Gov. Ned Lamont signed Tuesday, requires the public health commissioner to establish immunization standards for adults in addition to children, requires the Connecticut Vaccine Program to give all vaccines under the Department of Public Health standards of care, rather than only those recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and expressly provides that the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) does not apply to immunization requirements for public and private schools, including higher education institutions and child care centers and group and family day care homes

“Today’s news that the Trump administration is appealing a federal court order, in an effort to strip routine vaccine recommendations for children across the country, makes what Connecticut accomplished this legislative session all that more significant,” Juthani said.

On March 16, a judge’s order blocked Secretary of Health Robert Kennedy Jr.’s order to end general recommendations that children be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV, a respiratory virus 

Juthani said these vaccines were well-established and had saved millions of lives and protected generations of Americans.

“When federal leadership retreats from decades of real-life data, Connecticut will stand firm in it,” she said.

The bill passed both branches of the General Assembly last week, on an 89-60 vote in the House and 22-12 in the Senate.

HB 5044 generated considerable controversy, in particular during its committee hearing in March, when the Public Health Committee voted to schedule the end of public comment on the bill for just after midnight on March 11. That meant that many of the 550 people who signed up to speak on the bill – the vast majority in opposition – would likely have been unable to do so due to time constraints, although they would have been able to submit written testimony.