UPDATE: 7/21/2023
Dear Massachusetts NVIC Advocacy Team Members,
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The six vaccine bills being tracked by NVIC’s advocacy team that were originally scheduled for a hearing earlier this week have been rescheduled for a hearing in the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health this coming Wednesday, July 26th, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in the Gardner Auditorium (directions). The committee is requiring those who wish to testify either in person or remotely to register all over again and by a deadline of 5:00 PM on Monday, July 24th (see below).
Five out of six of these bills are very bad for medical freedom, parental rights, and informed consent to vaccination. We are asking you to help share our action alert with others: https://nvicadvocacy.org/members/State-Teams/My-State/Action-Alert-Details-Alt/itemid/3641/State/MA?Page=True.
Topics of the 5 bills that need strong opposition include:
- removing the religious exemption to vaccination
- restricting religious and medical exemptions
- expanding minor consent to vaccination without parental knowledge or consent
- requiring the health department to publish vaccine exemption information
- mandating HPV and Hep A vaccines for school
The one bill worth supporting, strengthens the medical exemption.
We need everyone to submit written public testimony for each bill now. While you officially have until the committee votes on the bills to get your testimony in, and the committee may not vote on the day of the hearing, the sooner you can submit your testimony for each bill, the more likely the legislators will have time to read it before they vote on these bills. You can always check the NVIC Advocacy Portal on the Massachusetts state page to see if a vote has been taken. We are also asking everyone to call the committee members to express your concerns before the hearing.
There is also the opportunity to testify at the hearing or virtually on Wednesday July 26th, but there is a Monday (7/24) 5:00 PM deadline for registering to testify. Please scroll down to action item 3 right away and register ASAP if you can attend the hearing at the Capitol and testify. If you previously signed up to testify, you will need to sign up again for the new hearing date. The only way to likely guarantee time to testify, is to sign up by the 5:00 PM Monday deadline, however, if time allows, the committee states they may take in person testimony from those who have not preregistered after all preregistered individuals deliver their testimony. If you are getting this alert after the 5:00 PM sign up deadline on Monday, you can still submit written testimony, make calls, and even attend the hearing to show your support for those testifying. If time allows, they will even let you sign up while you are there.
Scroll down to “ACTION NEEDED” to get started right away. There are things that everyone can do to help depending on your availability.
NVIC Tracked Bills Included in Hearing Wednesday 7/26 (You can click on the hyperlinked bill numbers to see more detailed NVIC’s analysis of the bills).
H.604, OPPOSE, Eliminates religious belief exemption for vaccines required for school, requires the department to publish exemption data
S.1391, OPPOSE, Eliminates religious belief exemption for vaccines required for school, requires the department to publish exemption data
H.2151 & S.1458, OPPOSE, Restricts Medical and Religious Exemptions, Expands Minor Consent, Expands Vaccine Tracking and Reporting
H.471, OPPOSE, Adds (HPV) human papilloma virus and hepatitis A vaccines to the list of vaccines required for school
H.582, SUPPORT, Removes ability of the Health Department to deny vaccine medical exemptions, provides privacy protection, protects physicians writing medical exemptions
ACTION NEEDED:
1) Submit written testimony ASAP (before vote on each bill) by email to: [email protected].
- Each bill requires a separate email
- The subject line of the email should read: Public Health Committee Testimony, [Relevant Bill Number]
- The top line of the email should read: “Dear Honorable Members of the Joint Committee on Public Health,”
- The second line should ask the committee members to OPPOSE OR SUPPORT the bill (put bill #)
- In the body of the email, explain how the bill affects you and your family and/or give some talking points (include credible references if you are able) to support your position. Be concise and respectful.
- Sign the email with your full name, address, phone number
2) Call members of the Joint Committee on Public Health to express your concerns. Make sure to explain how these bills impact you and your family. Be polite and respectful.
Chair Julian Cyr, (617) 722-1570
Representative Marjorie Decker, (617) 722-2130
Representative Sally Kerans, (617) 722-2210
State Senator Jacob Oliveira, (617) 722-1291
Representative Hannah Kane, (617) 722-2810
Representative James Arena-DeRosa, (617) 722-2230
Representative Brian M. Ashe, (617) 722-2304
Representative Judith Garcia, (617) 722-2582
Representative Vanna Howard, (617) 722-2060
Representative Kristin Kassner, (617) 722-2000
Senator John F. Keenan, (617) 722-1494
Senator Robyn Kennedy, (617) 722-1544
Representative Kay Khan, (617) 722-2230
Representative Marc Lombardo, (617) 722-2460
Senator Patrick O'Connor, (617) 722-1646
Senator Pavel Payano, (617) 722-1604
Representative Vargas, Andres (617) 722-2370
3) Attend the hearing and testify in OPPOSITION to H.604, S.1391, H.2151& S.1458, & H.471 and in SUPPORT of H.582. Information on the hearing can be found on the agenda: https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4600. In person and virtual testimony is limited to 2 minutes.
Date: Wednesday, 7/26/2023
Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Location: Gardner Auditorium at the State House in Boston (directions)
To secure your spot to testify in person or remotely, you must sign up by filling out the information on this link by 5:00 PM Monday 7/24/2023: https://forms.gle/iqStXSHnEHgAAjSj8.
Persons who do not have a Google account or do not wish to use the Google form can sign up to testify by emailing the [email protected]. Please indicate whether you plan to testify in person or virtually.
Participants who indicate that they plan to testify virtually will receive an invitation to the hearing with instructions via email after the deadline closes.
Same day sign up will be available if time allows for those who miss the deadline to register to testify sign-up to speak in person on forms provided by committee staff outside of the hearing room. Time permitting, when all pre-registered individuals have been called to testify, the Chairs will then call any individuals who sign-up on the day of the hearing.
Note that the bills can be called in any order so plan to be there for the entire hearing time.
4) Contact your own Massachusetts Representative and Senator and ask them to OPPOSE H.604, S.1391, H.2151& S.1458, H.471 and SUPPORT H.582.
It is important to contact your own legislators now to let them know your position on the bills in case the bills move quickly before the end of session.
To find your legislators, login to the NVIC Advocacy Portal at http://NVICAdvocacy.org. Click on the red button on the homepage that says “Go to my State” or “My State” on the STATE TEAMS tab. Your personal state legislators are listed at the bottom of your state page. You can click on your legislators’ names to get phone numbers, emails, web contact forms, and even links to their social media to connect with them.
You can also find your state legislators on the Massachusetts Legislative site at this link: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator.
5) Please share this action alert with family and friends.
You can forward this email or share this link by text or social media.
URGENT Contact Massachusetts Legislators on Bills Threatening Exemptions, Minor Consent, Tracking, Adding Mandates, and More Being Heard Wednesday 7/19
https://nvicadvocacy.org/members/State-Teams/My-State/Action-Alert-Details-Alt/itemid/3641/State/MA?Page=True
6) Sign up to get NVIC’s Massachusetts Heads Up text alerts.
Text “Massachusetts” to 202-618-5488.
7) Login to the NVIC Advocacy Portal OFTEN and check for updates on your Massachusetts: http://NVICAdvocacy.org.
We review bills and make updates daily. Bills can change many times over the legislative process and your timely visits, testimony, calls, and emails directed at the correct legislators are critical to this process.
Sincerely,
NVIC Advocacy Team
National Vaccine Information Center
http://NVIC.org and http://NVICAdvocacy.org
https://nvicadvocacy.org/members/Members/ContactUs.aspx
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) works diligently to prepare and disseminate our legislative advocacy action alerts and supporting materials. We request that organizations and members of the public forward our alerts in their original form to assure consistent and accurate messaging and effective action. Please acknowledge NVIC as originators of this work when forwarding to members of the public and like-minded organizations. To receive alerts immediately, register at http://NVICAdvocacy.org, a website dedicated to this sole purpose and provided as a free public service by NVIC.
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7/17/2023
Dear Massachusetts NVIC Advocacy Team Members,
Late Friday, six vaccine bills being tracked by NVIC’s advocacy team were scheduled for a hearing in the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health this coming Wednesday, July 19th, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in the Gardner Auditorium (directions).
Five out of six of these bills are very bad for medical freedom, parental rights, and informed consent to vaccination. This makes the short notice given to the public to respond even more concerning, so we are asking you to help share our action alert with others: https://nvicadvocacy.org/members/State-Teams/My-State/Action-Alert-Details-Alt/itemid/3641/State/MA?Page=True
Topics of the 5 bills that need strong opposition include:
- removing the religious exemption to vaccination
- restricting religious and medical exemptions
- expanding minor consent to vaccination without parental knowledge or consent
- requiring the health department to publish vaccine exemption information
- mandating HPV and Hep A vaccines for school
The one bill worth supporting, strengthens the medical exemption.
We need everyone to submit written public testimony for each bill now. While you officially have until the committee votes on the bills to get your testimony in, and the committee may not vote on the day of the hearing, the sooner you can submit your testimony for each bill, the more likely the legislators will have time to read it before they vote on these bills. You can always check the NVIC Advocacy Portal on the Massachusetts state page to see if a vote has been taken. We are also asking everyone to call the committee members to express your concerns before the hearing.
There is also the opportunity to testify at the hearing on Wednesday, or virtually, but there is unfortunately a Monday (7/17) 5:00 PM deadline for registering to testify at the hearing. Please scroll down to action item 3 right away and register ASAP if you can attend the hearing at the Capitol and testify. The only way to likely guarantee time to testify, is to sign up by the 5 pm Monday deadline, however, if time allows, the committee states they may take in person testimony from those who have not preregistered after all preregistered individuals deliver their testimony. If you are getting this alert after the 5 PM sign up deadline on Monday, you can still submit written testimony, make calls, and even attend the hearing to show your support for those testifying. If time allows, they will even let you sign up while you are there.
Scroll down to “ACTION NEEDED” to get started right away. There are things that everyone can do to help depending on your availability.
NVIC Tracked Bills Included in Hearing Wednesday 7/19 (You can click on the hyperlinked bill numbers to see more detailed NVIC’s analysis of the bills).
H.604, OPPOSE, Eliminates religious belief exemption for vaccines required for school, requires the department to publish exemption data
S.1391, OPPOSE, Eliminates religious belief exemption for vaccines required for school, requires the department to publish exemption data
H.2151 & S.1458, OPPOSE, Restricts Medical and Religious Exemptions, Expands Minor Consent, Expands Vaccine Tracking and Reporting
H.471, OPPOSE, Adds (HPV) human papilloma virus and hepatitis A vaccines to the list of vaccines required for school
H.582, SUPPORT, Removes ability of the Health Department to deny vaccine medical exemptions, provides privacy protection, protects physicians writing medical exemptions
ACTION NEEDED:
1) Submit written testimony ASAP (before vote on each bill) by email to: [email protected].
- Each bill requires a separate email
- The subject line of the email should read: Public Health Committee Testimony, [Relevant Bill Number]
- The top line of the email should read: “Dear Honorable Members of the Joint Committee on Public Health,”
- The second line should ask the committee members to OPPOSE OR SUPPORT the bill (put bill #)
- In the body of the email, explain how the bill affects you and your family and/or give some talking points (include credible references if you are able) to support your position. Be concise and respectful.
- Sign the email with your full name, address, phone number
2) Call members of the Joint Committee on Public Health to express your concerns. Make sure to explain how these bills impact you and your family. Be polite and respectful.
Chair Julian Cyr, (617) 722-1570
Representative Marjorie Decker, (617) 722-2130
Representative Sally Kerans, (617) 722-2210
State Senator Jacob Oliveira, (617) 722-1291
Representative Hannah Kane, (617) 722-2810
Representative James Arena-DeRosa, (617) 722-2230
Representative Brian M. Ashe, (617) 722-2304
Representative Judith Garcia, (617) 722-2582
Representative Vanna Howard, (617) 722-2060
Representative Kristin Kassner, (617) 722-2000
Senator John F. Keenan, (617) 722-1494
Senator Robyn Kennedy, (617) 722-1544
Representative Kay Khan, (617) 722-2230
Representative Marc Lombardo, (617) 722-2460
Senator Patrick O'Connor, (617) 722-1646
Senator Pavel Payano, (617) 722-1604
Representative Vargas, Andres (617) 722-2370
3) Attend the hearing and testify in OPPOSITION to H.604, S.1391, H.2151& S.1458, & H.471 and in SUPPORT of H.582. Information on the hearing can be found on the agenda: https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4600. In person and virtual testimony is limited to 2 minutes.
Date: Wednesday, 7/19/2023
Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Location: Gardner Auditorium at the State House in Boston (directions)
To secure your spot to testify in person or remotely, you must sign up by filling out the information on this link by 5:00 PM Monday 7/17/2023: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8CO1CzZHtob9YyR8hFjfkV-RxaRl5V4dG253aihYgL1sWFA/viewform?pli=1.
Persons who do not have a Google account or do not wish to use the Google form can sign up to testify by emailing the [email protected]. Please indicate whether you plan to testify in person or virtually.
Participants who indicate that they plan to testify virtually will receive an invitation to the hearing with instructions via email after the deadline closes.
Same day sign up will be available if time allows for those who miss the deadline to register to testify sign-up to speak in person on forms provided by committee staff outside of the hearing room. Time permitting, when all pre-registered individuals have been called to testify, the Chairs will then call any individuals who sign-up on the day of the hearing.
Note that the bills can be called in any order so plan to be there for the entire hearing time.
4) Contact your own Massachusetts Representative and Senator and ask them to OPPOSE H.604, S.1391, H.2151& S.1458, H.471 and SUPPORT H.582.
It is important to contact your own legislators now to let them know your position on the bills in case the bills move quickly before the end of session.
To find your legislators, login to the NVIC Advocacy Portal at http://NVICAdvocacy.org. Click on the red button on the homepage that says “Go to my State” or “My State” on the STATE TEAMS tab. Your personal state legislators are listed at the bottom of your state page. You can click on your legislators’ names to get phone numbers, emails, web contact forms, and even links to their social media to connect with them.
You can also find your state legislators on the Massachusetts Legislative site at this link: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator.
5) Please share this action alert with family and friends.
You can forward this email or share this link by text or social media.
URGENT Contact Massachusetts Legislators on Bills Threatening Exemptions, Minor Consent, Tracking, Adding Mandates, and More Being Heard Wednesday 7/19
https://nvicadvocacy.org/members/State-Teams/My-State/Action-Alert-Details-Alt/itemid/3641/State/MA?Page=True
6) Sign up to get NVIC’s Massachusetts Heads Up text alerts.
Text “Massachusetts” to 202-618-5488.
7) Login to the NVIC Advocacy Portal OFTEN and check for updates on your Massachusetts: http://NVICAdvocacy.org.
We review bills and make updates daily. Bills can change many times over the legislative process and your timely visits, testimony, calls, and emails directed at the correct legislators are critical to this process.
Sincerely,
NVIC Advocacy Team
National Vaccine Information Center
http://NVIC.org and http://NVICAdvocacy.org
https://nvicadvocacy.org/members/Members/ContactUs.aspx
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) works diligently to prepare and disseminate our legislative advocacy action alerts and supporting materials. We request that organizations and members of the public forward our alerts in their original form to assure consistent and accurate messaging and effective action. Please acknowledge NVIC as originators of this work when forwarding to members of the public and like-minded organizations. To receive alerts immediately, register at http://NVICAdvocacy.org, a website dedicated to this sole purpose and provided as a free public service by NVIC.