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See Corresponding Action Alert for H.3988
UPDATE: 7/2/2024 - H.3988 was enacted, it was signed by Governor Henry McMaster and became effective on 7/2/2024. Act No. 221
UPDATE: 6/27/2024 - H.3988 was ratified as R 246 on 6/27/2024.
UPDATE: 6/26/2024 - H.3988 was enrolled for ratification and sent to Governor's office for approval on 6/26/2024. Contact Governor Henry McMaster at (803)-734-2100 and ask him to VETO H.3988.
UPDATE: 6/26/2024 - H.3988's conference committee report was adopted by the House with a vote of 89 Yeas and 17 Nays and adopted by the Senate with a vote of 42 Yeas and 0 Nays on 6/26/2024. See the conference committee's version of H.3988 that was passed by the House and Senate HERE. Before the vote took place in the Senate, Senator Margie Matthews asked what changes had been made to the bill in conference committee since a working document was not provided to senators before the unanimous vote. After the Senate and House passed the bill, the conference committee changes to H.3988 were uploaded to the South Carolina Statehouse website. The conference committee removed Section 5, subsection B and C of the "informed consent" portion of H.3988. Subsection B that was removed provides the vaccine recipient with a description of the potential risks and benefits of the vaccine, including a realistic description of the most likely outcome. Subsection C that was removed required the vaccine recipient to sign a document acknowledging risks associated with the vaccine if it is an indemnified product. NVIC OPPOSES pharmacists and pharmacy technicians vaccinating as they are not medically trained as physicians and nurses nor do they have the necessary personal medical history to administer vaccines to any age.
UPDATE: 5/9/2024 - H.3988, as amended in the Senate, was considered by the House of Representatives, and the House voted to not concur with the Senate amendments (0 Yeas to 104 Nays) on 5/9/2024. The Senate insisted upon amendments. Senators Shane Martin, Brad Hutto, and Ronnie Cromer and Representatives Sylleste H. Davis, M.M. Smith, and Wendell Jones were appointed to a conference committee to work out the differences between the House and Senate Versions. NVIC OPPOSES pharmacists and pharmacy technicians vaccinating, even with informed consent, because they are not medically trained the way physicians or nurses are to perform invasive medical procedures. This bill put patients receiving vaccines at higher risk of injury or death from vaccination because pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are vaccinating without a trained medical professional screening for family or individual history of vaccine reactions or contraindications. Both the House and Senate versions expand the role of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians vaccinating. It is NVIC's position that the conference committee should remove the vaccine provisions in the bill altogether or refuse to concur on a version of the bill to effectively kill it. NVIC does not take a position on sections in the bill unrelated to vaccines.
UPDATE: 5/8/2024 - H.3988 was amended on the Senate floor; the final bill was passed by roll call vote of 45 Ayes to 0 Nays on 5/8/2024. It was then sent to the House. View the amendment HERE. This amendment adds more language to SECTION 5. regarding S.C. Code Section 40-43-190(B)(3). This new subsection defines "informed consent" to mean a written document that is signed and dated by an individual; or a parent or legal guardian if a minor; or a designated health care agent if the individual is incapacitated or without sufficient mental capacity, that at a minimum includes:
(a) an explanation of the vaccine or treatment written in an understandable language;
(b) a description of the potential risks and benefits resulting from the vaccine or treatment along with a realistic description of the most likely outcome;
(c) a statement acknowledging risks if the vaccine or treatment is an indemnified product;
(d) clear language indications that the individual agrees to the vaccine/treatment administration, that the individual has had time to thoughtfully and voluntarily accept or decline the vaccine or treatment free from coercion; and
(e) if the vaccine or treatment is an investigational medical product or is made available through an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a statement acknowledging its investigational and civil liability protections afforded it by law.
The state should not be letting pharmacists or pharmacy technicians administer vaccines period. Enhancing informed consent for patients does not change the fact that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are not medical professionals and should not be performing invasive medical procedures that can cause injury and death. This amendment does not change NVIC's OPPOSE position on the bill.
UPDATE: 4/23/2024 - H.3988 was amended by the Senate Medical Affairs Committee on 4/23/2024. View the amendment HERE. This amendment adds to the bill's language in SECTION 5. regarding S.C. Code Section 40-43-190. The original language requires a pharmacy technician to complete either a state-certified or nonstate-certified course of no less than one hour per year to administer vaccinations, receive training according to the federal Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, and be registered with the Board of Pharmacy as an authorized vaccination provider. This amendment adds to this section, requiring a pharmacy technician to complete a practical training program that is approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), which includes, at a minimum, hands-on injection technique and the recognition and treatment of emergency reactions to vaccines. These training courses do not make pharmacy technicians medically qualified to vaccinate by any means. This amendment does not change NVIC's OPPOSE position on the bill.
UPDATE: 4/10/2024 - S.505 died, carryover from the 2023 session failed to move in the Senate before the 2024 crossover deadline to pass the originating chamber of 4/10/2024.
UPDATE: 3/26/2024 - H.3988 was referred to the Senate Medical Affairs Committee on 3/26/2024.
UPDATE: 3/20/2024 - H.3988 was amended on the House floor on 3/20/2024. View the amendment HERE. This amendment allows a pharmacist to administer a vaccine to a child less than sixteen years old if that person's caretaker (with written parental consent), parent, or legal guardian is present at the time the vaccine is administered. Making parental consent required for an otherwise unqualified person to vaccinate a child does not make the practice any safer. This amendment makes the bill worse so it does not affect NVIC's OPPOSE position on the bill.
UPDATE: 3/19/2024 - H.3988 was amended on the House floor on 3/19/2024. View the amendment HERE. This amendment adds a new definition to Section 40-43-30 regarding "direct supervision" to mean a pharmacist that is readily and immediately available to the person they are supervising and removes part of Section 40-43-84(C) that requires a pharmacist to be in continuous personal eye and voice contact and giving instructions to the intern/extern they are supervising. This amendment puts patients at further risk. NVIC is already opposed to this bill, therefore this amendment does not change NVIC's position on the bill.
UPDATE: 2/28/2024 - H.3988 was recommended as Favorable with an Amendment in the House Medical and Health Affairs Subcommittee on 2/6/2024. View the hearing agenda HERE. View the amendment HERE. This amendment increases the vaccine recipient age from twelve to sixteen years old for a pharmacist to administer a vaccine without a written order. This amendment does not affect NVIC's position on the bill. NVIC maintains that pharmacists should not administer vaccinations and are not trained medical professionals with the same medical training as a physician, nurse practitioner, or registered nurse.
UPDATE: 2/2/2024 - H.3988 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Medical and Health Affairs Subcommittee on Tuesday, 2/6/2024 in Room 427 of the Blatt Building, 1.5 hours after the House adjourns. View the hearing agenda HERE.
UPDATE: 6/14/2023 - Session adjourned 6/14/2023, but all bills carryover to 2024.
H.3988 was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs on 2/16/2023. It is sponsored by Representatives Sylleste H. Davis, M.M. Smith, B.J. Cox, Pedalino, Herbkersman, and Forrest.
S.505 was introduced and referred to the Senate Medical Affairs Committee on 2/8/2023. It is sponsored by Senator Tom Davis.
H.3988 and S.505 remove the current prohibition on a pharmacist delegating the authority to administer a vaccine to a pharmacy technician. These bills also expressly add the authorization for pharmacy technicians to give vaccines. Furthermore, these bills lower the vaccine recipient age from eighteen to twelve years old for a pharmacist to administer a vaccine without a written order. These bills only require pharmacy technicians to receive one (1) hour of training, and according to the South Carolina Board of Pharmacy, the baseline qualification for pharmacy technicians is to have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.
NVIC OPPOSES H.3988 and S.505 because they trivialize the serious complications that can come from vaccination. It is irresponsible to give high school graduates with one hour of training the authorization to administer vaccines. These bills undermine the doctor-patient relationship and remove critical health history screenings prior to vaccination. Neither pharmacists nor less qualified pharmacy interns and pharmacy technicians have the necessary medical history of an infant or child or the time to prescreen for contraindications based on a child’s personal and family history and unique health needs prior to vaccination. Vaccines, just like all pharmaceutical products, can cause injury and death in some people. As of 6/1/2024, the United States Government has paid out more than $5.2 Billion to vaccine victims through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). As of 5/31/2024, there were 47,991 deaths and 2,608,515 adverse events reported to the US government's Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System. Clearly, there are dangers associated with vaccines that should not be ignored by expanding the authorization of those who can administer them.
There is no doubt the pharmacy groups will support these bills, but this presents a serious conflict of interest because of the financial benefits they will receive if they pass. America’s biopharmaceutical research companies are developing 258 vaccines. The U.S. Vaccine Market alone was worth $36.45 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $58.4 billion by 2024. Pharmacies stand to increase their profits substantially by allowing pharmacy technicians to put those shots into customers. This conflict is compounded by the fact that neither pharmacists nor pharmacy technicians will have liability for the injuries and deaths caused by the vaccines they administer to children. Vaccine administrators are shielded from liability for vaccine injuries and deaths through the combination of the law passed by Congress in 1986 establishing the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and the 2011 Supreme Court Decision BRUESEWITZ ET AL. v. WYETH LLC, FKA WYETH, INC., ET AL.
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?session=125&billnumbers=3988&summary=B - text, status, and history of H.3988
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=505&session=125&summary=B&headerfooter=1 - text, status, and history of S.505
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