NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey lawmakers are advancing legislation that would decouple the state from federal vaccine recommendations.
While federal regulators recently revised the child vaccine schedule, New Jersey’s pending law would allow the state to issue recommendations based on advice from groups like the American Medical Association.
Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown said this would ensure all vaccines are covered by insurance.
“This bill has nothing to do with mandates, doesn’t mandate anything, doesn’t give the department any new powers to mandate anything,” he said.
The debate got heated at times as Republicans on the committee said they don’t trust Democrats in Trenton to do the right thing after requiring COVID-19 vaccines. Several residents also voiced their concerns about giving this power to medical associations, which never earned a vote.
“Delegating the people’s power to those they cannot remove is not efficiency, it is erosion of self-government,” one person said.
The bill advanced along party lines and will likely be up for a full vote soon.