Waiting for the Second Funnel in Iowa Legislature on Anti Vaccination Bills 2026

I’ve been trying to track the two anti-vaccination bills heading into the 2^nd funnel in Iowa and I guess I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow’s news reports.

One of them is HF 2171 which would eliminate Iowa’s requirement that children in grades K-12 receive vaccines before they can attend school. The other is SF 2095 (replaced by SF 2424, I believe) which would require postsecondary private schools to find clinical rotation training facilities for students in health care fields which would allow them to be exempt from any vaccine requirements.

I don’t expect either to survive the funnel, but I’m surprised that these bills were introduced at all given the risks of reducing the protection against communicable diseases as set by current public health policy.

I found a research paper on anti-vaccination legislation in mid-western states in which one of the authors, Filip Viskupič is a scholar who represents Iowa State University.

Reference:

Filip Viskupič, David L. Wiltse, Zachary Liebl, Tobias Kinslow,

The prevalence and nature of anti-vaccination legislation in ten midwestern states: Implications for public health and policy,

Vaccine,

Volume 79,

2026,

128452,

ISSN 0264-410X,

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X26002604)

Abstract: Legislative proposals that could lower vaccination rates pose a threat to public health in the United States. We tracked and analyzed anti-vaccination bills proposed in the legislatures of ten Midwestern states from 2013 to 2024. We used the LegiScan database to search for bills, and three researchers independently classified each identified bill. We classified 374 bills as anti-vaccination bills. The legislative sessions during 2021–2022 saw 222 anti-vaccination bills proposed, mostly concerning COVID-19 vaccination. During 2023–2024, 101 bills were proposed; however, these bills were broader in scope, covering vaccines beyond COVID-19. Most anti-vaccination bills were introduced by Republican lawmakers and only 9 had Democratic sponsorship or co-sponsorship, and only 22 were signed into law. Scholars should continue systematically tracking and analyzing anti-vaccination proposals and other bills impacting public health.

Keywords: Vaccine policy; Anti-vaccine; Health Policy; Health Politics

CDC ACIP Meeting Scheduled for March 18, 19 2026

It’s been a while since the last CDC ACIP meeting. It’s scheduled for March 18, 2026, 8 AM to 5 PM EST and March 19, 2026, 8 AM to 5 PM EST, according the notice on the Federal Register.

There are over 1500 comments and the one I thought was the best was by the Vaccinate Your Family (VFY) organization, which you can read on their website.

According to the notice: “The agenda will include updates on ACIP Workgroups and discussions on COVID-19 vaccine injuries and Long-COVID and ACIP recommendation methodology. Recommendation votes may be scheduled for COVID-19 vaccine injuries and Long-COVID and ACIP recommendation methodology. Agenda items are subject to change as priorities dictate. For more information on the meeting agenda, visit https://www.cdc.gov/acip/meetings/index.html.

Meeting Information: The meeting will be webcast live via the World Wide Web.”

Iowa Legislature Bills I Could Live Without

I should stop reading the news. I’ve just found a couple of other Iowa Legislature bills that are anti-vaccine.

One of them is the HF 2287 I mentioned yesterday that would make vaccine manufacturers steer clear of Iowa altogether.

Another two I just discovered today:

HF 2171: This one which seeks to make vaccines for school age children voluntary. No child in elementary or secondary school in Iowa would have to be vaccinated against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, rubeola, rubella, and varicella. This is not safe for anyone.

SF 2095: This one seeks to exempt students from vaccines in medical, nursing, or other health care-related degree programs.

There’s a news article about SF 2095 which makes it clear what it is about. I don’t understand why a person studying medicine or any other health care-related degree program would not need to get vaccinated against communicable diseases. This bill would require private schools to provide some other alternative training program instead of those that require vaccinations. If they don’t, they’d be penalized, either by losing access to the Iowa Tuition Grant Program—or getting fined. None of that makes sense to me. If you’re in training to be a doctor, you should get vaccinated. If you don’t understand why vaccinations are vital to practicing medicine, you shouldn’t be in medicine.

If I sound like a curmudgeon about all this, so be it. I’m a retired doctor and I graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1992. I spent my career practicing consultation-liaison psychiatry, so I was always at the interface between medicine and psychiatry. It was always a challenge for me to balance the art and science of medicine. And I didn’t always do it very well.

But I’m puzzled by what looks like an awkward imbalance in the view of medicine today. I’m a little cranky about it, and I like to think my age entitles me to react that way sometimes. I could add a quote from William Osler here, but I’m more prone to jokes as a I get older, probably because I know I’m no wiser than anyone else.

Did you hear Chuck Norris got the Covid vaccine? The vaccine is now immune to everything.

What’s the Skinny on a Vaccine that Might Prevent or Slow Down Dementia?

You don’t want to just take my word for it but there seems to be conflicting messages on a live, attenuated shingles vaccine called Zostavax.

One message is that “the live, attenuated herpes zoster (HZ; shingles) vaccine” might prevent or slow down dementia, especially in women according to a study in Wales and Australia. The article doesn’t mention the name Zostavax (the trade name for the live, attenuated herpes zoster vaccine), which according to a Wikipedia article was “discontinued in the U.S. in November of 2020.”

The other message is that partly because of several lawsuits against Merck (the manufacturer, which faced a lot of Zostavax lawsuits) regarding possible severe, potentially life-threatening side effects alleged to be associated with it, production and marketing of the vaccine was discontinued in the United States as of 2020. The other reason was that Shingrix, a recombinant form of the vaccine, was developed.

Shingrix is said to be superior to Zostavax, although it is also associated with some side effects.

I don’t know why I don’t find any FDA or CDC notifications that Zostavax is no longer available in the United States. Both agencies have archived approval notices still on their websites.

CIDRAP doesn’t mention that residents of the U.S. can longer get Zostavax (in other words, the live attenuated vaccine against shingles) as of 2020.

One of the problems I find with web-based information is that some of the entries can be confusing. I found several articles on line from law firms including one which posted a report on November 14, 2024 that two Black Box Warnings were published by the FDA about Zostavax. I could find only one safety warning on the FDA website (not labeled as “Black Box”) and it was about the new recombinant vaccine, Shingrix. It’s been associated with Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) and it’s dated March 24, 2021—a year after Zostavax was removed from the market in the U.S.

OK, as an old retired doctor, my bottom line on this issue of live, attenuated herpes zoster vaccine being touted as an agent that could delay or prevent dementia is that it would be a lot more helpful to me as a consumer to know the whole story about the product. It might be scientifically interesting but it’s moot because the product is not even available in this country and for good reason. And even if it were, would the potential risk and benefit assessment be favorable to recommend its use? And how does this affect the ongoing disagreement dividing the country about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines? Only about 20% of Iowans are even getting the flu shot this season so far.

One thing people could do which might slow down some of the cognitive impairment is to take up the game of cribbage. As far as I know, it has almost no detrimental side effects unless you insist on playing the muggins rule.

CDC ACIP Meeting Agenda Posted

I just noticed that the CDC ACIP draft agenda for upcoming meeting on September 18th and 19th has been posted. There will be votes on the MMRV, Hepatitis B, and Covid-19 vaccines.

Upcoming CDC Advisory Committee Meeting in September 2025-Or Not?

I’ve been checking the Centers for Advisory Committee schedule on their website for weeks and the only way I found out there is an upcoming meeting is on the Federal Register schedule. Sena found it in a news outlet story. As of this morning around 9 a.m., there was no announcement on the CDC website yet. That may change later today.

According to the Federal Register, the CDC ACIP will hold a meeting on September 18, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., EDT, and September 19, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., EDT.

Under Supplementary Information:

“The agenda will include discussions on COVID-19 vaccines; Hepatitis B vaccine; measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (MMRV) vaccine; and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). The agenda will include updates on ACIP Workgroups. Recommendation votes may be scheduled for COVID-19 vaccines, Hepatitis B vaccine, MMRV vaccine, and RSV. Vaccines for Children (VFC) may be scheduled for COVID-19 vaccines, Hepatitis B vaccine, MMRV vaccine, and RSV. Agenda items are subject to change as priorities dictate. For more information on the meeting agenda, visit https://www.cdc.gov/acip/meetings/index.html.”

However, I also noticed a news article posted by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) indicating that the meeting might be postponed because of the recent upheaval around vaccine policy and personnel.

This meeting’s actual timing and schedule items could be moving targets.

Sena Gets her Measles Vaccine-and Will Not Be Defeated!

Sena got a measles vaccine booster today just to be on the safe side given the increase in the number of measles cases all over the country, including Iowa.

The history of the measles vaccine is fascinating by the way. It can make it challenging to figure out who might need a booster.

Despite the mild headache from the shot—she won our cribbage match again. She will not be defeated!

CDC Advisory Committee Meeting on Vaccines Starts Tomorrow

The CDC ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IMMUNIZATION PRACTICES (ACIP) is scheduled to begin their meeting tomorrow at 10:00 AM ET despite US Senator Bill Cassidy’s recommendation that it be postponed due to concerns about the lack of experience of the committee members and because there is not yet confirmation of a new CDC Director.

In fact, the CDC Director nominee, Dr. Susan Monarez, of Wisconsin, is scheduled for her confirmation hearing at the same time as the start of the CDC ACIP meeting tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM ET. Dr. Monarez would be the first CDC director “…in decades…” (according to a report posted in The Hill in May) who has neither previously worked at the CDC “…nor obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree…”

As of this morning around 10:00 AM, the meeting agenda has not yet been finalized. So far, it looks like there will be no vote on the Covid-19 vaccine update, although there will be a vote on Thimerosal in flu vaccines about which the FDA has previously published an extensive summary.

Dept of Health & Human Services to Reconstitute CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

HHS announced the removal and replacement of the current members of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in a press release today. The CDC ACIP meeting for vaccine recommendations is still scheduled for June 25-27. According to the Federal Register announcement under Supplementary Information:

“SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is charged with advising the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on the use of immunizing agents. In addition, under 42 U.S.C. 1396s, the Committee is mandated to establish and periodically review and, as appropriate, revise the list of vaccines for administration to vaccine-eligible children through the Vaccines for Children program, along with schedules regarding dosing interval, dosage, and contraindications to administration of vaccines. Further, under applicable provisions of the Affordable Care Act and section 2713 of the Public Health Service Act, immunization recommendations of ACIP that have been adopted by the Director, CDC, and appear on CDC immunization schedules generally must be covered by applicable health plans.

Matters To Be Considered: The agenda will include discussions on anthrax vaccines, chikungunya vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines, cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine, Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, influenza vaccines, Lyme disease vaccine, meningococcal vaccines, pneumococcal vaccines, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccines for adults, and RSV vaccines for maternal and pediatric populations. Recommendation votes are scheduled for COVID-19 vaccines, HPV vaccine, influenza vaccines, meningococcal vaccine, RSV vaccines for adults, and RSV vaccine for maternal and pediatric populations. Vaccines for Children (VFC) votes are scheduled for COVID-19 vaccines, HPV vaccine, influenza vaccines, and RSV vaccines. Agenda items are subject to change as priorities dictate. For more information on the meeting agenda, visit https://www.cdc.gov/acip/meetings/index.html.

Meeting Information: The meeting will be webcast live via the World Wide Web. For more information on ACIP, please visit the ACIP website: https://www.cdc.gov/acip.“

So, I Got the Covid-19 Booster Today

After giving the Covid-19 summer booster a lot of thought, I got it today. What the heck. I’m an old guy and the experts all agree that the summer surge is real, including the current leaders of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (Vinay Prasad, M.D., M.P.H and Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H.).

I read their article “An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination” published in the New England Journal of Medicine on May 20, 2025. It sounds like they’re going to require placebo-controlled trials for new vaccines for almost everybody except those over age 65 and high risk because they’re not recommending it for certain other groups such as healthy children.

I didn’t think it was worth the wait for the upcoming CDC ACIP meeting on June 22, 2025 in order to decide whether or not to get the summer vaccine. It’s the same one I got last fall and the same one the FDA advisory committee decided at this month’s meeting would be appropriate going forward (the JN.1 lineage).

It wasn’t like there was a long wait time to get the vaccine today. There wasn’t a line. I scheduled it but I didn’t have to because I got right in.

It’s true that vaccine uptake has been low. However, I think on balance they’ve been proven to be safe and effective so I’m not sure that placebo-controlled trials are warranted. I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

Reference:

An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination

Authors: Vinay Prasad, M.D., M.P.H., and Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H.Author Info & Affiliations

Published May 20, 2025

DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsb2506929