The most egregious state bill in the pharma attempt to circumvent parents to vaccinate children directly (and illegally) was killed in committee today in Maryland.
HB 561 would have allowed pharmacists to vaccinate children as young as nine years old with any FDA approved vaccine without parental consent. This, of course violates the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, which requires parents of a minor be given CDC approved materials on the benefits and risks of the vaccine before a child can be vaccinated, as does the recently passed AB 499 in California. Similar legislation has also been introduced in New York.
The bill was sponsored by:
- Delegate James W. Hubbard, District 23A
- Delegate Robert A. Costa, District 33B
- Delegate Bonnie Cullison, District 19
- Delegate Donald B. Elliott, District 4B
- Delegate Susan W. Krebs, District 9B
- Delegate Nathaniel T. Oaks, District 41
- Delegate Joseline A. Pena-Melnyk, District 21
- Delegate Shawn Z. Tarrant, District 40
- Delegate Veronica Turner, District 26
We encourage Marylanders to contact these representatives and express their concern over this cynical attempt to improve vaccine sales by cutting parents out of health decisions for children, violating parental rights and violating federal law.