Immunize Kansas Coalition Reacts to Committee Action on Vaccine Policy Bills

March 23, 2023

Media Contact

Geovannie Gone,
Executive Director,
Immunize Kansas Coalition,
Email,
(620) 521-1832

For the latest activity regarding vaccine policy bills, read our most recent press release published on March 24th.

TOPEKA — Geovannie Gone, Immunize Kansas Coalition (IKC) Executive Director, responded to the news that the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee this morning failed to pass out SB 315 and passed out SB 314, both bills related to vaccination policy.

"Kansas must maintain the current process for vaccine requirement exemptions for childcare and school entry; protect the freedom of private businesses to set vaccine requirements in the best interest of their employees and patrons; and keep students safe from meningitis outbreaks. Current state law already works to protect all Kansans from vaccine-preventable diseases. No changes to state law are needed. Immunize Kansas Coalition commends the majority of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee members for voting down SB 315.” Gone said.

Senate Bill 314 would prohibit the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for children attending a child care facility or school. In response to the committee’s action to pass out SB 314, Gone said, “We remain in support of the current process by which the immunization requirements are set for childcare and school entry in Kansas. There has been no attempt by KDHE to add COVID-19 vaccination to the Kansas requirements, just like there has been no action or conversation about adding the seasonal flu vaccine in the 14 years it has been recommended for children.”

Arguments were made that SB 314 is “necessary” to protect our children from an impending COVID-19 vaccine requirement, yet immunization advocates caution that unraveling the current process for all vaccines is the true motivation behind the bill. The Immunize Kansas Coalition remains concerned that passing SB 314 will become the first step toward undoing Kansas’ current process for adjusting the wellness vaccine requirements for school and childcare attendance, which disregards the voice of the majority of Kansas voters.

In a statewide survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies January-February of 2022 (https://nurturekc.org/kansans-support-vaccines/), 85% of Kansas voters, across party lines, believed that KDHE is the appropriate entity to set wellness vaccine policy for Kansas children.

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Immunize Kansas Coalition is a group of Kansas healthcare providers, health departments, nonprofits, researchers, educators, and parents working together to improve vaccine rates and protect Kansans against vaccine-preventable diseases. For more information, visit immunizekansascoalition.org.