New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed two bills preserving and expanding state vaccine mandates for children. Hochul framed the move as a fight against what she called an “anti-science administration,” framing President Trump’s push for informed vaccine choice as a heresy against science.
The far-left Democrats in New York are cutting federal oversight out of the process and giving bureaucrats more power over children’s medical requirements and taking the power away from parents. One bill removes language tying school vaccine requirements to federal approval and recommendation. Instead, children must receive shots for diseases such as measles and hepatitis B according to regulations dictated by New York’s health commissioner.
The second bill forces health insurers to cover vaccines recommended by New York’s health commissioner, even when those shots are not recommended by the CDC. New York officials say the legislation protects public health and strengthens access to vaccines.
State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald called vaccines one of the greatest public health tools in history. That may be true, but vaccines can also have major negative consequences, particularly when they are experimental like the COVID vaccine.
Groups like the Children’s Health Defense warn the new laws will let the state require shots without the same federal guardrails. Parents should ultimately be the primary decision-makers for their children, not unelected health officials in Albany.
The Trump administration has been reviewing U.S. vaccine guidance, including recommendations involving COVID-19, hepatitis B, and rotavirus, after comparing American policy with other countries. This is how quality policy is crafted. How the Democrats are going about it is top-down control. This is health tyranny and demonstrates why we always need to vote Republican—because the alternative is so disastrous.
