An effort by Connecticut lawmakers to expand the state’s vaccine policy has triggered opposition from Republicans and thousands of state residents.
Two bills being considered would expand the state’s Department of Public Health’s ability to set and implement immunization recommendations, in the wake of recent changes to federal vaccine policy by the Trump administration.
The bills would further limit the ability of individuals to get medical exemptions, said House Republican minority leader Vincent Candelora at a Public Health Committee public hearing on Wednesday.
“You have parents and families that are outraged because they feel that they are trapped on an island. We’ve excluded these individuals from schools, and we never went back to fixing the medical exemption,” Candelora said.
One of the bills creates a pilot vaccine program for children and seeks to allow religious exemptions for school immunizations
More than 2000 people signed up to speak at the daylong hearing, prompting lawmakers to cut off in-person testimony at midnight. A move opposed by the Republicans.
