{"id":2596551,"date":"2026-04-29T09:14:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/connecticut-democrats-move-bills-to-force-vaccines-on-unwilling-residents\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T09:21:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:21:43","slug":"connecticut-democrats-move-bills-to-force-vaccines-on-unwilling-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/connecticut-democrats-move-bills-to-force-vaccines-on-unwilling-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecticut Democrats Move Bills To Force Vaccines On Unwilling"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fconnecticut-democrats-move-bills-to-force-vaccines-on-unwilling-residents%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2596551&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Connecticut\u2019s Democratic-controlled legislature has passed HB 5044,teh \u201cAn Act Establishing Connecticut Vaccine Standards,\u201d sending it to Gov. Ned Lamont for signature. Backers say the bill preserves residents\u2019 access to vaccines and bases immunization standards on medical consensus rather then politics. Republicans and critics argue it functions as an \u201canti-freedom\u201d vaccine mandate.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters point to provisions that expand the state <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-to-show-lockdowns-are-killing-more-people-than-the-virus\/\" title=\"How To Show Lockdowns Are Killing More ... Than The Virus\">public health<\/a> commissioner\u2019s authority to set immunization standards (\u201cstandard of care\u201d), require health insurance coverage for vaccines that meet those standards, strengthen nursing-home vaccine protections, and allow the commissioner to issue \u201cstanding orders\u201d authorizing interventions (including vaccinations) during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/idaho-churchgoers-sue-police-city-government-after-being-arrested-for-not-wearing-masks-outside\/\" title=\"Idaho Churchgoers Sue Police, City ...ernment After Being Arrested For Not Wearing Masks Outside\">public health emergencies<\/a>. The bill also expands the state\u2019s ability to buy and distribute vaccines.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >major controversy involves religious exemptions<\/a>. The bill states that Connecticut\u2019s Religious Freedom restoration Act does not apply to specific <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iowa-lawmakers-advance-bill-banning-vax-mandates-for-daycares-schools\/\" title=\"Iowa Lawmakers Advance ... Banning Vax Mandates for Daycares, Schools\">school vaccine requirements<\/a>, effectively reinforcing an earlier ban on religious exemptions amid ongoing legal challenges. Legislators said the goal is to \u201cclarify\u201d the state\u2019s position for the courts and eliminate loopholes, while GOP leaders objected, arguing the legislature is trying to influence the outcome of litigation.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans also say amendments they offered-such as protections for physicians from liability if patients refuse recommended care, and limits on discrimination by employers or insurers against people who decline \u201cstandard of care\u201d vaccines-were rejected. critics warn the measure could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/help-prevent-dementia-with-this-simple-habit\/\" title=\"Help Prevent Dementia With This Simple Habit\">affect everyday life<\/a> across workplaces and education settings.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The supermajority Democratic legislature of Connecticut has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsday.com\/news\/nation\/connecticut-vaccine-recommendations-bill-q60317\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> a radical \u201cvaccine standards\u201d bill in an apparent display of power directed at President Donald Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis legislation ensures that our state immunization standards are grounded in the consensus professional judgment of the nation\u2019s leading medical and public health practitioners, not the ideological agenda of the Trump regime,\u201d State Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcconnecticut.com\/news\/local\/connecticut-senate-passes-bill-preserving-states-vaccine-standards\/3728994\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> Thursday following passage of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cga.ct.gov\/2026\/FC\/PDF\/2026HB-05044-R000405-FC.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HB 5044<\/a>, \u201cAn Act Establishing Connecticut Vaccine Standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fiercely debated bill now heads to Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont for signature.<\/p>\n<p>While Democrats are insisting the bill does not mandate any vaccines \u2014 but will simply ensure all Connecticut residents have access to them \u2014 State Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sampsonforct\/status\/2048027652330607086\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rob Sampson<\/a>, R-Cheshire, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sampsonforct\/status\/2047394368814776421\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> it out Thursday as an \u201canti-freedom vaccine mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re trying to actually send a message to Connecticut residents, particularly Connecticut residents that value freedom: gun owners, homeschoolers, people concerned about religious freedom,\u201d he explained on Newsmax. \u201cAnd they\u2019re sending a message to them that they\u2019re just not welcome in our state, and that\u2019s why we keep seeing these bills one after another, just empowering the government and basically making a threat to people that value liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Pushing Vaccines<\/h2>\n<p>According to Bill Track 50\u2019s \u201cAI Summary\u201d of the legislation, its key provisions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billtrack50.com\/billdetail\/1963562\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">include<\/a> expanding the power of the unelected commissioner of public health to \u201cestablish the standard of care for immunization for residents of this state;\u201d requiring \u201chealth insurance policies to cover immunizations within the established standard of care;\u201d updating \u201cregulations for nursing homes to ensure residents are protected by adequate immunization against respiratory viral diseases;\u201d establishing that \u201creligious freedom protections do not apply to certain vaccine requirements;\u201d and introducing a \u201c\u2019standing order\u2019 provision allowing the commissioner to authorize medical interventions, including vaccinations, during public health emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the bill will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfsb.com\/2026\/04\/21\/connecticut-lawmakers-debate-bills-expand-vaccine-authority-strengthen-religious-exemption-ban\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expand<\/a> the state\u2019s power to buy and distribute vaccines, a provision that is apparently based on Democrats\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcconnecticut.com\/news\/local\/democrats-pledge-support-vaccine-access-face-backlash-parents\/3642768\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fears<\/a> that the Trump administration will not make vaccines available to those Americans who want them.<\/p>\n<h2>Big Pharma Backing<\/h2>\n<p>The legislation is primarily based on the vaccine recommendations of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lumennews14.substack.com\/p\/watch-lawsuit-alleges-aap-defrauded\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Big Pharma-funded<\/a> American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), as well as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).<\/p>\n<p>In June 2025, The Washington Post reported that the coalition of establishment medical associations had <a href=\"https:\/\/lumennews14.substack.com\/p\/establishment-medical-groups-organize\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">organized<\/a> with pharmacists and vaccine manufacturers with the intention of working to maintain their influence over national health care policy.<\/p>\n<p>The move was a response to Kennedy\u2019s establishment of a new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), <a href=\"https:\/\/lumennews14.substack.com\/p\/us-sen-bill-cassidy-calls-for-delay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">charged<\/a> with studying and reevaluating the efficacy and safety of individual vaccines.<\/p>\n<h2>No Religious Exemptions<\/h2>\n<p>In an effort to emphasize the Democrats\u2019 prior elimination of religious exemptions from vaccines in schools, they also inserted a provision in the bill that asserts Connecticut\u2019s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) does not apply to school vaccine requirements.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, in July 2025, AAP issued a policy <a href=\"https:\/\/lumennews14.substack.com\/p\/pediatrics-group-calls-for-scrapping\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a> that touted the organization would push for an end to all religious exemptions from vaccines, referring to them as \u201ccontrary to optimal individual and public health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The legislature\u2019s Public Health Committee co-Chair Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, <a href=\"https:\/\/ctmirror.org\/2026\/04\/21\/lamont-ct-vaccine-bill-hb-5044-draws-heated-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">addressed<\/a> her party\u2019s intention to double down on the religious exemption ban when she declared that, for the first time, the Connecticut legislature was voting to create a clarification to the state\u2019s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).<\/p>\n<p>The reason for the \u201cclarification\u201d seems related to the fact that the Connecticut Supreme Court is in the midst of reviewing a claim made by two families who filed a challenge to the state\u2019s religious exemption ban in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Public Health Committee Ranking Member Nicole Klarides-Ditria, R-Seymour, asked during floor debate whether the Democrat-led administration and legislature are \u201cworried it might lose ongoing litigation over vaccine mandates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As CT Mirror <a href=\"https:\/\/ctmirror.org\/2026\/04\/21\/lamont-ct-vaccine-bill-hb-5044-draws-heated-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, made note that Attorney General William Tong was indeed concerned that the state might lose the constitutional challenge.<\/p>\n<p>Ritter reportedly said the additional provision in the vaccine legislation that changes RFRA was an attempt to inform \u201cthe court, that in 2021 we meant what we said, which is there\u2019s no religious exemption available for vaccines.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday we have the ability to be exquisitely clear with the court, and with all the plaintiffs, and everyone in the state,\u201d McCarthy Vahey also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfsb.com\/2026\/04\/21\/connecticut-lawmakers-debate-bills-expand-vaccine-authority-strengthen-religious-exemption-ban\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declared<\/a>. \u201cThis is what we are doing as a legislature: we are creating no daylight in that religious exemption question.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWhat this does today is make very clear that we, as a legislature, or as a state, continue to say we are not going to offer a religious exemption,\u201d said Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SQDMpiu3RH\">https:\/\/t.co\/SQDMpiu3RH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Connecticut Post (@connpost) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/connpost\/status\/2046740833815138742?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But GOP Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-Northford, objected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we are attempting to do today is block a lawsuit to allow people to have appropriate redress for legislation they believe was unconstitutionally passed,\u201d Candelora asserted. \u201cThe legislature is going to come in and try to interfere with the judicial branch and change the outcome of the lawsuit regarding that legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p>\u2014 Senator Rob Sampson (@sampsonforct) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sampsonforct\/status\/2048027652330607086?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Democrats\u2019 bill is expected to have far-reaching implications in the everyday lives of physicians and patients in Connecticut. Republican amendments to the legislation were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsday.com\/news\/nation\/connecticut-vaccine-recommendations-bill-q60317\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rejected<\/a>, including one to protect doctors from lawsuits should their patients refuse the \u201cstandard of care\u201d vaccines, and another to ban discrimination by employers and health insurers against Connecticut residents who choose not to receive the vaccines that are considered the \u201cstandard of care\u201d by the AAP coalition.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Amber Webster, press secretary for Connecticut Residents Against Medical Mandates, said: \u201cUnfortunately, they\u2019re making it as hard as possible for people to circumvent this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are setting up the framework for workplace mandates, tying this to insurance plans, making sure that it\u2019s tied to K through 12 education, preschool, day cares \u2014 everything will be affected \u2014 and parents and residents of Connecticut are going to have to make some difficult decisions to circumvent the super majority,\u201d Webster said.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Susan Berry, Ph.D., is an independent journalist who has worked for Breitbart News and CatholicVote and now writes for Lumen-News.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Connecticut Democrats pass a \u201cvaccine standards\u201d bill, seen as targeting Trump and HHS RFK Jr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4270,"featured_media":2596552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3342516884_250e3678dc_h-e1777313556615.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[9991,3685,4762,32068,4031],"class_list":["post-2596551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-connecticut","tag-democrats","tag-legislation","tag-public-health","tag-vaccines"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3342516884_250e3678dc_h-e1777313556615.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4270"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2596551"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2596560,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596551\/revisions\/2596560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2596552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2596551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2596551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2596551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}