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UPDATE: 3/13/2024 - ENACTED; SB 5982 was signed by Governor Jay Inslee on 3/13/2024, Chapter 41, 2024 Laws, with an effective date of 3/13/2024.
UPDATE: 3/7/2024 - SB 5982 was delivered to the Governor on 3/7/2024. Contact Governor Jay Inslee (360) 902-4111 and ask to VETO SB 5982.
UPDATE: 2/22/2024 - SB 5982 passed the House 3rd Reading by a vote of 61 Yeas, 32 Nays, 5 Excused, on 2/22/2024. Contact Governor Jay Inslee (360) 902-4111 and ask to VETO SB 5982.
UPDATE: 2/20/2024 - HB 2157 was placed on the House Ruled "X" file on 2/20/2024.
UPDATE: 2/16/2024 - SB 5982 passed the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness by a vote of 11 Do Pass, 4 Do Not Pass, on 2/16/2024.
UPDATE: 2/7/2024 - SB 5982 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness on Wednesday, 2/14/2024 at 1:30PM (Subject to change) in House Hearing Room A of the John L. O'Brien Building. View the hearing agenda HERE. Submit written testimony or register for in-person or remote testimony HERE. Continue to contact the House Health Care and Wellness Committee Members until a vote is taken. Sometimes a vote is not taken on the day of the hearing.
UPDATE: 2/5/2024 - SB 5982 was referred to the House Health Care and Wellness Committee on 2/5/2024.
UPDATE: 2/1/2024 - SB 5982 passed the Senate 3rd reading and final passage by a vote of 29 Yeas, 19 Nays, 1 Excused on 2/1/2024.
UPDATE: 1/19/2024 - HB 2157 was recommended for passage in the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness by vote of 11 Ayes, 4 Nays, 1 excused on 1/19/2024. View the hearing video HERE. Timestamp [49:45]
UPDATE: 1/18/2024 - HB 2157 is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness on 1/19/2024 at 8:00 AM (Subject to change).
UPDATE: 1/17/2024 - HB 2157 was scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness on 1/17/2024, but no action was taken.
UPDATE: 1/17/2024 - SB 5982 was heard in the Senate Health & Long Term Committee on 1/12/2024 and the committee passed it on 1/16/2024, by a vote of 6-2. It was passed to the Rules Committee for a second reading.
HB 2157 was prefiled on 1/5/2024 and referred to the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness on 18/2024. It is sponsored by Representative Paul Harris, and Representatives Stonier, Reed, Ormsby, Macri, Ortiz-Self, and Reeves.
SB 5982 was prefiled on 1/4/2024 and referred to the Senate Health & Long Term Committee on 1/8/2024. It is sponsored by Senator Annette Cleveland, and Senators Robinson, Keiser, Dhingra, Van De Wege, Conway, Frame, Kuderer, Liias, Mullet, Nobles, Salomon, Trudeau, Valdez, Wellman.
HB 2157 and SB 5982 change the definition of "vaccine" in state code to remove the qualifiers that the vaccine will stimulate immunity and protect against disease. Instead, it would say a vaccine is anything approved by the FDA and recommended by the CDC, regardless of any ability for it to prevent transmission or spread of the illness. The bills were requested by the Washington Department of Health.
CURRENT DEFINITION: "Vaccine" means a preparation of killed or attenuated living microorganisms, or fraction thereof, that upon administration stimulates immunity that protects against disease and is an immunization approved by the federal food and drug administration as safe and effective and recommended by the advisory committee on immunization practices of the centers for disease control and prevention for administration to children under the age of nineteen
years. (The underlined text is to be deleted)
PROPOSED NEW DEFINITION: "Vaccine" means an immunization approved by the federal food and drug administration as safe and effective and recommended by the advisory committee on immunization practices of the centers for disease control and prevention for administration to children under the age of nineteen years.
On January 25, 2023, NVIC submitted a referenced public comment to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (FDA VRBPAC) calling for the withdrawal of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from the market. Link
The Penn Medicine website has an article: What's Next? The Future of mRNA Vaccines for “Every Imaginable Infectious Disease” Link It states, "The mRNA platform created at Penn Medicine ignited a global renaissance in RNA biology research. Scientists in industry and at universities worldwide are finding new and innovative ways to use mRNA technology to prevent and treat disease. " Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research stated, “We're working on every imaginable infectious disease." Also on the Penn Medicine website was an article stating, "With fast development and production times, mRNA vaccines are ideal for protection against new infectious diseases and variants of existing ones. Our researchers are at the forefront of mRNA vaccines for numerous infectious disease vaccines…"
The Washington Department of Heath requesting this legislation, and they would know that this would give them the ability to substitute mRNA vaccines for current vaccines in the near future.
If the bills pass, their provisions take effect immediately because they contains an emergency clause.
NVIC is OPPOSED to these bills because Washington residents could be getting ALL new mRNA vaccines without even knowing it. The newness of the technology means no long term studies on health outcomes have been done. Giving true informed consent for the products would be impossible. With mandated vaccines, passage of these laws could find those who take vaccines for school entrance receiving new mRNA vaccines with unknown health consequences.
To understand the reason behind why this bill was filed, you can listen to the House sponsor's comments from the hearing: for WA HB 2157 - VIDEO LINK. Scroll forward to 00:49:45 and listen to the discussion. The House sponsor, Representative Harris says, "And the reason we're doing this legislation is in 2024, the RSV vaccination is actually not a vaccination for children. It will be an immunization. It does not stimulate your immune system at all. It is an immunization and so they needed to change the definition within their group. So that they could purchase this. "
A better and much less dangerous approach would be to change how the RSV vaccine could be funded, rather than changing the definition of vaccine.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=2157&Year=2023 - text, status, and history of HB 2157
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5982&Year=2023 - text, status, and history of SB 5982
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