URGENT!  Oppose Washington Senate Bill 5982,
a bill proposing a radical change to the definition of “Vaccine”

  1. Your comments and testimony are needed by January 12, 2024!

  2. A Hearing is set for January 12, 2024, at 8:00 a.m., in the Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care!

The Washington state legislature is fast-tracking a new bill which would radically expand the state’s definition of what a “vaccine” is, SB 5982. Currently the definition covers traditional vaccine technologies.

The bill changes the state-chartered Washington Vaccine Association’s (WVA) definition of “vaccines” for minors, which would allow any product approved by the FDA to be considered a vaccine. This would not only allow gene-therapy-like products like the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, but any other technology approved by the FDA, to be state-funded for, and given to, all Washington children.

Under current Washington state law for the WVA, a “vaccine” is defined as:

“a preparation of killed or attenuated living microorganisms, or fraction thereof, that upon administration stimulates immunity that protects against disease” and is approved by the FDA for kids.

The language of SB 5982 changes this definition of “Vaccine” to the following:

An “immunization approved by the federal food and drug administration as safe and effective and recommended by the advisory committee on immunization practices of the centers for disease control and prevention for administration to children under the age of nineteen years.”

In addition to opening the door to any new technologies that come along, this bill also effectively transfers power from the state of Washington to the FDA and Washington D.C. We urge you to let this committee know that you oppose this radical change in state law.

This bill was introduced on January 8, and then immediately set for a hearing before the Health & Long-Term Care Committee hearing on January 12, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. This hearing is a key step in the process of the bill becoming law.

Citizens may give input on SB 5982 by submitting comments or signing up to testify in-person or virtually. Our suggested comments are included below.             

  1. Citizens may give input on SB 5982 by submitting comments or signing up to testify in-person or virtually. Our suggested comments are included below. To submit comments, click on this link. These are due by the end of the day on January 12, but the sooner your comments are submitted the better!

  2. To testify in-person or virtually you must sign up at least one hour before the hearing—you can do this by clicking on this link. Then select the January 12 hearing, use the drop-down menu to check the box for SB 5982, and follow the instructions for signing up. You have the option to create an account, but you don’t need to do so in order to testify.

Suggested Comments

My name is (Your name), and I live in the state of Washington. I am writing to strongly oppose SB 5982. This bill radically changes the state-chartered Washington Vaccine Association’s definition of “vaccines” for minors, which would allow any product approved by the FDA to be considered a vaccine.  

This would not only allow gene-therapy-like products like the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, but any other technology approved by the FDA to be state-funded for, and given to, all Washington children. With many new types of technology in the research pipeline, we have no idea what future pharmaceuticals might be considered a “vaccine” in Washington state under this bill.  

The bill also subverts our state rights, as it delegates the definition of vaccine to unelected regulators in Washington D.C.  

I urge you to oppose SB 5982!  

Sincerely,  

Your name  
Street address    
Town/City