House Bill 3336 by Representative Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) requires information on pertussis and pertussis vaccination be provided to all parents of newborns in hospitals, including the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion (CDC) recommendation that all parents of newborns receive the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vac- cine. Gov. Rick Perry signed the bill, and it took effect immediately.
TMA helped to achieve another “clear
victory for public health,” according to Dr. Terk, when the governor signed Sen- ate Bill 1107 by Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) in May. It requires new college students to be vaccinated against menin- gococcal disease before entering college, regardless of whether they live on or off campus. “The previous law only required me- ningococcal immunization for students living in residence halls or dormitories. The death of a college student who was living in an apartment off campus from meningococcal disease this past year highlighted the need to expand the re- quirement,” Dr. Terk said. Dr. Avila Edwards commends all of the physicians and TMA staff members who dedicated significant time to medi- cine’s state legislative advocacy efforts. “Although there were defeats and set- backs, the amazing effort and dedication I saw this session from so many needs to continue for public health measures to move forward next session,” she said.
Other issues Unfortunately, some public health-relat- ed bills didn’t survive the session. Senate Bill 1177 by Senator Nelson, which or- dered health care facilities’ to establish a policy on health care worker vaccination to protect patients from disease, passed the Senate and the House Committee on Public Health but never reached the House floor for a vote. Legislators passed the bill in the spe- cial session, however, as part of Senate Bill 7.
The legislation says the vaccination policy must:
• Require workers to be vaccinated based on the level of risk they pres-
August 2011 TEXAS MEDICINE 45
ent to patients by their routine and direct exposure to patients;
• Specify required vaccines for covered individuals;
• Include procedures for verifying whether an employee has complied with the policy; and
• Include procedures for health care workers to be exempt from the re- quired vaccines for the medical con- ditions identified as contraindications or precautions by CDC.
The law defines those who must be vaccinated as an employee of a health care facility; someone providing direct patient care under a contract with the facility; or someone to whom the facility has granted privileges to provide direct care. SB 7 says those exempt from the policy must follow procedures speci- fied by the health care facility to protect patients from exposure to disease, such as using protective medical equipment, such as gloves and masks.
The policy may include, but doesn’t
require, procedures to exempt a person from the required vaccines based on rea- sons of conscience, including a religious belief.
Lawmakers also failed to pass during
the regular session Senate bills 185, 186, 224, and 225 — all related to obesity prevention. Senator Nelson authored the bills.
SB 224 would have established a
program to recognize schools that im- plement successful coordinated school health programs, improve fitness assess- ment results, and demonstrate active school health advisory councils (SHACs). SB 225 would have required school dis- tricts’ campus improvement plans to include strategies to comply with the Texas school nutrition policy and would have required SHACs’ reports to add a summary of the districts’ compliance with the PE requirements. SB 185 would have increased the required daily physical activity for stu-
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