The number of vaccine-related bills introduced in US state legislatures spiked after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Republican lawmakers sponsoring most of the legislation aimed at weakening vaccine requirements or expanding exemptions, according to a study published last week in the American Journal of Public Health.
Researchers at the Boston University (BU) School of Public Health analyzed 3,574 vaccine-related bills introduced in all 50 states between 2019 and 2023. They found that legislative activity increased sharply after the pandemic began, with 1,154 vaccine-related bills introduced during the first full post-pandemic legislative session in 2021, compared with 386 in 2019.
The analysis also found a shift toward antivaccine legislation, or bills that weaken vaccine mandates, expand exemptions, reduce vaccine funding, or make vaccination less accessible. Such bills accounted for at least 40% of vaccine-related legislation introduced during every full legislative cycle after the pandemic began.
Political polarization drove legislation
Partisan differences were significant. Overall, 86% of the 1,513 antivaccine bills identified during the study period were sponsored by Republican lawmakers. Democratic legislators sponsored 54% of bills that promoted vaccination, such as measures expanding vaccine access, funding, or mandates.
“Our work shows that state lawmakers affiliated with the Republican Party are responsible for the overwhelming majority of antivaccine bills introduced in recent years,” corresponding author Matt Motta, PhD, says in a BU news release. While most of these antivaccine bills did not become law, 138 antivaccine measures were adopted. During the same period, 377 provaccine bills also became law.
“Growth in the number of antivaccine bills being introduced in state houses does not necessarily imply that vaccine coverage will change,” write the authors. “However, with nearly 1 in 10 antivaccine bills captured in our data set signed into law over the past several years, there is a possibility that changes in the policy environment will influence rates of coverage against vaccine-preventable diseases in the future.”
The researchers found that the partisan divide persisted even after accounting for which party controlled a state’s legislature or governor’s office.
Infectious disease is agnostic
The increase in antivaccine legislation is partly attributable to GOP lawmakers seeking to appease constituents who espouse beliefs in medical freedom, individual autonomy, and parental rights, notes the press release. To this argument, Motta’s response is that infectious disease is agnostic.
Infectious disease has no sense of morality or religious creed…Vaccination is a way to take your freedom back from the pathogens that have caused sickness and death for all of human history.
“Nobody likes being told what to do. But our government has the ability and obligation to take actions that protect public health,” Motta says in the release. “To the many people who ground their opposition to vaccination in deeply held values, political views, religious beliefs, and more, I would say: infectious disease has no sense of morality or religious creed.”
“Taking action to protect yourself and others is one of the safest and most effective actions you can take to live your life the way you want it,” he adds. “Vaccination is a way to take your freedom back from the pathogens that have caused sickness and death for all of human history.”
