The Arizona Senate’s Well being and Human Providers Committee met on Tuesday to debate three Home payments. Whereas two of the payments handed unanimously, HB 2474, which pertains to US Meals and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved emergency use authorization vaccines, obtained some pushback.
HB 2474 states that immunizations issued by the FDA beneath emergency use authorization will not be required for college attendance within the state. Dartmouth Faculty graduate pupil Katherine Smith supplied testimony in opposition of the invoice.
Smith stated immunizations have been proven to be essentially the most cost-effective public well being measure that has prevented deaths through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Faculties are socially dense environments the place college students spend many hours in shut proximity to one another,” Smith stated. “The choice to not vaccinate can have severe penalties for public well being.”
Little dialogue adopted Smith’s testimony, and Sen. Theresa Hatathlie (D-Pima) defined her stance when it was her flip to vote on the invoice.
“I consider in vaccinations. I feel that they’re vital for college kids,” Hatathlie stated. “I’m sporting a masks as a result of I haven’t been feeling good for every week, however often my illness comes from my grandchildren as a result of they’re in faculties.”
Hatathlie defined how kids in faculties could be vulnerable to infections as a result of their shut proximity to different college students who’re additionally steadily touching the identical surfaces.
“I’ve all the time been a supporter of vaccinations as a result of in recent times, there’s been outbreaks of measles—even in our nation—and that’s not a superb factor, so we simply must proceed to have these vaccinations to have the ability to create herd immunity for our communities,” Hatathlie stated.
Hatathlie expressed remorse concerning the unavailability of measles vaccines when two of her siblings had been born, as a result of each of them died from measles once they had been infants.
Sen. Janae Shamp (R-Maricopa) defined her vote by stating that emergency use authorization vaccines shouldn’t be a authorities mandate, and stated she believes that the choice to turn into vaccinated ought to be left to folks of kids.
HB 2474 handed by a vote of 4-3.
