Gov. Josh Shapiro has unveiled a broad plan to protect access to childhood vaccines in Pennsylvania, attempting to shield the commonwealth from any federal actions that make it harder to get certain immunizations.
The executive order, signed Oct. 1, will create a state-level program to make sure uninsured and underinsured children can still get all of the recommended shots without incurring any costs, he said. His administration has also guaranteed that Medicaid and private insurance will provide coverage for these vaccines, state officials said.
The announcement came as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his handpicked advisers have been shifting the vaccine guidance that comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During a news conference describing the executive order, Shapiro called the federal developments “dangerous for health care.”
“As parents, we want the freedom to make decisions for our children in their best interests in consultation with medical experts,” he said. “We don’t want politicians who don’t know best taking away our freedom to be able to be parents over our children.”
In June, Kennedy ousted all 17 members of an influential CDC panel that offers vaccine recommendations, including one pediatrician from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He then installed his own appointees, including a number of vaccine skeptics.
The reconstituted group has since voted to limit access to COVID boosters and a combination vaccine given to toddlers for protection from measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.
Under Shapiro’s executive order,
- the state’s health department will create a program to preserve free shots for kids eligible for the federal Vaccines for Children initiative. While the CDC panel determines which shots the federal program will pay for, officials said Shapiro’s order will maintain no-cost access to medically recommended vaccines regardless of the committee’s decisions;
- the state will establish an online portal with evidence-based information about vaccines, according to a statement;
- state regulations, guidelines and communications will all have to follow vaccine recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical societies. They are not bound by “politically influenced” guidance from the CDC committee, according to the statement;
- officials will create a vaccine education work group including pediatricians, family physicians, obstetricians, pharmacists, parents, community representatives and public health experts;
- the state’s Medicaid program will keep covering recommended vaccines. Private insurers have also committed to continuing covering these shots for Pennsylvanians, according to the governor’s office, and
- the state will coordinate with local health departments and others on vaccine guidance.
