Behind the bills: Legislature faces string of anti-vax proposals
The bills target vaccination requirements, making it easier to exempt children from routine vaccinations or banning “discrimination” against the unvaccinated. Another changes blood donor disclosures.
Lawmakers could make it easier for children to go unvaccinated.
There are three proposals on the table aimed at emboldening parents to reject vaccines or making it more difficult for others to require vaccination in certain settings.
Lawmakers will gather in Cheyenne Monday for the start of the 2024 Budget Session of the Wyoming Legislature. During budget sessions, non-budget-related bills, such as those listed above, will require a two-thirds vote to be introduced.
Ostensibly, the bills aim to bolster parental consent requirements for medical treatments concerning their minor children and to prohibit discrimination against individuals opting out of COVID-19 prevention measures.
Parental rights and falling vaccination rates
House Bill 44, dubbed “Parental Rights in Minors’ Child Care,” and House Bill 75, or “Rights Regarding Vaccinations,” both seek to repeal provisions that currently “authorize vaccination or medical treatment of minor children without parental consent.” Under these proposals, parents would gain more complete medical control over their minor children.
The language in both bills is nearly identical, but HB44 would become law on July 1, 2024 while HB75 would take effect immediately upon passage. The former bill was endorsed by the Joint Labor Committee, giving it a stronger chance of success than the latter, which has been brought by individual lawmakers.
The bill comes at a time in Wyoming’s history when more and more children are being sent to school without crucial vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) or polio. Thanks to the growing number of vaccination exemptions granted to families of kindergartners, the state is falling below the required threshold for herd immunity for many of the diseases that routine childhood vaccinations are meant to immunize against.
When it comes to COVID-19, Wyoming is one of the least vaccinated places in the country. Nationwide, more than 81 percent of people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while almost 70 percent have completed a primary series. In Wyoming, those numbers are 61 and 53 percent respectively. Just 11.7 percent of Wyomingites have received additional booster shots.
The COVID-19 pandemic was heavily politicized. As a result, after vaccines became widely available, vaccination rates were lower and death rates were higher in red states like Wyoming. The vaccine hesitancy popularized during the pandemic, in addition to decades-old misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines, have likely contributed to the current decrease in routine vaccinations.
Mask and vaccine “discrimination”
House Bill 59, “Prohibiting mask, vaccine, and testing discrimination,” stipulates that no individual can be asked to “publish, display or mail, either directly or indirectly, any communication, notice or advertisement that states that a person is required to wear a face covering, is required to have a COVID‑19 vaccination or booster or is required to submit to COVID‑19 medical testing as a condition for receiving or accessing services, goods, facilities, advantages and privileges that are public in nature or that invite the patronage of the public.”
If passed, individuals “aggrieved” by violations of this law can file civil penalties and may be awarded up to $5,000.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Jeanette Ward (HD-57) , a member of Wyoming’s right-wing Freedom Caucus.
This is not the first time a COVID-19 “discrimination” bill has been attempted in the Cowboy State. During the 2021 Special Legislative Session, Albany County Rep. Ocean Andrew (HD-46) sponsored a bill titled the Grace Smith Medical Freedom Act — named after a Laramie High School student who continued to trespass on school grounds after being suspended for refusing to obey the school’s mask mandate — and would have created an exemption from any vaccine requirement for any reason.
The bill died in the House after not being considered for introduction.
Marking donated blood
Additionally, the 2024 Budget Session could see the introduction of another vaccine-related bill — House Bill 115, dubbed “Donated blood-mRNA disclosure.” This bill mandates that blood donors disclose whether they have received a COVID-19 vaccine, and allows patients to request only blood coming from unvaccinated donors, if available and only in non-emergency situations. The bill would require medical professionals to “conspicuously mark” blood from vaccinated individuals.
HB115 was not vetted or endorsed by a committee, meaning it will have a more difficult time passing this session. However, the bill has 21 cosponsors in addition to its main sponsor, Rep. Sarah Penn (HD-33).
 | A guest post by
|
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 72 (46):1262-1268, Nov 17 2023:
"During 2000–2022, estimated measles vaccination prevented approximately 57 million deaths worldwide. However, millions of children missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an 18% increase in estimated measles cases and a 43% increase in estimated measles deaths in 2022 compared with 2021. Large or disruptive outbreaks were reported in 37 countries. Measles surveillance remains suboptimal."
Wyoming legislators are doing their bit to exacerbate the problem.
This is an incredibly biased article... obviously informed by the Big Pharma medical-industrial complex. Parents are waking up to the realities of vaccines. Did you know that most measles cases are in those who had the MMR vaccine? In Canada during 2018 we had a measles outbreak and 92% of the kids with measles were vaccinated. What is the point, then, of vaccines that are non-sterilizing? The COVID vaccine is another vaccine, or rather experimental gene therapy, that is non-sterilizing. This means that you can get and transmit the virus. What is the point? I personally had all the MMR/DTaP vaccines and I have had mumps, measles, and pertussis! Again, parents are now waking up, reading the literature, reading the vaccine inserts, and wondering... is the the cost-benefit analysis actually a good one for my child?
I would like to see some science-based articles on these topics instead of Pharma-sponsored materials in upcoming articles. Thank you.