Observing the Trump administration contest a federal court decision regarding childhood vaccines is almost ironic, given that every legal move in Washington appears to be subtly upholding what Connecticut recently passed into law. It’s hard to ignore the timing. The Department of Health and Human Services filed a motion to expedite its appeal of the March ruling that blocked Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s overhaul of childhood vaccine recommendations just days after Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill 5044. It’s difficult to argue that the goal of undermining trust in federal health guidelines is being achieved, at least not in Hartford.
In a written statement, Commissioner Manisha Juthani made it clear. Connecticut will not back down from decades of real-world data when federal leadership does. She was not being ostentatious. Kennedy’s order to lower the number of recommended childhood vaccinations from 17 to 11—reducing recommendations for the flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some strains of meningitis, and RSV—was temporarily blocked by US District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy’s decision on March 16. These are not experimental therapies. These vaccines have been shown to be safe for decades. They are currently the focus of a federal lawsuit.
HB 5044 accomplishes a subtly important goal. It requires the state’s public health commissioner to determine Connecticut’s vaccination requirements rather than relying on the CDC’s recommendations at any given time. That may sound bureaucratic, but it’s an important distinction given the current situation. The Connecticut Vaccine Program will now adhere to the state’s Department of Public Health standards of care rather than just following federal guidelines. Connecticut still has a floor when federal guidelines vanish or are abruptly changed by political appointees. That’s a big deal.
Legislators may not have fully anticipated passing a bill that would appear prophetic almost instantly. The Public Health Committee scheduled the end of public comment for just after midnight, which prevented the majority of the 550 registered speakers from taking the podium. The bill passed the House 89–60 and the Senate 22–12, but it wasn’t exactly a landslide. It’s still an awkward detail. However, difficult procedures can result in long-lasting legislation, and this one might end up being more resilient than its detractors anticipated.
There have been previous encounters with vaccine politics in Connecticut. In 2023, a federal appeals court rejected claims that the state’s 2021 decision to remove the religious exemption from school vaccination requirements violated equal protection or First Amendment rights. The plaintiffs promised to appeal to the Supreme Court. The law was never significantly altered by that case. The pattern appears to be recurring: a legal challenge, a legal defeat, and the law’s continued existence, possibly strengthened by its ability to withstand scrutiny.
As this develops, it seems as though Connecticut isn’t at all at the center of the larger narrative. It concerns the effects of unstable federal agencies on public health infrastructure. The advisory group ACIP, whose entire prior membership was dismissed by Kennedy, has yet to convene. The committee is in a state of institutional and legal limbo, but its next meeting is set for June 24–26. The government has always had the authority to reinstate a legitimate ACIP at any time, according to AAP President Andrew Racine. The fact that it hasn’t is a decision rather than a barrier.
Connecticut made its own decision. Whether one agrees with every provision of HB 5044 or not, the state is at least operating from a position of institutional stability. And each time Washington files another appeal, that stability looks a little less like stubbornness and a little more like foresight.
