|
UPDATE: 4/11/2024 - HB 3249 died, passed full House on 3/12/2024, and failed to be reported out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee before the deadline to report House legislation from Senate committees of 4/11/2024.
UPDATE: 3/19/2024 - HB 3249 was referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on 3/19/2024.
UPDATE: 3/12/2024 - HB 3249 passed the House 3rd Reading by a vote of 75 Ayes, 15 Nays, on 3/12/2024. View the Engrossed Version HERE.
UPDATE: 2/21/2024 - HB 3249 was recommended Do Pass as substituted in the House Public Health Committee by a vote of 5 Yeas, 1 Nay, on 2/21/2024. The committee substitute amends Section 413. related to obtaining a vaccine medical exemption. The substitute removes the risk of endangerment to the life and health of the child's family or household as a reason to be able to obtain a written statement as a medical vaccine exemption.
While all U.S. states allow medical exemption to vaccination, less than half of U.S. states allow for an exemption to vaccination based on philosophical, personal or conscientiously held beliefs. Bills are introduced every year to eliminate, restrict or expand state vaccine requirements and exemptions in multiple states. NVIC supports HB 3249 as introduced because it expands the criteria for medical vaccine exemptions to include if the immunization would endanger the life or health of the child's family or household, instead of just the child. A parent or guardian may seek to obtain a vaccine exemption for their child for a number of legitimate reasons. In the event that other types of vaccine exemptions are repealed from Oklahoma Law, a more comprehensive medical exemption provides a small but vital safeguard.
UPDATE: 2/20/2024 - HB 3249 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Public Health Committee on Wednesday, 2/21/2024 at 3:00PM in Room 4S5. View the Hearing Agenda HERE.
UPDATE: 2/6/2024 - HB 3249 was referred to the House Public Health Committee on 2/6/2024.
HB 3249 was introduced in the House on 2/5/2024. This bill is authored by Representative Jim Olsen.
HB 3249 expands existing childhood vaccine exemptions to include simplifying medical exemptions for the child and expanding the medical exemption for the child to include if the child getting vaccinated could pose a risk to a member of the child's family or household. The bill also adds reasons of conscience exemptions.
HB 3249 amends existing Oklahoma Statutes §10-413 related to children and vaccine mandate exemptions. This bill expands the options for medical exemptions to childhood vaccinations in the following ways summarized as follows:
- For a medical exemption, a child may submit a simple written statement from the child's physician, instead of the current requirement of a specific certificate that states the vaccination poses a risk to the child's life or health.
- The written statement options for the medical exemption are also expanded to include the threat of vaccination to the life or health of a member of the child's family or household instead of just the child.
- Exemption options are expanded to also include exemptions for reasons of conscious. In existing law, §10-413, Oklahoma children have the option of objecting to vaccination via a medical exemption with a written certificate from a licensed physician or a religious exemption with a written statement by the parent or guardian objecting to immunizations because of religious or "other reasons." This bill expands the vaccine exemption options for children in the state by including "reasons of conscience, including a religious belief."
NVIC SUPPORTS HB 3249 because it provides greater vaccine exemption options for children and families in the state who can't or don't want to get every mandated vaccine. NVIC is opposed to vaccine mandates. Vaccines carry the risk of injury and death. All persons, children or otherwise, should have the right to informed consent and the right to refuse a vaccine without the penalty of being denied an education. An improvement to this bill would be to remove all vaccine mandates within the state, thereby removing the need for exemptions.
http://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=HB3249&session=2400 - text, status, and history of HB 3249
|