A Texas Senate committee approved a bill that focuses on ending COVID-19 restrictions and prohibiting mandatory vaccination against the virus. The rule would also limit the ability of the Texas' Department of State Health Services, school districts, cities and counties to require or promote vaccines of any kind.
A private or independent institution of higher education may not require a student, as a condition of the student's admission or continued enrollment in the institution, to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
SB01024I by Verónica Silveri on Scrib
The rule also states that "a governmental or private entity that accepts any state money may not require a person to wear a face mask or covering to prevent the spread of a communicable disease."
The Texas Education Agency shall adopt rules to prohibit a private or public primary or secondary school from requiring a student, teacher, other school employee, parent, or visitor to wear a face mask or covering to prevent the spread of a communicable disease.
SB 1024 will soon be voted on by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives and, if passed, would go into effect on Sept. 1, 2023.
Children to be immunized with traditional vaccines
Critics called the bill a very "troubling" anti-vaccine bill. They claim that lawmakers will have the power to decide whether to add or remove other vaccines from the requirements on student health cards. Dr. Peter Chin-Hong commented to ABC News:
This is a very concerning trend because it's not just about COVID. ... It's not even just about future pandemics, although that's worrisome as well. ... It's a now thing and it will have immediate potential implications by cherry-picking who gets vaccinated and who gets mandated and how much of the population is protected against diseases.
However, the bill supports minors being immunized against other diseases with traditional injections:
Every child in the state shall be immunized against diphtheria, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles, meningococcal disease, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, tetanus, and varicella.
Finding a balance "between public health powers and our personal medical decisions"
The bill was authored by Republican Lois Kolkhorst, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, and codifies many of the executive orders that Governor Greg Abbott imposed during the pandemic, such as prohibitions in cities or school districts that establish restrictions regarding COVID-19.
Kolkhorst said she introduced the bill "to continue the conversation in the aftermath of COVID-related vaccine policies that many Texans felt were onerous and overreaching." She added that many of her colleagues believe she "threaded the needle" to find a balance "between public health powers and our personal medical decisions."
