{"id":406825,"date":"2026-01-14T15:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T15:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/406825\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T15:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T15:01:07","slug":"did-n-j-just-take-control-of-your-childrens-health-what-the-vaccine-bill-actually-does","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/406825\/","title":{"rendered":"Did N.J. just take control of your children\u2019s health? What the \u2018vaccine bill\u2019 actually does."},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid substantial changes in federal vaccine policy, New Jersey lawmakers passed a bill<\/a> this week that would give the state Department of Health the authority to rely on expert recommendations beyond the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s vaccine panel. <\/p>\n

The bill has received backlash from parents rights groups and Republican legislators who say the state Department of Health is trying to become the sole authority on vaccines and bulldoze parents\u2019 decision-making power. But its supporters dispute that framing and argue that parents will remain in charge of what vaccines their children receive. <\/p>\n

Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, a Republican who represents parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties, accused the bill\u2019s supporters of being driven by \u201cTrump derangement syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill is attacking the federal experts, not because of science, but because you cannot accept that President Trump and RFK Jr. directed this review and that science supports their positions,\u201d said Kanitra on Monday during the final voting session of the 221st Legislature. <\/p>\n

Vaccines are a subject of debate in a way they\u2019ve arguably never been before following controversial changes at the CDC. <\/p>\n

Under President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s administration, all 17 members of the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices have been removed and replaced, a move condemned by public health experts<\/a>. The new members have taken actions that stray from long-standing public health recommendations, such as voting to scale back the hepatitis B birth-dose recommendation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Five days into the New Year, the CDC announced an even bigger change when it cut the number of childhood vaccines<\/a> it recommends.<\/p>\n

In New Jersey, officials who no longer fully trust the federal government when it comes to vaccine practices are taking steps that they say are necessary to protect access and clarify guidance.<\/p>\n

Under the bill<\/a> passed by a majority of the Assembly on Monday, the Department of Health will be required to consider guidance from the CDC\u2019s vaccine panel, as well as recommendations from nationally recognized medical organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American College of Physicians.<\/p>\n

It will also require health insurers to cover the full cost of vaccines recommended by the New Jersey Department of Health. Current law already requires health insurers to provide this coverage for immunizations that have a recommendation from the CDC\u2019s vaccine panel. <\/p>\n

Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia said Monday it was \u201cnot a small technical change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill is actually an incredible transfer of power,\u201d said Fantasia, a Republican who represents Sussex County. \u201cThis bill removes the anchor and replaces it with a system that is more insulated from scrutiny and more concentrated in one agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s sponsors argue that Republican legislators are spreading misinformation. Supporters maintain that the bill doesn\u2019t remove the CDC\u2019s vaccine panel as a trust authority, but rather adds additional organizations it can turn to. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not directly impact mandates. It does not directly impact any sort of enforcement actions the department takes,\u201d said Acting State Health Commissioner Jeff Brown when asked about the legislation at a press event on Monday morning. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt just gives us flexibility to look at (the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices), and go above and beyond, which we need to do now because they\u2019re reducing the childhood immunization schedule, which we know is evidence-based and has saved lives,\u201d said Brown, who was attending a press conference held by U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer at Hackensack University Medical Center. \u201cAnd they\u2019re diverting from that, so we need to protect New Jersey residents. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve spoken in support of the bill.\u201d <\/p>\n

Gottheimer, who was announcing new federal legislation to create or expand mobile flu vaccine clinics, said that while he hadn\u2019t read the state bill yet he\u2019s a staunch supporter of vaccines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll take a look at the state bill, but what I do know is right now we need to be following expert medical guidance on vaccines and ensuring public health decisions are rooted in science, not politics,\u201d Gottheimer said in a statement late Monday. <\/p>\n

\u201cVaccines are one of the most effective tools we have to protect children, families, and seniors, and it\u2019s critical that these decisions remain focused on the best outcomes for patients \u2014 not political arguments. That\u2019s why I am fighting to ensure we continue to follow decades of proven science from trusted medical experts,” said Gottheimer. <\/p>\n

Gottheimer said that vaccines aren\u2019t a partisan issue. But on Monday, Republican legislators accused Democrats of being motivated by political bias. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have numerous concerns, including that the primary impetus for this radical change is political, as this is based on disagreement with the president\u2019s administration in Washington,\u201d said Assemblyman John V. Azzariti Jr., a Republican representing parts of Bergen County. <\/p>\n

Assemblywoman Carol Murphy refuted that accusation in an interview Tuesday morning, stating the bill\u2019s \u201cnot politically motivated. It\u2019s based upon medical facts and it\u2019s based upon what we\u2019re seeing and hearing. And our children are at stake here.\u201d<\/p>\n

If anyone\u2019s politically motivated, Murphy said it\u2019s Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the ones who are bringing Trump and all of that into this. They\u2019re using the verbiage that is needed to start getting people scared and paying attention to what they have to say. And I think they\u2019re doing it wrongly because it\u2019s misinformation. It\u2019s not even accurate information,\u201d said Murphy, a Democrat representing Burlington County and the Assembly bill\u2019s primary sponsor. <\/p>\n

Now that both houses of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature have approved the bill, it heads to Gov. Phil Murphy<\/a>, a Democrat who can either sign or reject the bill before he leaves office next week. <\/p>\n

In addition to introducing and passing laws, the state has formed its own regional public health coalition with other Democratic-led states to ensure consistent public health messaging. <\/p>\n

On Monday, the Northeast Public Health Collaborative released a statement rejecting the CDC\u2019s recent changes to the childhood immunization schedule and instead said it continues to support the American Academy of Pediatrics\u2019 childhood vaccine schedule. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amid substantial changes in federal vaccine policy, New Jersey lawmakers passed a bill this week that would give…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":{"0":"post-406825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}