BILL REQ. #:  S-0415.2 

Read first time 01/22/09.   Referred to Committee on Health & Long-Term Care.

     AN ACT Relating to vaccines; and amending RCW 70.95M.115 and 70.95M.100.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 70.95M.115 and 2007 c 268 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Beginning July 1, 2007, a person who is known to be pregnant or who is under three years of age shall not be vaccinated with a mercury-containing vaccine or injected with a mercury-containing product that contains more than 0.5 micrograms of mercury per 0.5 milliliter dose.
     (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, an influenza vaccine may contain up to 1.0 micrograms of mercury per 0.5 milliliter dose.
     (3) The secretary of the department of health may, upon the secretary's or local public health officer's declaration of an outbreak of vaccine-preventable disease or of a shortage of vaccine that complies with subsection (1) or (2) of this section, suspend the requirements of this section for the duration of the outbreak or shortage. ((A person who is known to be pregnant or lactating or a parent or legal guardian of a child under eighteen years of age shall be informed if the person or child is to be vaccinated or injected with any mercury-containing product that contains more than the mercury limits per dose in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.))
     (4) Patients who are to be vaccinated or injected with any mercury-containing product must be informed by the provider that the vaccine or injection contains mercury. If a child is to be vaccinated or injected with any mercury-containing product, the parent or legal guardian must be informed by the provider that the vaccine or injection contains mercury.
     (5) The department of health must give priority and preference to the purchase of prescription drugs, medical or biological products such as vaccines, and over-the-counter substances regulated by the federal drug administration, if they are available without added mercury and are priced no more than five percent greater than the same mercury-added product.
     (6) All vaccines and products referenced under this section must meet food and drug administration licensing requirements.

Sec. 2   RCW 70.95M.100 and 2003 c 260 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     Nothing in this chapter, except the provisions of RCW 70.95M.115, applies to prescription drugs regulated by the food and drug administration under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.), to biological products regulated by the food and drug administration under the public health service act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 262 et seq.), or to any substance that may be lawfully sold over-the-counter without a prescription under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.).