By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — There was lots of opposition Thursday to a bill that would remove Hepatitis B from the list of diseases for which immunization is required to attend school and child care centers in New Hampshire, though there are medical and religious exemptions.
One person who testified before the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services in support of the bill was Carmella Potenza, the daughter of the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Kelley Potenza, R-Rochester. Carmella Potenza said she is a “victim” of the Hep B shot she received at birth.
She said she has had many medical procedures and her parents have paid over $125,000 for her care.
During the hearing, neither Carmella Potenza, nor her mother or any physician offered medical proof that the vaccine caused her chronic health problems.
Hepatitis B is a highly contagious virus that is transmitted through blood. Without intervention, 90% of infected infants develop chronic, lifelong infection.
Hepatitis B used to be a bigger problem before vaccines were available, the committee was told.
The state allows unvaccinated children to attend school and day care under religious or medical waivers, according to Dr. Jonathan Ballard, the state’s chief medical officer who testified in opposition to the bill.
House Bill 1719 passed the lower chamber on a vote of 186-168, largely along partisan lines.
A separate bill, HB 1811, which would have eliminated all immunization requirements for children, died in the House in February.
House Bill 1719 comes after an immunization policy committee of the federal Centers for Disease Control voted 8-3 to end any recommendation on vaccinations at birth.
The bill has no Democratic sponsors.
State Rep. Robert J. Wherry, R-Hudson, supports the bill and said it is not an anti-vaccine bill.
“I am for proper, informed consent,” he said.
Trina Ingelfinger, early care and policy director for New Futures, said passage of the bill could place the state in jeopardy of losing $40 million in federal funds every year.
Maria Braley, a doctor at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, said the bill “places statutory policy at odds with what is clinical best practices.”
Dr. Julie Kim, a pediatric oncologist, said the vaccination is an “anti cancer immunization,” and that no one wants to see children suffer from liver cancer.
The fiscal impact note on the bill reads: “This bill removes Hepatitis B from the list of vaccines required for children in the state. The direct fiscal impact of the bill is in the form of reduced expenditures for vaccine purchases, estimated at $20,000 in FY27 (since some doses will have already been ordered prior to the effective date of the bill) and $82,000 in subsequent years.
“Such purchases are funded through an assessment on insurers through the NH Vaccine Association, and so the assessment would presumably decrease by the same amounts. The Department (of Health and Human Services) notes that some purchases would continue to occur, to be dispensed on a voluntary basis based on shared clinical decisions between physicians and their patient’s parent or legal guardian.
“For informational purposes, the Department states that there may be indirect costs resulting from investigations and emergency response activities should the lack of mandated vaccines for Hepatitis B result in increased outbreaks. The Department estimates a range of $100,000 to $350,000 per outbreak, and notes that multiple outbreaks per year are possible.”
No vote was taken on the bill after the hearing.
Correction: This version is corrected to say: During the hearing, neither Carmella Potenza, nor her mother or any physician offered medical proof that the vaccine caused her chronic health problems.