“This is not a scientific bill,” she said last month. “This is a freedom bill.”
Several public health experts have warned in interviews that the legislation will likely lead to sagging vaccination rates, and in turn, outbreaks of infectious disease.
In the last two weeks, Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud, and ODH Medical Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff declined to comment on the legislation.
At a press call last week, a physician joined Vanderhoff for a largely unrelated press conference encouraging vaccination against COVID-19. When asked by a reporter about the bill, she didn’t share Vanderhoff’s reticence.
Ohio Capital Journal
Supporters crammed into the House Health Committee room June 8 in support of House Bill 248, which weakens state vaccination laws. Photo by Jake Zuckerman.
A doctor warned that vaccinated people might be magnetized and pose a health risk to unvaccinated people around them.
A pastor said vaccines contain ingredients like formaldehyde and fetal cells.
A nurse sought to prove the truth of “magnetic vaccine crystals.”
These statements none of which are true came during the Ohio House Health Committee’s review Tuesday of House Bill 248, a broad weakening of state vaccination laws. The five-hour hearing, limited to proponent testimony, devolved into a forum of fear-stoking, speculation, and conspiracy theorizing around the COVID-19 vaccines.
Overall, more than 136 million people about 41% of the US population are fully vaccinated, and about 51% have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to CDC data.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has announced that Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud signed an order rescinding multiple COVID-19-related health o