anti vaccine bills in Iowa legislature

According to a Des Moines Register story today “Which bills in the Iowa Legislature lived and died after 2nd funnel?” by Steven Gruber-Miller and Marissa Payne March 20, 2026:

“Other bills remain in play, including legislation restricting the governor’s emergency powers, allowing Iowans to buy ivermectin over the counter without a prescription and limiting tuition increases at Iowa’s public universities.”

Apparently, the ivermectin over-the-counter (OTC) bill is funnel proof and is still alive as part of HF 2676 (the Senate passed its version, SF 2367). I was not able to read the entire Des Moines Register story because I don’t have a subscription. However, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) also reported this morning (AI pops up whether I want it to or not and puts its 2 cents in) that the ivermectin bill is still alive. The 2026 legislative session is still active through April 21, 2026. My apologies. I must have misunderstood the Bleeding Heartland story I posted about on March 14, 2026.

I’m pretty sure I read the KCCI news story correctly about what bills survived the 2^nd funnel or not in a story published yesterday, which pointed out that the bill to “eliminate school vaccine requirements” did not survive the second funnel.

I couldn’t find out anything about the bill on vaccine exemptions for certain students in clinical rotations and modifying eligibility for Iowa tuition grants for postsecondary schools. A committee report approving this bill was filed on February 23, 2026, and it was subsequently renumbered as SF 2424. Unfortunately, all I can gather about it comes from an AI summary:

“Key Provisions:
- Requires postsecondary schools to identify, upon request, a rotation placement where students are exempt from vaccination requirements.
- Defines “postsecondary school” and “facility” for these purposes.
- Institutions failing to comply may lose eligibility for Iowa tuition grants and face a $5,000 civil penalty.
Status/Funnel Position: As of Feb 23, 2026, the bill was on the Senate calendar and passed by the Senate Education Committee. In the context of the second funnel deadline (March 20, 2026), which requires policy bills to have passed out of a committee in the opposite chamber, this bill (formerly SF 2095) is moving through the process, but as of the initial 2026 reports, its exact final position relative to the March 20 deadline is subject to final Legislative Service Agency tracking.
Context: The bill was introduced by the Senate Education Committee.”

This legislative process is confusing to me and I may need to correct this later today.

UPDATED:

Addendum per Iowa Capital Dispatch today:

What survived:

“Governor’s ‘MAHA’ bill: House File 2676 was proposed by Reynolds to codify restrictions on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligible food items, make ivermectin accessible over the counter and prohibit food dyes in school meals. The bill passed from the House with several amendments, including one to limit screen time in elementary schools, another asking to waive school lunch nutrition guidelines to instead include more regional foods like beef, pork and dairy and another that sets extracurricular requirements in schools. The bill was attached to Senate File 2367 and placed on unfinished business.”

What died:

Immunization requirements: K-12 immunization requirements for attending school would have been removed under House File 2171, which passed the House Education Committee but was not taken up for floor debate.

Vaccinations: Senate File 2424, amended and passed by the Iowa Senate Education Committee Feb. 18, would require private colleges and universities with clinical rotation programs to identify placements where students are exempt from any vaccination requirements put in place by the host of their rotation placement. The legislation failed to see Senate debate.

Hydroxychloroquine: The governor’s “MAHA” bill, which survived the funnel, included a provision allowing over-the-counter dispensing of ivermectin. But a separate measure, House File 2056, allowing dispensing of both ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, a prescription medication typically used in treating malaria which is also promoted by non-verified sources as a means to manage or treat symptoms of COVID-19, died during the first funnel.”

This is a quick followup on the progress of Governor Reynolds MAHA bill which included a piece endorsing making Ivermectin available over-the-counter in Iowa. I just read a story about what looks like the disappearance of the ivermectin from Reynold’s bill. The story, written by Laura Belin, comes from a webpage called Bleeding Heartland: An independent website about Iowa politics.

I don’t follow politics avidly (putting it mildly), but I think I understand a short paragraph from Ms. Belin’s article”:

“The Senate didn’t advance the governor’s bill. Instead, Senate Health and Human Services Committee chair Kara Warme introduced her own “health-related matters” bill, which got through committee and is eligible for floor debate. That legislation (Senate File 2367) incorporated the governor’s proposals on nutrition education, certificates of need for health care facilities, federal food assistance, and food dyes in schools, but left the ivermectin language on the cutting room floor.”

It looks like another anti-vaccine bill bit the dust—for now. I would cheer, but I know better. I expect somebody will resurrect it at some time in the future. I hope Dr. Austin Baeth is still around when it happens.