A day after a CDC advisory panel voted to recommend adding the COVID-19 vaccine to a list of immunizations available under a program for uninsured and underinsured children, Gov. Kay Ivey shot down the possibility of the state requiring the vaccine.
“Here in Alabama, the parents make decisions when it comes to their children’s health care,” the governor tweeted Thursday. We do NOT mandate the covid shot for kids – nor will we ever.”
Ivey was responding to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which voted Wednesday to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the Vaccines for Children program.
While the Alabama Department of Public Health said Thursday it was aware of the vote, the agency noted there are no state laws requiring children to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“The ACIP’s vote to include COVID-19 in VFC is the mechanism to ensure that, when COVID-19 vaccine is no longer provided free by the federal government, uninsured and underinsured children can have access to the vaccine without charge. Including COVID-19 vaccine under VFC is not a mandate for children to take the vaccine,” the agency said.
“VFC is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children who might not otherwise be vaccinated due to inability to pay,” ADPH’s statement continued. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) buys vaccine at a discounted rate for distribution to registered VFC providers. Many physicians in Alabama are VFC providers so that their patients can receive recommended vaccines. Children who are eligible for VFC vaccines are entitled to receive the same ACIP recommended vaccines as any other child.”
Alabama students in grades K-12 are required to be vaccinated against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, according to ADPH.
Children in preschool are also required to have Haemophilis influenzae type B (Hib) and pneumococcal vaccines.
The agency allows religious exemptions “based on religious tenets and practices” and medical exemptions requested through the child’s doctor.
College students do not have vaccination requirements.
