Ohio bill would remove hep B from required preschool vaccines, emphasize right to vaccine exemptions
A new Ohio bill would remove a requirement that the hepatitis B vaccine be administered to children attending child care or preschools. It would also bar public schools from keeping out unvaccinated students if outbreaks of any disease occur.
The legislation is concerning for pediatricians, who worry about the state of public health should the bill be passed and signed into law.
Ohio House Bill 561 was introduced by state Reps. Melanie Miller, R-Ashland, and Monica Robb Blasdel, R-New Waterford.
One of the main goals of the bill, according to the sponsors, is to underscore medical, religious, and conscientious exemptions that already exist in Ohio law with regard to vaccines.
“This bill is about transparency and fairness,” said Robb Blasdel in a release announcing the bill. “Ohio parents should never be denied their lawful rights or face confusion about the exemption process.”
The bill also takes a cue from a federal effort, seeking to remove the hepatitis B vaccine requirement from the preschool regulations.
Children in child care, Head Start programs, and preschool are required to be vaccinated against 14 diseases, unless exempt: chicken pox (also called varicella), diphtheria, haemophilus influenzae type b (HIB), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, measles, mumps, pertussis, pneumonia, polio, rotavirus, rubella, and tetanus.
Ohio currently requires vaccinations for 10 diseases to attend K-12 schools: diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, tetanus, and chicken pox.
The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices mentioned hepatitis B as one immunization for which eligibility requirements may change on the national level.
Hepatitis B has also seen rising case levels in states like Florida, where mandates for the vaccine are being lifted.
According to the Hepatitis B Foundation, the virus is transmitted through blood and sexual fluids, which can most commonly occur by direct contact with infected blood; from an infected pregnant person to their newborn during pregnancy and childbirth; from needles and other medical/dental equipments or procedures that are contaminated or not sterile; from unprotected sex; or from use of illegal or “street” drugs.
While vaccination rates remain high in Ohio, the vaccination rate overall has dropped in recent years below the national average, particularly for kindergarteners.
Melissa Wervey Gittelman, CEO for the Ohio chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said the group has “a lot of concerns” about the new bill.
She and leaders in the group plan to engage with legislators about those concerns as the bill goes along in the legislative process.
Children’s medical decisions should ultimately be up to the parent, in consultation with their trusted medical professional, Gittelman said.
“What we often find is people are against (vaccinations) because they read something online,” she told the Capital Journal.
“But when they are able to talk to a medical professional, they change their minds because they hear the science behind it.”
Hepatitis B has been in the spotlight due to the advisory committee’s consideration of changing vaccination practices, but also because of political leaders like President Donald Trump giving incorrect statements on the vaccine and others expressing skepticism as to the need for children to receive the vaccine.
The CDC has recommended a hepatitis B vaccine for infants since 1991.
Ohio is one of 14 states that have laws allowing vaccine exemptions due to religious or conscientious reasons. Medical exemptions exist nationwide.
Under the new Ohio bill, schools would not be allowed to require additional documentation for students to be considered exempt from vaccine requirements, and no “specific exemption form” could be used.
The legislation would also bar schools from “excluding healthy, uninfected children” from attending school based on their vaccination status if they have a legal exemption, even during disease outbreaks.
Gittelman said not having the proper documentation could lead to confusion as to vaccination status of children, even if they’re fully vaccinated.
“We’ve seen it where children have the exemption form, but they actually have been vaccinated,” said Gittelman.
“When there is an outbreak, we don’t really know who is or who isn’t, and this bill doesn’t address that.”
Not allowing schools to remove unvaccinated children from a facility during an outbreak puts public health at risk, she said.
She pointed to the recent measles outbreak in New Albany as evidence that public health protocols that remove students who are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status help keep children and the public safe.
“Those who haven’t had a second dose (of the measles vaccine), they gave that to them so they could be protected,” Gittelman said.
“Unvaccinated kids stayed out of the school for 21 days. Taking away our ability to do that puts many kids at risk.”
As Gittelman and other medical professionals talk with legislators while the bill is considered, she said the importance of having and engaging with a trusted physician will be a top message, because the vaccine discussion continues to be a political talking point.
“Vaccines have become really political, and I think that’s very unfortunate, because health shouldn’t be political,” Gittelman said.
The bill was assigned to the Ohio House Health Committee last week, but has not yet been scheduled for hearings.
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