PROPOSED CALIFORNIA LEGISLATION WOULD ALLOW OPTOMETRISTS TO ADMINISTER VACCINES

Jun 2, 2017 by

 

URGENT ACTION ALERT

 

 

California AB 443 makes a number of changes to the Optometry Practice Act, permitting an optometrist to conduct additional procedures on their patients. Most of these changes are unobjectionable, but, strangely, the bill allows optometrists to administer vaccines for influenza, herpes zoster virus, and pneumococcus to adults.

 

Optometrists do not know their patients’ full medical history and have no experience in dealing with adverse reactions.

 

If this bill passes, it will not only put patient’s lives at risk, but will require optometrists to enter newly administered vaccine and personally identifying information into the state vaccine tracking system without prior patient permission. People should know this is NOT an opt-out system. One cannot opt-out of tracking, only data sharing with other registry users.

 

AB 443 has already passed the House. We need to urge the Senate to amend it to take out the immunization provisions.

 

View the bill here:

http://leginfo.legislature.ca. gov/faces/billTextClient. xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB443

 

TAKE ACTION

 

Contact your California State Senator and ask him or her to oppose AB 443 unless it is amended to take out the immunization provisions.

 

You can look up who represents you at:  http://findyourrep. legislature.ca.gov/

 

Sample script:

 

“Hi, my name is ____.  I am calling to ask Senator ____ to oppose AB 443 unless it is amended to take out the immunization provisions.

 

This bill would allow optometrists to administer influenza, herpes zoster virus, and pneumococcus vaccines.

 

Optometrists are not qualified to either administer vaccines or handle adverse reactions in their patients, even if they are required to complete a “training program.” Optometrists don’t know a person’s full medical record, which means both that they are less likely to identify those with a contra-indication for vaccination and that they may unnecessarily duplicate vaccines.

 

I am also opposed to the gathering of patients’ personal information in a state vaccine tracking system with no opt-out option.”

 

Be sure to explain why this issue is important to you. You may wish to use a couple of the talking points below.

 

TALKING POINTS for calls and emails:

 

1)      Federal law recognizes vaccines kill and disable some recipients. These risks depend on a person’s medical history and family history. Optometrists do not have knowledge of, nor the time to learn about, a person’s medical history. This is dangerous.

 

2)      Vaccine package inserts warn of the risk of brain damage, life-threatening allergy, and death and no one knows in advance whom a vaccine will harm. Optometrists are not equipped to handle serious adverse reactions.

 

3)      The US Supreme Court recognizes vaccines to be “unavoidably unsafe” (http://www.supremecourt.gov/ opinions/10pdf/09-152.pdf) and to cause injury and death in some recipients. The US government has paid out more than $3 billion to the victims of vaccine injury. Hundreds have reported an adverse reaction to vaccination. Vaccine package inserts warn of the risk of brain damage, life-threatening allergy, and death, additionally, no one knows in advance who will be harmed by a vaccine. It is careless to permit optometrists to administer a product that carries such risks.

 

4)      Allowing optometrists to vaccinate without access to a person’s medical records means that person may receive unintended or duplicate vaccines.

 

5)      CDC has stated that vaccine registries are a tool to identify areas of “undervaccination” so they can be “addressed” and brought into “compliance.” AB 443 takes the privacy violation of registries one-step further by not allowing for an opt-out of sharing personal data with the sate of California. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/ preview/mmwrhtml/mm6133a2.htm

 

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