Minnesota DFL State Senator Matt Klein unveiled a proposal for an independent science commission to protect vaccine access.
Klein, a physician at Mayo Clinic, wants to establish a state-level "Science-Based Health Care Commission" and mandate that insurance companies cover essential immunizations.
"Parents across Minnesota need to know they have reliable information on what they should be giving their kids for vaccines," Klein explains. "Adults need it too, and we've got great healthcare resources here in Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, University of Minnesota. I thought we should muster our best intellectual talent and give Minnesotans reliable information on what's best for their health in this moment."
The proposal follows recent federal shifts in vaccine eligibility and funding. The U.S. took the unprecedented step this month of cutting the number of vaccines it recommends for every child — a move that leading medical groups said would undermine protections against a half-dozen diseases.
The change is effective immediately, meaning that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will now recommend that all children get vaccinated against 11 diseases. What’s no longer broadly recommended is protection against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis or RSV. Instead, protections against those diseases are only recommended for certain groups deemed high risk, or when doctors recommend them in what’s called “shared decision-making.”
Already, the Minnesota Department of Health took a rare step - they're bucking the new childhood vaccination recommendations announced by the Centers for Disease Control, saying they're following the science and aligning their decision with professional organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics.
But bipartisan hurdles await the plan from Klein, which faces a complex path to approval. Republican lawmakers, who previously suggested limiting certain immunizations, have yet to weigh-in on the new measure.
"It'd be a group of physicians and healthcare leaders and pharmacists sort of mustering their talent collectively to make sure they come up with a reliable set of recommendations," Klein adds. "We've got great resources also in this state with Mike Osterholm, I know he's working on a vaccine integrity project. I think down the road what I'm trying to create could interact with them."
Governor Walz’s office is currently reviewing the plan to determine how state-level mandates might counteract federal shifts in health policy while ensuring pharmacists remain legally protected.
Earlier this week, more than a dozen states including Minnesota sued the Trump administration over its rollback of vaccine recommendations for children, calling the move an illegal threat to public health.