Chung-Backed Bill Defends Science, Reaffirms Support for Evidence-Based Immunizations

BLOOMINGTON, Ill — Working to defend public health and modern medicine against pseudoscience touted from Washington, state Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, helped pass a new law to establish immunization guidelines and require Illinois Department of Public Health-recommended (IDPH) vaccines be covered by health insurance. 

“Throughout Illinois, we are fighting so that vaccinations remain based in science, affordable and accessible to everyone,” said Chung. “By taking vaccine guidelines into our own hands, we can help ensure that we are protecting our neighbors and communities from preventable diseases.”

House Bill 767 establishes transparent, evidence-based immunization guidelines for Illinois and reaffirms the state’s commitment to defending science. To keep vaccines accessible and affordable to those who seek them, the bill will require vaccinations recommended by IDPH to be fully covered by state-regulated health insurance plans.

Additionally under the measure, experts will make up a new Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee to ensure all recommendations are rooted in science. With heightened claims from the federal government and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grossly linking vaccines to autism, House Bill 767 critically ensures that immunization recommendations are being made by medical experts to thwart sickness and diseases for unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals—not politicians out of Washington. 

“Autism is not a disease that needs to be cured— people on the spectrum are valued community members like everyone else,” said Chung. “When it comes to our health we need to listen to the facts, and the science says vaccines decrease preventable deaths on a variety of diseases.”

House Bill 767 was signed into law Tuesday and is effective immediately, with insurance changes to be effective January 1 of next year.