Testa: Is Murphy’s DOH Changing School Vaccine Requirements Without Notifying Parents?

Senator Michael Testa called on Governor Murphy to clarify the intent of a request from the Department of Health (DOH) for proposed rule revisions on vaccine requirements for students.

“It is abundantly clear that the Murphy administration is attempting to railroad parental rights by soliciting egregious vaccine recommendations from anonymous stakeholders,” said Testa (R-1). “When the government tries to sneak in policy changes that would impact a child’s quality of education behind closed doors, that should immediately send a red flag to parents. There is no greater stakeholder in a child’s life than their parent or guardian.”

The DOH sent a Request for Stakeholder Input advising groups to privately submit their recommendations and included a presentation with rule changes that were under consideration. Among those rule changes were the “Immunization of Pupils in School.”

“Who are these supposed stakeholders and what interests do they hold in our education system?” Testa asked. “This is another example of how opaque Governor Murphy and his administration are with parents and concerned citizens.”

The current vaccine recommendations from the ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) for the CDC include COVID-19, Influenza, and HPV—none of which are currently mandated for children to attend school in New Jersey.

“If the administration bothered to review the data—particularly the COVID-19 vaccine data—it would find that virtually no children received the vaccine during the last year because many parents simply don’t want it,” added Testa. “In fact, in children who were vaccinated, the shots’ effectiveness waned dramatically after just a few weeks. My constituents are calling on the Murphy administration to provide clarity and make a commitment that COVID-19 and HPV vaccine mandates will not become the law of the land for students in New Jersey.”