Complete Story
06/17/2021
Opponent Hearings on Anti-Vaccine Legislation Begin
Get the Details and Get Involved in OSMA Efforts
OSMA continues to participate in advocacy efforts in opposition to Ohio House Bill 248, a gravely concerning legislative proposal regarding vaccinations. Members of the Ohio House Health Committee heard from hundreds of anti-vaccine activists and other proponents in support of HB 248 in proponent hearings several weeks ago.
This Tuesday, the medical community had its first chance to dispel the myths and misinformation the committee heard from the proponents, as well as to emphasize the serious threat HB 248 poses to our critical public health framework. In the first opponent hearing against the bill, several witnesses provided in-person testimony before the committee at the Statehouse.
Additionally, after our email last week asking for OSMA members to help bolster our efforts by submitting written opponent testimonies for the hearing, many of you answered that call, and a total of nearly 200 individuals made their voices heard by sending in testimony. This is a steadfast, potent reminder of the collective power of our OSMA member community, and a brilliant example of what we can achieve by bringing physicians together for a healthier Ohio. OSMA is thankful for your incredible support.
There is still time to get involved! The Committee Chair’s office is still accepting written opponent testimonies for next Tuesday’s hearing. If you have not sent written testimony against HB 248 already, please see below for instructions on how to make your voice heard. The testimony MUST be submitted by you—OSMA cannot submit it on your behalf.
We need as many Ohio physicians as possible to submit written opponent testimony, in order to have another strong showing for public health!
To join the effort, please follow these instructions:
- We have created a TESTIMONY TEMPLATE (Word doc to download) for you to use. You may submit this as is, or use it as a starting point, and add more of your clinical perspective. Please make sure to add your name at the top of the document before submitting your testimony.
- To submit your testimony, please also fill out the top portion of this committee
WITNESS FORM and send both your testimony and the completed witness form (separate PDF) as attachments by email to Rep62@ohiohouse.gov. Your testimony will NOT be accepted without the witness slip! - For your testimony to be included for the June 22 hearing, please submit by Saturday, June 19 at 5pm.
If you would like some guidance on additional information to add to your testimony, we have compiled some optional supplemental information here. >
Please note that testimony submitted for legislative hearings becomes public record. If you have any questions about testimony submission, feel free to email the OSMA Government Relations team.
Additionally, over 2,000 messages have gone to elected officials through our VoterVoice call to action campaign against HB 248 since it launched last month. OSMA encourages all who can help to keep those messages coming.
