Republican State Rep. Charley Thomson has introduced legislation aimed at restoring what medical freedom advocates would call true accountability to vaccine manufacturers operating in the state.
House File 2287 would prohibit a vaccine from being distributed, sold or administered in Iowa unless the manufacturer affirmatively waives immunity from lawsuits for injuries arising from a design defect. That includes immunity granted under the federal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.
The bill further states that any manufacturer distributing a vaccine in Iowa would be deemed to have waived such immunity.
The effort intends to address a long-standing imbalance created by the 1986 federal law, which shields vaccine manufacturers from most design-defect lawsuits and instead routes injury claims through a federal compensation program.
No other pharmaceutical product enjoys the same level of liability protection.
To be clear, the proposal is about consumer protection and equal treatment under the law — not banning vaccines.
If manufacturers decline to waive federal immunity, vaccines could not legally be distributed in Iowa under the bill’s language.
A subcommittee is scheduled for the bill on Feb. 17 at 12:30 p.m. Members of the subcommittee include Republican Reps. Craig Williams and Thomson as well as Democrat Rep. Angel Ramirez.
