A bill that temporarily allows New Mexico to formulate its own immunization policy was signed Wednesday by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Senate Bill 3, which passed on a party-line vote during last week’s special session but had not yet been acted upon by Lujan Grisham, requires that immunization policy for children and the state purchase of vaccines be based on New Mexico Department of Health or American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines rather than those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It also mandates that adult immunization recommendations be based on standards from medical organizations other than the CDC. The changes in the bill sunset in July.
In an executive message on Senate Bill 3, Lujan Grisham claimed the revisions are necessary after the Department of Health and Human Services failed to adopt new CDC guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccine in a timely manner, just before the season for high rates of respiratory illnesses, such as the Flu and COVID-19, begins.
The message stated that because Senate Bill 3 lacked an emergency clause, the state had been preparing a public health order to ensure vaccine access before the law takes effect in 90 days. However, the order became unnecessary after the CDC issued its updated COVID-19 vaccine guidelines on Monday.