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Connecticut Democrats have laid out a disturbing immunization agenda for the 2026 legislative session.

It started with HB 5044, An Act Establishing Connecticut Vaccine Standards, which would:

• Remove the regulatory review process from adult vaccination policy;
• Transfer decision-making authority directly to a political appointee, the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health;
• Eliminate legislative oversight for future changes; and
• Establish a framework for an adult vaccine schedule to be set administratively.

Now Democrats have introduced SB 450, An Act Concerning the Standard of Care for Immunization, which would:

• Require the Commissioner of Public Health to create an official "standard of care" for immunizations;
• Expand vaccine coverage to everyone—adults, infants and children;
• Establish a "vaccines for adults" program whereby the state would provide free or low-cost vaccines to uninsured and underinsured individuals; and
• Ensure nursing home patients are immunized against respiratory viral diseases, including, but not limited to, influenza (annually) and pneumococcal disease.

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising part of SB 450 is the position on religious freedom.

The language of the bill indicates it would "provide appropriate exemptions for patients for whom such immunizations are medically contraindicated and for patients who object to such immunization on religious grounds."

But then you get to Line 368 / Sec. 15 (a)-(f), which pretty much says that enforcing the state's immunization requirements doesn't count as a violation of anyone's religious freedoms.

"In plain English, the bill is trying to write into law that there is no religious basis for objecting to vaccines in the state of Connecticut," warned Kate Prokop from Connecticut Residents Against Medical Mandates (CTRAMM). "The government would be declaring that no child and no adult in Connecticut can claim a religious objection to vaccines. That's not just bad policy. That is a direct attack on religious freedom."

Note that Connecticut already eliminated religious exemptions for school vaccinations in 2021.

The timing of the bill is not a coincidence: it was introduced after Attorney Lindy Urso's vaccine lawsuit, which was originally filed in 2022 and relies on Connecticut's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, survived yet another challenge of dismissal from Attorney General William Tong's office.

"By writing into law that vaccine standards cannot be challenged on religious grounds, the legislature would be attempting to fundamentally change the legal framework governing the very issues currently being litigated," Prokop said. "To many observers, it appears as though lawmakers are attempting to alter the rules of the game in the middle of the game itself."

"Whether one agrees or disagrees with vaccine mandates, that type of legislative maneuver raises serious questions about fairness, due process, and respect for the judicial system," said Prokop.

CTRAMM has organized an easy way to email the Public Health Committee about these bills.

Word on the street is that there will be a Public Hearing on March 11 for HB 5044, but we haven't seen it listed on the Public Health Committee's website yet.

Prokop warned if SB 540 becomes law, "it won't just affect one policy debate. It sets a precedent that the government can simply decide that religious objections don't count whenever they become inconvenient."

"That is now how religious freedom is supposed to work in this country," asserted Prokop.

We couldn't agree more.

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