The governor of Connecticut has signed into law legislation that removes a requirement that state vaccine standards be linked to federal vaccine guidance.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, on April 27 signed House Bill 5044.
The bill lets Connecticut’s commissioner of public health set “standard of care for immunization” in the state, removing a requirement that vaccine standards must come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the agency’s advisory panel.
The immunizations backed by the state are mandated for school attendance.
“When thousands of cases of measles threatened communities across America this year, Connecticut had zero cases,” Lamont said in a statement. “That doesn’t happen by accident. This legislation ensures that no matter what happens in Washington, Connecticut’s immunization standards stay grounded in science and keep proven vaccines available and affordable.”
The CDC, following advice from advisers selected by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., narrowed recommendations for several vaccines in 2025. In January, with the support of Kennedy, the CDC scaled back recommendations for several other shots.
A federal judge in March blocked all of those changes, ruling that Kennedy and other officials did not follow proper procedure in selecting the advisers and updating the recommendations.
Instead of relying solely on the CDC, Connecticut will now also incorporate recommendations from outside groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, which partners with vaccine manufacturers.
“Vaccines save lives, and this bill reflects that by protecting Connecticut residents’ access to them despite potential federal changes,” state Sen. Martha Marx, a Democrat who voted for the legislation, said in a recent statement.
The legislation makes multiple other changes, including letting the governor authorize the state health commissioner issue an order allowing medical interventions such as vaccines to respond to a public health emergency; requiring insurers to cover vaccines backed by the state; authorizing pharmacists to order, prescribe, and administer those vaccines; and establishing a new Vaccines for Adults Program that buys and distributes vaccines to health care providers to administer to adults who are “underinsured” or uninsured.
A 2021 bill removed non-medical exemptions for mandated vaccines, and the new legislation makes clear that a 1993 law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not apply to school vaccine mandates.
A lawsuit challenging the removal of religious exemptions is currently pending before Connecticut courts.
“This is a terrible way to cut the legs out from people who are following the law that was created in 2021 just because the state government and the Attorney General do not like the possibility of losing on this issue,” state Sen. Jeff Gordon, a Republican and doctor who voted against the legislation, said in a statement.