Stop New York Bill Barring Unvaxxed Kids From Summer Camps

A dangerous vote in the Senate Health Committee is happening Tuesday, May 12.

On the Friday before Mother’s Day weekend, New York state senators advanced S3958A, a bill requiring all summer camps to ban unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children from participation. A version of this Senate bill has already passed in the New York State Assembly.

We must stop this Senate version!

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

1. Make two phone calls:

• Call Health Committee Chair Senator Gustavo Rivera at 518-455-3395.
  (If that message inbox is full, call 718-933-2034 instead.)
  Tell Senator Rivera to remove S3958A from the agenda for the May 12 Health Committee meeting.

• Call Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins at 518-455-2715.
  (If that message inbox is full, call 914-423-4031 instead.)
  Tell Stewart-Cousins she must not bring this bill to the Senate floor.

2. Complete the form below to email NY Governor Hochul and your NY state senator.

3. Call your NY state senator and tell them to VOTE NO ON S3958A!

Senator James Skoufis and Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz are trying to do more favors for the vaccine industry with S3958A/A3254a, which will require children who attend summer camp to be up-to-date with the required vaccine schedule. This is another authoritarian bill that undermines parental and religious rights for no discernible public health benefit.

TALKING POINTS

• This bill will close camps that exist for the benefit of homeschooled and unvaccinated children.

• It would also place a considerable administrative burden on camps.

• Only one other state, California, requires all campers to be up-to-date with the school schedule.

• In 2019, New York became one of only five states that do not allow religious exemptions to vaccines. This bill just adds to the needless and unjust discrimination against people with religious beliefs that preclude some or all vaccinations.

• Medical exemptions are technically allowed in New York, but they are nearly impossible to get. New York has the lowest rate of medical exemptions of any state, according to the CDC.