FILE - A syringe lies next to vials of COVID-19 booster vaccines at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
HELENA, Mont. — Legislators heard a bill on Friday that would make Montana the first state to ban the use of mRNA vaccines.
House bill 371, sponsored by State Rep. Greg Kmetz (R-Miles City) and introduced alongside a dozen other Republicans, would ban the use of mRNA vaccinations on humans, and provide for misdemeanors to be issued to violators.
According to Johns Hopkins, gene-based vaccines include those to protect against Covid-19, and vaccine manufacturers are developing mRNA vaccines to protect against other respiratory viruses.
Friday’s hearing on the bill in House Judiciary lasted well over two hours, with proponents arguing these vaccines have caused short term side-effects and could have long-term impacts that are unknown, and that they could shed to others.
“Gene-based vaccines, or mRNA vaccines, are the most destructive and lethal medical products that have ever been used in human history. I am asking you to support this bill banning gene-based vaccines so we can halt continued harm, disability, and death of our citizens,” said Christine Drivdahl-Smith, a family physician in Miles City and volunteer board member of Montana Medical Freedom Alliance.
The other organizations voicing opposition was the Montana Family Foundation. A dozen other people spoke in their personal capacity against the bill, several of which work in the healthcare industry. This included pharmacists, nurses, and an obstetrician.
“mRNA vaccines are still in their infancy, we do not yet fully understand the long-term consequences of introducing synthetic genetic material into the human body,” said Derek Oestreicher, chief legal counsel for the Montana Family Foundation. “And the rush to roll out these vaccines without adequate long-term studies has left many individuals questioning the wisdom of their own medical choices. This is especially true for those who felt forced or coerced into taking the vaccines due to mandates, social pressures, or threats to their employment.”
Opponents, including the state medical officer, say the bill includes inaccurate information, and that the vaccines can’t shed to others because they don’t include live viruses. They also argue the vaccines have undergone rigorous research and are an emerging and important factor in battling infectious diseases, and the state already provides easily available vaccine exemptions, including for schoolchildren.
“The statement that mRNA vaccines can integrate into the human genome and be passed onto the next generation is false. There’s no evidence for that. Second, mRNA vaccines do not shed. Shedding occurs with attenuated live virus vaccines,” said state medical officer Douglas Harrington. “The mRNA technology and gene-based technology, the way the bill is written, is adding a massive impact on our ability to treat diseases that we have not been able to treat or prevent before. These are things like tuberculosis, malaria, zika, the rapidly mutating influenza viruses.”
“House Bill 371 would impact existing vaccines such as hepatitis b, hpv, and would impact cancer treatment care such as pancreatic, lung, prostate, and brain cancer. mRNA vaccines are promising and powerful immunotherapeutic platform against cancer,” said Heather O’Hara, vice-president of the Montana Hospital Association.
Other opponents represented the tribes of the Blackfeet, Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy Reservations, the Montana Nurses Association, Montana Families for Vaccines, the Montana Medical Association, the Montana Chapter of the American Society of Pediatrics, the Montana Pharmacy Association, Health Quest, the Montana BioScience Alliance, and the BioTechnology Innovation Organization. Among those speaking in their personal capacity was Sophia Newcomer, an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Montana.
Under the bill, anyone who is found to administer a gene-based vaccine to a human in Montana is subject to a $500 dollar fine for each incident, and would have their professional license reviewed.
A legal review note says the bill could be in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause.