Assembly panel advances bill shifting New Jersey immunization authority from federal guidance
TRENTON, N.J. — The Assembly Health Committee on Monday advanced a Democrat-sponsored bill that would shift New Jersey’s immunization policy authority from a federal advisory panel to the state Department of Health, following contentious testimony and debate along party lines.
The bill, A6166, would move the state away from relying on recommendations from the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and instead base immunization policies and schedules on guidance issued by the New Jersey Department of Health. Republicans on the committee raised concerns about transparency, vaccine injury compensation, public input, exemptions and political motivations behind the proposal.
Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown testified in support of the measure, arguing for greater state control over immunization decisions. During questioning, his remarks prompted sharp criticism from Assemblyman Erik Peterson, a Republican from Hunterdon County.
“You have a lot of derogatory things to say about the federal government. Some of us have no faith in the Health Department in the state of New Jersey. During Covid, the Health Department thought it was wise to put Covid-infected people into nursing homes, killing 8,000 people. Instead of using Trump’s mercy ships and field hospitals, you put them in nursing homes. So why should we have any faith in you?” Peterson asked.
After the exchange, Assemblywoman Carol Murphy, the bill’s sponsor and chair of the committee, ended further questioning of the commissioner.
Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis Azzariti, a Republican from Bergen County, said she was unable to question Brown but raised several concerns before voting against the bill.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the opportunity to ask the acting commissioner questions. What I would have asked him, I believe is important. What is the process by which the decisions are going to be made? Who decides? Are we adding more vaccines? Are we taking them away? We need legislative oversight, we need public input when these decisions are made, we need transparency that it is evidence-based, and we need to make sure there are no conflicts of interest so that people can trust government, and we need clear medical and religious exemptions,” Azzariti said.
Opponents of the bill also questioned how vaccine injury reporting and compensation would be handled if New Jersey no longer followed federal immunization guidance. The federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System has been in place for four decades, and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program provides compensation for injuries linked to vaccines recommended by the CDC.
“The precedent and the law currently holds that for there to be a vaccine reportable injury, that it is the guidance of the CDC that would control whether there is a reimbursable outcome. If we are changing the whole system, I think the VAERS system becomes mute,” said Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, a Republican from Ocean County.
Under current state law, health insurers and the state Medicaid program are required to cover vaccines that carry an active recommendation from the federal advisory committee. The committee’s recommendations also influence national clinical and public health practices.
The federal advisory committee has undergone changes in membership in recent years and recently voted to scale back a hepatitis B birth-dose recommendation.
Despite objections raised during the hearing, the committee approved the bill on a party-line vote, with all Democrats voting in favor. The measure previously passed the Senate in December by a 25-12 vote and now advances to the next stage of the legislative process.
