CONCORD — A bill sponsored by Rep. William Marsh, D-Wolfeboro, that would require students through university age to receive COVID-19 vaccines, received some support but widespread opposition, including from the Department of Health and Human Services.
In presenting House Bill 1633 to the House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee on February 7, March cited a document from the American Medical Association that classified COVID-19 as a childhood disease, as well as California’s Keep Schools Open and Safe Act that was recently introduced there.
Marsh noted that HB 1633 was cosponsored by every physician in the legislature.
Two of those speaking against the bill gave powerful testimony against the mandate. Dr. Angela Farella, a pediatrician from Webster, Texas, brought CDC statistics, as well as anecdotal evidence from her own practice, of cases where patients receiving the vaccine experienced adverse health effects. More poignant was the testimony of a mother from Brentwood whose daughter is suffering from a heart condition after submitting to the vaccine.
Farella started by saying, “For those of you who think that I might be coming from a side that opposes, vaccines, you’re very much mistaken.” She went to praise vaccines for polio and pneumonia, but noted that they were developed with years of study.
“The COVID-19 vaccine skipped animal trials. It combined phase two and phase three [of testing], unblinded their study prematurely,” she said, “the demographics were skewed to younger and healthier populations, and excluded … pregnant and breastfeeding moms, those with autoimmune disease, those that were previously infected with COVID, those with bleeding disorders. It lacked good standards for testing subjects for suspected disease.”
Citing statistics from several studies, including studies on children, Farella said drug manufacturer Pfizer even acknowledged that myocarditis might occur in healthy subjects as a result of the vaccine.
“We have to prove these safe before we give them to kids,” she testified.
Tara Casey of Brentwood said her daughter had had adverse reactions to medication in the past, but she was unable to get a doctor to provide a medical waiver when the college her daughter wished to attend required a vaccine for attendance. A few hours after getting the Johnson & Johnson shot, the daughter was in intensive care with a racing heart.
“Now six months after the vaccine, she’s still on medication to control her heart rate. She takes a nap every day because she’s exhausted. She’s taken this semester off to focus on healing,” the woman said. “I will never forgive myself for giving in to the college’s mandate and letting her get that vaccine.”
Anne Marie Mercuri, chief of the immunization section of the Department of Health and Human Services, testified, “The department has no intention of adding immunization requirements for COVID-19 at this time.
“As it relates to COVID-19,” she said, “there have been 38,000 doses given to adolescents in New Hampshire. Despite their lower risk of severe COVID-19, children and adolescents have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 control measures. The most important indirect effects are related to school closures, which have disrupted the provision of educational services and increased emotional distress and mental health problems.”
At the same time, she said, “Vaccination of students offers an additional layer of protection against COVID-19 and can be an important tool to return to normal. Higher levels of vaccine coverage can lead to less community transmission, which can protect against the development and circulation of emerging variants.
“The department seeks to appropriately balance individual and parental choice and the goal of keeping children enrolled in school while protecting the health of all children,” she concluded. “In the event that a consensus to recommend COVID-19 vaccination requirements for school and childcare is reached in the future, the department would then re-examine the key criteria, including but not limited to vaccine efficacy, vaccine safety, severity of disease, likelihood of infection, and method of transmission prior to making such a recommendation.”
While the majority of the speakers argued against the bill, Paula MacKinnon, president of the 400-member New Hampshire School Nurses Association, supported the measure.
“Just three weeks ago, [State Epidemiologist] Dr. [Benjamin] Chan and his team reported 117 active clusters of COVID-19 in K-12 schools,” she said. “Each one of those clusters had 12.8 cases per cluster. All policy considerations for schools start with a goal of keeping students safe and physically present in schools. Vaccines are one of the best preventative measures to create a safe environment for learning.”
Rep. Timothy Lang, R-Sanbornton, lead sponsor of HB 1035, argued for expanding the exemptions from vaccine requirements. The bill deals with existing requirements, not COVID-19 vaccines, but would apply to the coronavirus if those vaccines became required.
Lang said existing exemptions for medical or religious reasons are too rigid, and that exemptions based upon conscience also should be available. A medical exemption requires a doctor’s certification of a medical issue, and a religious exemption requires a notarized statement.
He noted that Article 4 of the state constitution declares the “right of conscience” to be unalienable, something that can neither be given nor taken away.
“We should allow people to live the lifestyle that they want to live that’s morally right for them,” Lang said.
When several people raised objections to making it too easy for people to opt out of vaccines, diminishing the value of the requirement, Lang said he would be willing to work with others to craft language that would satisfy everyone.
Committee Chair Mark Pearson, R-Hampstead, named a subcommittee to work with Lang on an amendment to his bill before adjourning for the day.
An abridged version of this story appeared in InDepthNH.org.