House Dems mount vaccine defense

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) - In light of changing federal policy, House Democrats have announced they’ll soon introduce legislation protecting vaccine access in the state.

Legislators say their bill will ensure people can continue to receive vaccines from pharmacists regardless of any changes made by disruption in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As it stands, pharmacists receive the authority to administer vaccines through a CDC mandate. The new legislation would allow state agencies to bestow the same authority in the event that federal agencies revoke it. The bill comes on the heels of another which would protect vaccine coverage through private insurance.

“We will very soon see pharmacies cease their providing of certain vaccines due to the ongoing political turmoil in our federal health agencies, including the CDC,” said Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-Allegheny, who is an emergency room physician. “Chaos in federal health agency policymaking, which is no longer backed by scientific evidence, but instead by anti-vaccine ideology, will cost people’s lives.”

The “chaos” includes the recent dismissal of CDC director Susan Monarez who clashed with Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the topic of vaccines. Monarez said that she was let go because she would not “rubber-stamp unscientific discoveries” leading to additional dismissals and resignations in the department.

Kennedy has questioned the efficacy and safety of vaccines, calling on evidence the medical community has broadly panned. Kennedy himself has a background in environmental law, though he has carved a reputation for himself as a proponent of conspiracy theories related to public health.

Venkat is amongst a number of current or former medical professionals voicing concern in the House. He is joined in his work and this legislation by Rep. Tarik Khan, D-Philadelphia, a nurse practitioner and Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, D-Scranton, a registered nurse. Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Media, also supports the proposal.

“Vaccines are safe and effective,” said O’Mara, D-Delaware. “Decisions about vaccine availability need to be based on real science from medical professionals, and Pennsylvania medical professionals can be trusted to make those decisions.”

The group says that decisions by state agencies would be informed by expert medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“I’ve cared for patients who got sick because they couldn’t get the vaccines they needed,” said Khan. “No parent should have to worry that politics in Washington will stop their child from getting a life-saving shot. That’s why this legislation matters — it makes sure people can get protected here in Pennsylvania and it will save lives.” 

According to the World Health Organization, about 154 million have been saved over the past  half-century by vaccination, with infants accounting for most of those numbers. The CDC’s own website promotes vaccines as saving about four million lives annually across the globe and promotes access to childhood vaccinations.

“This legislation will allow Pennsylvanians to avoid this politicization of healthcare and get the life-saving vaccines they need,” said Venkat, “Even if the federal government stops recommending them purely due to politics.”