Have you heard that Donald Trump is going to ban mandatory vaccinations?
Or that he is going to ban childhood vaccinations all together?
Guess what?
That’s right, neither is true.
Did Trump Lay the Groundwork to Ban Mandatory Vaccinations?
To be sure, anti-vaccine folks were likely excited when Donald Trump was elected President.
In addition to his tweets that tried to associate vaccines with autism, there were reports that he was going to set up a committee on vaccine safety that would be headed by Robert F Kennedy, Jr!
So the idea that he might try to ban vaccines was probably thought of as a safe bet for some.
Fortunately, it wasn’t.
Which vaccines kids need to go to daycare and school are mandated by state law. Despite what some folks might think, there are no federal vaccine mandates.
And even with the announcement of a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), there is no ban on mandatory vaccinations across the United States.
“The creation of the new division will provide HHS with the focus it needs to more vigorously and effectively enforce existing laws protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom, the first freedom protected in the Bill of Rights.”
HHS Announces New Conscience and Religious Freedom Division
Could you interpret this is laying the groundwork for allowing religious exemptions to vaccines?
Again, vaccine mandates are set by state law, so no, you shouldn’t. Anyway, almost all states already allow religious exemptions to getting vaccinated, even though no major religion is actually against vaccinating and protecting kids from life-threatening vaccine-preventable diseases.
“Conscience protections apply to health care providers who refuse to perform, accommodate, or assist with certain health care services on religious or moral grounds.”
Conscience Protections for Health Care Providers
A proposed rule, Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care; Delegations of Authority, that might have affected vaccines funded by Federal medical assistance programs, never took effect. In fact, the White House urged HHS to not finalize the rule after the Office of Management and Budget said they weren’t complying with necessary rules to get it implemented on time.
“The AAP wishes to underscore its recognition of the important role of religion in the personal,spiritual, and social lives of many individuals, including health providers. Balancing that role with efforts to ensure children have appropriate access to needed health and social services is critical to meeting their health needs and supporting their health and well being. As HHS considers potential changes to regulations and policy guidance to encourage the provision of grants and contracts to faith-based organizations, we urge you to ensure that federal policy does not undermine children’s access to needed care and services.”
Collen Kraft, MD, FAAP, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Not surprisingly, major medical associations were against the proposed rule, and not just because of potential effects on vaccines, even though it wouldn’t have actually banned vaccines.
“The proposal would dramatically expand the discretion that religious or moral objectors have to refuse care without meaningful safeguards to ensure that the rights of those receiving care are protected.”
AMA on HHS should withdraw proposal on health care conscience rights
Sadly, as Kennedy and many anti-vaccine folks focus and what they think are toxins and poisons in vaccines, they seem to be ignoring the fact that Donald Trump is going to expose our kids to many more real toxins and poisons through his efforts to slash Clean Water Act protections and other EPA regulations.
At least we can look forward to no bans on mandatory vaccines, even though many parents continue to abuse existing vaccine exemptions, putting us all at risk.
More on Trump and Vaccine Policy
- Bill Gates Recalls Meetings Where Trump Questioned Vaccines and Mentioned Gates’s Daughter
- What Trump can — and can’t — do to change vaccine policy
- HHS – HHS Announces New Conscience and Religious Freedom Division
- HHS – Conscience and Religious Freedom
- White House taps the brakes on HHS religious rule
- Trump’s Own Budget Office Puts the Brakes on Proposed Religious Imposition Rule
- AAP Comments HHS Conscience Protections NPRM final
- Physicians ask HHS to withdraw proposed rule on conscience rights in health care
- Civil Rights Chief At HHS Defends The Right To Refuse Care On Religious Grounds
- Religious Exemption: The Law – a Summary
- Anti-Vaccine Activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Claims to Head Trump Vaccine Panel
- RFK Jr. says Trump still wants ‘vaccine safety commission’
- More Anti-Vaccine Nonsense from Trump and Kennedy
- Trump appears to abandon vaccine sceptic group denounced by scientists
- The United States already has a vaccine safety commission. And it works really well, experts say.
- Why the Science Community is Concerned about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump
- President Trump’s Advocacy of the Debunked Link Between Vaccines and Autism
- Did President Trump Enact a 90-Day Ban on Childhood Vaccinations?
- Environmental Protection in the Trump Era
- Trump begins his biggest assault yet on the environment
Last Updated on December 12, 2018