Gov.
Gov. Ned Lamont signed legislation decoupling Connecticut’s vaccine standards from the Trump-overhauled federal immunization advisory committee
The law preserves pharmacists’ ability to administer vaccines, requires insurers to keep covering their cost, and establishes a free flu vaccine pilot program for uninsured residents
Connecticut has reported zero measles cases in 2026 even as outbreaks continue to spread across other states
Legislation protecting Connecticut’s vaccine standards from the Trump regime’s overhaul of immunization policy has been signed into law, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday, shielding vaccine access from federal agencies medical experts warn have abandoned science.
The legislation, House Bill 5044, removes an existing statutory requirement that Connecticut’s immunization standards automatically track recommendations made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, known as ACIP.
The Trump regime last year dismissed all 17 sitting members of that committee and replaced them with new appointees, several of whom have been linked to the vaccine skepticism movement.
“At a time when national vaccine guidance faces growing uncertainty, these changes empower doctors to make decisions based on evidence and to give families the reliable information they deserve,” Lamont said in a press release.
Beyond decoupling from ACIP, the new law ensures that pharmacists in Connecticut can continue administering vaccines and that state-regulated individual and group insurance plans must keep covering their cost. The bill also establishes a voluntary adult flu vaccine pilot program to help uninsured or underinsured patients access flu vaccines at no cost.
The legislation was passed by both the House and Senate during sessions last week after receiving a public hearing in the legislature’s Public Health Committee in March. Sen. Saud Anwar, a doctor who serves as co-chair of the panel, said that federal policy shifts had upended decades of standard, accepted practices.
“This bill is simply making sure Connecticut knows where it stands, adopting a new standard where state residents can rest assured they can get access to any vaccination needed or desired by themselves and their families,” Anwar, D-South Windsor, said.
Connecticut has benefited from some of the highest childhood vaccination rates in the country. According to the CDC, 98.2% of kindergarteners received measles, mumps and rubella vaccines in 2024 - 2025.
The contrast with other states has sharpened in recent months. Utah health officials confirmed 602 measles cases in an ongoing outbreak, more than 400 of which occurred since Jan. 1.
Nearly 50 people have been hospitalized, and 85% of those infected were unvaccinated, according to state data.
Nationally, 1,714 confirmed measles cases have been reported across 17 separate outbreaks in 2026, according to the CDC. About 92% of this year’s cases nationally involved people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.
By Hugh McQuaid
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