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See Corresponding Action Alert for SB 875, SB 876, and SB 877
UPDATE: 10/30/2024 - SB 875 was removed from the agenda for the Senate Health Policy Committee hearing scheduled on 10/30/2024. Continue to contact the Senate Health Policy Committee members. It can be brought up for a vote at any time.
UPDATE: 10/28/2024 - SB 875 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health Policy Committee on Wednesday, 10/30/2024 at 12:00PM in Room 1100 of the Binsfeld Office Building. View the Hearing Agenda HERE.
In-person or remote testimony (by zoom) can be requested by emailing the committee chair, Senator Kevin Hertel, at [email protected].
Written testimony can be submitted by emailing [email protected]. Include your full name, the bill number (SB 875), and your position on the bill (oppose) to have your position submitted to the record. Any additional written testimony must be attached to the email in the form of a Word Document or a PDF file to be submitted to the record.
SB 875 was introduced in the Senate and referred to the Senate Health Policy Committee on 5/22/2024. This bill is sponsored by Senator Kevin Hertel and is part of a related three-bill package.
SB 875 expands the proof of vaccination for school attendance and school reporting requirement by including children entering twelfth (12th) grade to existing law beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. This bill also adds a requirement for the Department of Health and Human Services to change the mandated vaccine schedule to include all vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, this bill authorizes the Department to adopt any new revisions to the CDC vaccine schedule that ACIP recommends in the future. This is an expansion of existing law that requires proof of vaccination for school attendance upon entering seventh (7th) grade and requires schools to annually report a year-to-year comparison of the percentage of children by age who are vaccinated upon entering seventh grade and an expansion of the required vaccine schedule for school attendance to include all ACIP recommended vaccines, including COVID-19 for all children beginning at six (6) months of age, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine series for all children beginning at eleven (11) years of age, a second dose of the Meningococcal vaccine at sixteen (16) years of age, and yearly flu shots.
SB 875 amends Public Health Code Act 368 of 1978 by amending Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) Sections 333.9208 & 333.9227, related to certificate of immunization or statement of exemption and rules, to expand the proof of vaccination requirement, school reporting requirement, and the school mandated vaccination schedule, summarized as follows:
Section 333.9208. (1) expands the proof of vaccination for school attendance requirement to include a child entering twelfth grade beginning in the 2025-2026 school year to the registration requirement to present school officials a certificate of vaccination or statement of exemption under Section 9215 at the time of registration or not later than the first day of school. This is an expansion of existing law that requires proof of vaccination or statement of exemption for any student registered for the first time in a school in the state of Michigan and any child entering seventh (7th) grade.
(3) Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide an annual report showing a year-to-year comparison of the percentage of children by age who are vaccinated upon entering the twelfth (12th) grade. This is in addition to the existing reporting requirement for children entering the seventh (7th) grade.
Section 333.9227. is amended by adding a new paragraph (3) to the section that requires the Department of Health and Human Services to adopt the vaccine schedule recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that is in existence on the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection. See the 2024 CDC recommended vaccine schedule HERE. The department is required to promulgate rules to adopt this expanded vaccine schedule within one (1) year after the effective date of this subsection. At any time in the future, the ACIP revises their recommended vaccine schedule, the department "may" incorporate the revision and adopt the new schedule. This requirement to adopt the CDC vaccine schedule recommended by the ACIP is an expansion of existing vaccine requirements set by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services required for school attendance. See current "Vaccines Required for School Entry in Michigan" chart HERE. The expanded CDC recommended schedule will add the following to the Michigan required vaccines for school entry: one or two dose series (dependent on formula) of COVID-19 vaccine for all students ages six (6) months and older; a second dose of Meningococcal Conjugate (MenACWY) for all students at age sixteen (16); one or two dose series (dependent on age and formulation) of the annual influenza vaccine for all students ages six (6) months and older; and two to three dose series of the Human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) beginning at age eleven (11) years and older.
SB 875 is one in a group of interrelated bills, including SB 876 and SB 877. The enacting section of SB 875 states that the provisions of this act will not take effect until SB 876 and SB 877 are enacted into law.
NVIC OPPOSES SB 875 because it hurts children and families who have decided not to take an optional vaccine that is not already required for school attendance, like the annual influenza vaccine, HPV vaccine, or the COVID-19 vaccine. These families will now be forced to give these vaccines and any other vaccine on the CDC's ACIP recommended list to their children for school attendance or seek an exemption from the required vaccinations. Currently, Michigan law provides for a medical, religious, or other objections to vaccination exemption per MCL 333.9215. However, exemption laws are easily revoked as evidenced by recent actions of the California and New York state legislatures. NVIC opposes all vaccine mandates, despite any existing exemption options. There is no need for the state to mandate any of these vaccines as they are all available to Michigan families if they choose to give this vaccine to their children. School mandates establish a state policy that prioritizes vaccines over education. While NVIC is opposed to all vaccine mandates, if the state is going to mandate vaccines as a condition of receiving an education, then the authority to set the vaccine requirement needs to stay in the hands of the legislature that is accountable to the voters. By allowing the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to dictate which vaccines are required as a condition of school attendance, the legislature is punting the responsibility of the mandate to the Health Department among whom the people have no voice or representation. All vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry a risk of injury and even death.
This bill also authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to add to the required school vaccine schedule whenever ACIP recommendations change. This grants authority to choose the list of vaccines required for schools to unelected federal and state bureaucrats, without accountability to constituents. Anytime the ACIP committee revises the immunization schedule, the department may promulgate rules to incorporate those changes. The current ACIP recommended vaccines includes the COVID-19 vaccine for infants beginning at six (6) months of age, a two to three series HPV vaccine, a second Meningococcal vaccine dose, and an annual influenza vaccine, despite these vaccines being known to carry significant risk of injury and even death. Additionally, neither the influenza vaccine nor the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven to be effective in preventing the diseases they target. NVIC has called on the US Food and Drug Administration to request that vaccine manufacturers voluntarily withdraw mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from the market due to inadequate proof of safety and efficacy in a January 25, 2023, referenced public comment. Children should not be subjected to the risks of a mRNA vaccine, or any other vaccine, as a condition of receiving an education. As of May 1, 2024, The United States Government has paid out more than $5 billion dollars to vaccine victims through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). As of May 29, 2024, 47,847 deaths and 2,602,082 adverse events were reported to the US government's Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS).
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill?ObjectName=2024-SB-0875 - text, status, and history of SB 875
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