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December 6, 2021
Loretta Primeaux Trahan
December 7, 2021
The Louisiana House Health & Welfare Committee on Monday rejected a new proposed rule from Louisiana Department of Health to add a Covid-19 vaccine to the required list of scheduled immunizations for schools by a vote of 13 – 2.
The proposed rule would apply only to COVID-19 vaccines with full FDA approval and would allow families to opt out. It would go into effect in August 2022, when FDA approval is expected to only apply to students 16 and older.
Governor John Bel Edwards can overrule today’s decision, and has remarked prior to the hearing that he would.
A spokesperson for Gov. Edwards issued the following statement regarding the hearing:
“As the Governor said on Friday, he supports adding the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine to the immunization schedule and, barring a recommendation from public health experts, his opinion would not change.
“Also, as LDH testified today in the hearing, the Department absolutely has the authority to add this vaccine to the immunization schedule, despite the misinformation presented today at the Legislature.
“This vaccine is safe, it is effective and it is easily accessible across the state. Louisiana has some of the broadest opt-outs for parents who do not want to vaccinate their children, including health, religious and philosophical reasons. None of that will change when this vaccine is added to the immunization schedule.”
The committed met for over six hours to hear testimony from speakers, including dozens of other legislators, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, Dr. Joesph Kanter, and other doctors, nurses and concerned citizens.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry argued, among other things, the executive branch lacked authority to make the rule. He released a statement following the hearing:
“I applaud the Legislature, who voted in a bipartisan manner and in agreement with our legal advice that COVID-19 is not a ‘vaccine preventable disease’ and that the executive actions of LDH went beyond their statutory authority. I also want to thank the hundreds of Louisianans who came to the Capitol today and had their voices heard. These types of policies should be decided by the people through their representatives not by medical czars or by executive fiat. I challenge the Governor to accept the will of the people.”
The rule received heavy opposition from lawmakers, including Senator Cameron Henry, who testified at today’s meeting, expressing, “This mandate leaves Louisiana in an embarrassing state. Taking the authority to decide on a child’s health away from the parents is not a requirement that LDH can make.”
House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, who also testified in opposition, echoed these feelings saying, “Today’s committee meeting is important because we are talking about a parent’s right to make health decisions for their children moving forward, and I think LDH has overstepped their boundaries with this mandate.”
Further addressing an “overreach” of the government’s authority over citizens, State Senator Kirk Talbot stated, “I have had an outpouring of emails and phone calls from constituents who oppose this mandate, and I would ask the public to continue to contact their legislators and tell us how they feel so that we can fully address their concerns.”
Representative Dustin Miller spoke on the opt-out provision, reminding the committee, “This is not a mandate; there are three options here to opt-out. All they are asking is that parents make a conscious decision on if they want their child vaccinated for school or not. There is a religious exemption, a medical provider exemption, and just a parent exemption.”
Dr. Joseph Kanter testified that LDH notified legislative leadership about the proposed rule in early September, and again in early November, before lawmakers began speaking out about it. He continually emphasized parents can opt out of getting their children the COVID-19 vaccine by filling out a form, but stated vaccines are the best tool to fight back against the coronavirus pandemic.
(Read his entire statement here.)
Kanter said 18 children have died of Covid-19 in Louisiana, including nine during the recent delta surge. He said 275 children have been diagnosed with multi-system inflammatory syndrome.
