Governor Bill Lee,
Surely, you are aware of the vote happening today by a CDC panel to add a shot for COVID-19 to the recommended children’s vaccination schedule. Most are confident that this vote will pass. But how will those new recommendations affect families in Tennessee?
In 2021, the General Assembly passed the COVID Protection Bill. Subsequently in 2022, Sen. Janice Bowling and Rep. Bud Hulsey ran an amendment to ensure that the provisions of TCA § 14-2-101 survive the July 1, 2023 expiration date, making that provision of the law permanent.
In effect, it is unlawful for the state of Tennessee or any state agency or political subdivision to mandate a shot for COVID-19 to persons or to mandate that businesses or schools require a shot for COVID-19. However, TCA 37-10-401 states the following…
Section 37-10-401 – Responsibility of parents to have children immunized – Specific vaccines – Immunization registry
(a) It is the responsibility of each parent or legal guardian to ensure that such person’s child or children receive the vaccines as are recommended by guidelines of the Center for Disease Control or the American Academy of Pediatrics to be administered to a child. The parent or legal guardian is encouraged to obtain the recommended immunizations within the first two (2) years of the child’s life. Such vaccines include, without limitation, the following specific vaccines:
(1) Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP);
(2) Polio: oral polio vaccine (OPV) or inactivated polio vaccine (IPV);
(3) Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR);
(4) Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines (Hib);
(5) Hepatitis B vaccine (Hep B);
(6) Pneumoccocal vaccine, when medically indicated;
(7) Influenza vaccine, when medically indicated; and
(8) Varicella, when available.
(b) Subject to availability of funding for such purpose, the department of health is authorized to provide free vaccine, through the first twenty-four (24) months of life, for Tennessee children born after January 1, 1996. If an administration fee is charged by a health provider receiving this vaccine, such fee may not exceed the administration fee established by the health care financing administration under the Vaccines for Children Program established in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. No immunization may be withheld due to a family’s inability to pay the fee.
Here is the concern, Governor. Even though the law now prohibits the state of Tennessee from “mandating” the shot for COVID-19, that law does not necessarily prevent the state from funding for the shot. Without getting into the science and the data now coming out from all over the world regarding side effects including the myriad of reports now on VAERS, it stands to reason that tax dollars should not be funding vaccination efforts for COVID-19, especially for children.
This portion of Title 37 now presents an opportunity, pending the new recommendations from the CDC, for the state of Tennessee to actively fund the COVID shot for minors, especially for those who are economically disadvantaged. I would argue, as I am sure would others, that this goes against the legislative intent of Title 14, and at the very least, the general sentiment of Tennesseans. It is worth noting that both Pfizer and Moderna shots have received approval under EUA for use on children as young as 6 months old.
Governor Lee, I am respectfully asking that pending the vote today by the CDC, that you would issue an executive order, effective immediately, that would prohibit the department of health or any other state agency from funding any efforts to provide shots for COVID-19 to children “through the first twenty-four (24) months of life.” Quite honestly, I personally believe that the state should provide absolutely no funding for these shots for persons of any age. Nonetheless, protecting our most vulnerable, our children (infants), is of critical importance with the pending CDC recommendations.
Sincerely,
Gary Humble
Executive Director of Tennessee Stands
Open letter to Governor Bill Lee regarding pending recommendations from the CDC for childhood vaccinations.
Governor Bill Lee,
Surely, you are aware of the vote happening today by a CDC panel to add a shot for COVID-19 to the recommended children’s vaccination schedule. Most are confident that this vote will pass. But how will those new recommendations affect families in Tennessee?
In 2021, the General Assembly passed the COVID Protection Bill. Subsequently in 2022, Sen. Janice Bowling and Rep. Bud Hulsey ran an amendment to ensure that the provisions of TCA § 14-2-101 survive the July 1, 2023 expiration date, making that provision of the law permanent.
In effect, it is unlawful for the state of Tennessee or any state agency or political subdivision to mandate a shot for COVID-19 to persons or to mandate that businesses or schools require a shot for COVID-19. However, TCA 37-10-401 states the following…
Section 37-10-401 – Responsibility of parents to have children immunized – Specific vaccines – Immunization registry
(a) It is the responsibility of each parent or legal guardian to ensure that such person’s child or children receive the vaccines as are recommended by guidelines of the Center for Disease Control or the American Academy of Pediatrics to be administered to a child. The parent or legal guardian is encouraged to obtain the recommended immunizations within the first two (2) years of the child’s life. Such vaccines include, without limitation, the following specific vaccines:
(1) Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP);
(2) Polio: oral polio vaccine (OPV) or inactivated polio vaccine (IPV);
(3) Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR);
(4) Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines (Hib);
(5) Hepatitis B vaccine (Hep B);
(6) Pneumoccocal vaccine, when medically indicated;
(7) Influenza vaccine, when medically indicated; and
(8) Varicella, when available.
(b) Subject to availability of funding for such purpose, the department of health is authorized to provide free vaccine, through the first twenty-four (24) months of life, for Tennessee children born after January 1, 1996. If an administration fee is charged by a health provider receiving this vaccine, such fee may not exceed the administration fee established by the health care financing administration under the Vaccines for Children Program established in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. No immunization may be withheld due to a family’s inability to pay the fee.
Here is the concern, Governor. Even though the law now prohibits the state of Tennessee from “mandating” the shot for COVID-19, that law does not necessarily prevent the state from funding for the shot. Without getting into the science and the data now coming out from all over the world regarding side effects including the myriad of reports now on VAERS, it stands to reason that tax dollars should not be funding vaccination efforts for COVID-19, especially for children.
This portion of Title 37 now presents an opportunity, pending the new recommendations from the CDC, for the state of Tennessee to actively fund the COVID shot for minors, especially for those who are economically disadvantaged. I would argue, as I am sure would others, that this goes against the legislative intent of Title 14, and at the very least, the general sentiment of Tennesseans. It is worth noting that both Pfizer and Moderna shots have received approval under EUA for use on children as young as 6 months old.
Governor Lee, I am respectfully asking that pending the vote today by the CDC, that you would issue an executive order, effective immediately, that would prohibit the department of health or any other state agency from funding any efforts to provide shots for COVID-19 to children “through the first twenty-four (24) months of life.” Quite honestly, I personally believe that the state should provide absolutely no funding for these shots for persons of any age. Nonetheless, protecting our most vulnerable, our children (infants), is of critical importance with the pending CDC recommendations.
Sincerely,
Gary Humble
Executive Director of Tennessee Stands
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