|
UPDATE: 6/7/2023 - SB 1102 was enacted. It was signed by Governor Ned Lamont on 6/7/2023. Public Act 23-19, effective 7/1/2023.
UPDATE: 6/6/2023 - SB 1102 was transmitted to the Secretary of State who transmitted it to the Governor.
UPDATE: 5/30/2023 - SB 1102 was passed by the House by a vote of 147 Yea, 2 Nay, 2 Absent on 5/30/2023.
UPDATE: 5/4/2023 - An amended version of SB 1102 was passed by the Senate by a vote of 35 Yea, 0 Nay, 1 Absent, on 5/4/2023.
SB 1102 was introduced and referred to the Joint Committee on General Law on 2/23/2023. It is sponsored by the Joint Committee on General Law.
SB 1102 makes several changes to existing statutes governing pharmacists and pharmacies. The bill will authorize:
- pharmacists to administer additional vaccines, tests and drugs;
- pharmacies to operate mobile pharmacies; and
- provide that an institutional pharmacy located in a licensed health care facility may compound sterile pharmaceuticals
Specifically, the bill authorizes pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to administer any approved or FDA authorized vaccine to adults and minors aged 12-17, with parental consent. NVIC is opposed to the sections of SB 1102 increasing who can administer vaccinations, but takes no position on other sections of the bill.
A Connecticut pharmacy technician training program lists the requirements for registering as a pharmacy technician, stating applicants "must be at least 18 years old," and "while the Commission of Pharmacy does not expect pharmacy technicians to submit evidence of high school completion with their applications, employers, in most cases, will expect it from their employees." Additionally, "All applicants for registration must provide accurate information on the felony disclosure segment of the application form. If there are previous convictions, you must provide supporting documents outlining the nature of the convictions. The Commission of Pharmacy will determine the need for a criminal background check. Prior criminal convictions could delay or result in a refusal of your application for registration." The bill states that pharmacy technicians must successfully complete "at least one hour of annual continuing education concerning immunization," (all emphases added)
NVIC opposes this bill that would authorize 18 year olds with minimal education, possible felonies, and one hour of training to administer vaccines to children 12 years and older as it trivializes very real vaccine risks and serious reactions of life-threatening vaccines given to children. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians do not have enough training about all the vaccines, risks, prescreening, contraindications, emergency interventions for reactions, reporting reactions to Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, and advising parents and patients about the statute of limitations and instructions for filing a claim with the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Vaccine Information Statements list many reasons why patients shouldn’t be vaccinated, and it is highly unlikely a pharmacist has the time to ask about all the reasons not to vaccinate in them.
Below are listed some of the reasons to not vaccinate that are recorded in federally required vaccine information statement. It is unlikely that a pharmacist would catch these problems:
- Will pharmacists and pharmacy technicians screen for things like allergic reactions to ingredients in the vaccine and are they going to cover all these ingredients of every vaccine?
- Will they check if a child is allergic to yeast (contraindication in HPV vaccine)?
- Are they going to perform an exam at the pharmacy and take the child’s temperature to make sure they don’t have a fever since fever is contraindicated for some vaccines in the VIS statements?
- Are they going to know if the child has a weakened immune system due to disease (such as cancer or HIV/AIDS), medical treatments (such as radiation, immunotherapy, steroids, or chemotherapy), if they have a history of seizures, if they have a parent, brother, or sister with a history of seizures, or if they have a parent, brother, or sister with a history of immune system problems?
- Will they screen if the child has a condition that makes them bruise or bleed easily, if they might be pregnant (some vaccines cannot be given in pregnancy), or if they are taking aspirin?
- Will they know if a child has recently had a transfusion or if they have ever had Guillain-Barre syndrome post vaccination?
- Will they know if a child has had a serious or a life-threatening reaction to any vaccine?
Most pharmacies and grocery stores don’t have lifesaving defibrillators like they do in doctors’ offices when life-threatening reactions to vaccines occur. Will pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have the equipment and training to be able to tell the difference between cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, fainting, and act accordingly to save the lives of children who react at the time of vaccination?
This bill undermines the doctor patient relationship and removes critical health history screenings prior to vaccination. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are not likely to 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 heath needs prior to vaccination. Vaccines, just like all pharmaceutical products, can cause injury and death in some people. As of September 1, 2023, 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 8/25/2023, There were 46,093 deaths and 2,518,732 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 with increasing those who can administer them.
There is no doubt the pharmacy groups will support this bill, but it presents a serious conflict of interest because of the financial benefits they will receive if this bill passes.
America’s biopharmaceutical research companies are developing 258 vaccines. The U.S. Vaccine Market alone was $36.45 billion in 2018, and is expected to reach $58.4 billion by 2024 and 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 pharmacists will not have liability for the injuries and deaths caused by the vaccines they administer to children. Vaccines 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.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&which_year=2023&bill_num=SB1102 - text, status, and history of SB 1102
|