SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — It was a busy day in Sacramento as lawmakers looked to deal with all the confusion surrounding vaccines.
The chaos has people wondering if they’re covered and are they even eligible. And there’s drastic potential changes to Medi-Cal because of President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
It was a last-minute move by California lawmakers Saturday to secure access to vaccines as cold and flu season closes in.
“It’s really important to have this right now, because vaccines are under assault at the highest levels,” said UCSF Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.
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U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has consistently and falsely linked rising rates of autism with interventions like vaccines, and it has the medical community concerned about what will be in his report, which is to be released next week.
In one of their final votes of the session, lawmakers passed a bill aimed at protecting the state’s vaccine regulations from federal interference.
“It allows the California Department of Public Health to have flexibility — in terms of promoting — what science says should be done, as well as protect clinicians from any liability that may come up as a result of using vaccines,” Ching-Hong said.
The state bill is also aimed at getting ahead of Trump’s mega-spending and policy bill. When it kicks in, it’s expected to impact millions of people who rely on Medi-Cal.
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“That is a situation that has me worried, that people who want to be covered, won’t be able to, whether it’s an insurance issue or information that’s not correct, so they decide not to get it,” said Dr. Yasuko Fukuda with Presidio Pediatrics of San Francisco. “You get more and more people not getting covered and then the disease escalates and that’s what I fear for this winter.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers and the medical community alike are hopeful Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign off on the bill.
“I think it’s incredible we’re doing this in California. It’s going to put science first. It’s going to put evidence first,” Ching-Hong said.
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