Congressman Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, joined fellow Republican Congressman Ted Budd in introducing the “Vaccinate More Americans Act” on Thursday, a bill that aims to lift regulations to allow more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered.
The bill introduced by the Republican pair would allow vaccine providers to administer leftover COVID-19 vaccines to individuals eligible to receive the vaccine in the following phased allocation group, instead of letting the doses “go to waste.”
In a statement issued Thursday, Garcia’s office said that the bill was prompted by reports nationwide that COVID-19 vaccines were being allowed to expire because of “unclear state and local rules and regulations.”
“I am concerned by the reports I have seen that COVID-19 vaccines are not being distributed due to state and local government red tape,” Garcia said in Thursday’s statement. “These burdensome rules and regulations are further slowing our ability to swiftly and safely open our country back up. I’m proud to work with Rep. Budd to introduce this sensible policy that would ensure COVID-19 vaccines go to Americans, not sit in freezers.”
Earlier this week, the Representatives sent a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield calling on the CDC to issue guidance to states like California and New York where burdensome state and local vaccine regulations are resulting in wasted COVID-19 vaccines.
See Related: Garcia Sends Letter Requesting CDC Vaccine Guidelines
“It’s outrageous that states are wasting COVID-19 vaccines at a time when so many people need them,” Budd said in Thursday’s statement. “These overly-strict regulations should not stand in the way of vaccinating as many Americans as possible, as quickly as possible. Rep. Garcia and I have a common-sense solution that cuts red tape and makes vaccine waste is a thing of the past.”
The “Vaccinate More Americans Act’ would allow vaccine providers to administer leftover vaccines to individuals eligible to receive the vaccine “under circumstances where it is reasonably necessary to prevent the expiration of any dose of vaccine for COVID-19 purchased from the federal government.”
The bill would also allow vaccine providers to “disregard any existing state or local law to the contrary that prohibits them from administering leftover vaccines to individuals not in the current phased allocation group.”
The provisions in the bill would then sunset at the end of the public health emergency.
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