Bill > A845

Introduced Session

This bill prohibits State, county, and local government entities, as well as public and private child care centers, preschool programs, elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education, from mandating that any person be immunized against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The restriction will not apply to health care workers or individuals employed by or providing services at a licensed health care facility who are required to receive the immunization as a condition of working with a medically-vulnerable population. The bill additionally provides that any requirement that health care workers and other individuals working or providing services at a licensed health care facility be vaccinated against COVID-19 will be subject to State and federal laws and health care facility policies that apply to other vaccines that are required for health care workers and other vaccines that are required as a condition of working or providing services at a health care facility, including any exemptions that apply when a vaccine is medically-contraindicated for the individual or when the individual objects to the vaccine based on sincerely-held religious belief. The bill further requires the Department of Health (DOH) to establish a program to reimburse health care workers and other individuals who are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for out-of-pocket costs. To be eligible for reimbursement, the individual will be required to certify to the DOH: (1) the actual out-of-pocket costs incurred by the individual; (2) that all or part of the cost of the vaccine is not covered by health insurance; (3) that the individual's employer will not cover any portion of the cost of the vaccine that is not covered by health insurance; (4) that the out-of-pocket costs incurred are not a copay, coinsurance, or other cost sharing imposed by the individual's health insurer; and (5) that the out-of-pocket costs of the vaccine represent an undue financial burden to the individual. A person who submits a false certification will be required to repay to the DOH the full amount of any reimbursement received from the program, and will be liable to a civil penalty of up to $1,000, to be collected by and in the name of the DOH. Although several vaccines against COVID-19 have shown promise in preventing against the spread of the disease, the development of COVID-19 vaccines has proceeded at an unprecedented pace, and the vaccines first being made available to the general public have not completed the full process ordinarily mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure the safety of new drugs and devices for human use. It is the sponsor's belief that, until there is a fuller record concerning the safety, effectiveness, and long-term effects of the COVID-19 vaccines being made available to the general public, these vaccines should not be made mandatory outside of certain health care settings.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Vicky Flynn (R)*,  Gerry Scharfenberger (R)*,  Dawn Fantasia (R),  Michael Inganamort (R),  Greg McGuckin (R),  Erik Peterson (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document