Mass. lawmakers working on pandemic bill

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Source: http://www.necn.com/Boston/Politics/...252102442.html

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(NECN: Katie Daly) - While the immediate anxiety over H1N1 seems to have subsided, this coming flu season is expected to be a complicated one, with more overall cases and more deaths predicted.

State lawmakers have been working on a pandemic bill to respond in the worst-case scenario.

While state officials prepare for more cases of the H1N1 virus to emerge throughout cities and towns, State Senator Richard Moore believes it is necessary to move forward with the passage of the pandemic response bill.

If a health emergency was declared in Massachusetts, the bill would allow authorities to fine residents up to 1 thousand dollars a day of they refused quarantine orders or isolation.

The legislation would also grant authorities the power to enter private property for enforcement purposes. The Senate unanimously passed the bill and the House is currently reviewing it. But civil libertarians are concerned about the scope of the proposal. Several groups are lobbying against it on Beacon Hill including the Massachusetts liberty preservation association.

David Kopacz is the Vice President of the association. He says the bill gives the state too much power and infringes on peoples civil liberties.

If the bill does pass Kopacz is concerned that more restrictions could follow

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Re: Mass. lawmakers working on pandemic bill

Source: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...42/detail.html

Critics Slam Pandemic Response Bill
Some Say Proposal Would Cause Panic

POSTED: 5:08 pm EDT September 4, 2009
UPDATED: 6:30 pm EDT September 4, 2009

BOSTON -- A bill aimed at the state's response to a flu pandemic is being slammed by critics who say it would cause a pandemic panic.

NewsCenter 5's Jorge Quiroga reported that even one state lawmaker who supported the legislation is having second thoughts.

The Senate's Pandemic Response Bill anticipates a new possible outbreak of the H1N1 virus this fall. Its chief sponsor said it is not draconian.

"The governor has to declare a public emergency for any of these provisions to take place. There is no mandatory vaccination," said Sen. Richard Moore.

No vaccine exists for the H1N1 -- also known as the swine flu. The bill calls for the state to forcefully quarantine someone infected and makes it a serious crime not to comply -- with jail time or a $1,000 a day fine.

"Ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous. So many people are going to get H1N1. It's not the way to do it," said Jim Callahan, of West Newton.

"We have enough restrictions on us. I don't think it would even work," said Lynda Christian, of Waban.

Republican Sen. Robert Hedlund, of Weymouth, voted for the measure and said he now regrets it.

"There is a fine line between protecting our civil liberties and protecting public health. And there's areas of this bill that may cross that line," he said.

But its chief proponent argues the state's power to quarantine dates back to the influenza epidemic of the early 1900s.

"We all, as citizens, have rights, but we also have a responsibility not to make other people sick and perhaps kill them by spreading a dangerous disease," Moore said.

Ironically, conservative critics and officials with the American Civil Liberties Union are on the same page.

'"Any type of a policy that makes people scared tends to drive them underground, and that's terrible from a public safety and public health point of view," said Carol Rose, of the ACLU of Massachusetts.

The Senate's Pandemic Bill now passes on to the House, which may take it up as soon as next week.

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Re: Mass. lawmakers working on pandemic bill

Massachusetts pandemic bill would OK quarantines<!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <script> <!-- function getText(el) { if (el.nodeType == 3) return el.nodeValue; var txt = new Array(),i=0; while(el.childNodes[i]) { txt[txt.length] = getText(el.childNodes[i]); i++; } return txt.join(""); } mText = getText(document.getElementById("hdr_title")); document.title = mText; //--> </script> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="Body" --> A Massachusetts bill would authorize the state to forcefully quarantine people if a health emergency is declared because of a swine flu outbreak.
Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, said the bill is intended to prepare the state for a pandemic flu or state of emergency and to ensure a quick and efficient response.
The Senate unanimously approved the bill in April. It marks the third time in recent years the effort has received backing in the chamber. This year?s effort has moved to the House for further consideration where previous attempts have been unable to gain support.
The bill ? S2028 ? is designed to protect public health in case of a variety of possible emergencies, including natural disasters, chemical spills, bioterrorist attacks and infectious diseases. The H1N1 virus, or swine flu, is covered under infectious diseases.
Critics say some provisions in the bill infringe on individual rights. Others are concerned that fear about the policy could make people less likely to seek medical attention and as a result more likely to risk their own health and the health of others.
Moore said in a statement there is an expectation ?that our government will take steps to protect us and our loved ones from the spread of deadly viruses or the consequences of natural disasters, even if protecting all of us might temporarily limit our individual freedoms.?
Vaccinations are not mandated. Moore said they can only be ?strongly suggested? by the Department of Health during a declared, statewide emergency. People who are unwilling to be vaccinated can be isolated or quarantined if it is determined they pose a threat to the general public?s health.
Moore said the provision is needed to protect public safety against irresponsible actions by anyone who has the flu.
During a public health emergency, the bill would allow warrantless searches, if there is probable cause to believe a person has violated a health order. Violators would face up to $1,000 fines and possible jail time.
Moore?s bill ? S2028 ? is in the House Ways and Means Committee.
To view other legislative activities of interest for Massachusetts in 2009, click here.
? By Keith Goble, state legislative editor
Editor?s Note: Please share your thoughts with us about the legislation included in this story. Comments may be sent to statelegislativedesk@ooida.com.


http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_ne.../090909-05.htm

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Re: Mass. lawmakers working on pandemic bill

In public health bill, a contagion of fear

State rebuts talk of forced injections
By Stephen Smith
Globe Staff / September 17, 2009

The banner, bold and provocative, was tattooed with a syringe, skull and crossbones, and a call to action: ?Say no to forced vaccination.??

The message, delivered last week on Beacon Hill, was aimed at a seemingly prosaic piece of legislation that aims to better define - and, in some respects, restrict - the emergency powers of the state?s public health officials.

Within the bill?s arcane language, a 16-month-old activist coalition sees government authority run amok: mandated vaccinations, quarantines, arrests, fines. Swine flu, they warn, will be the virus that opens the door to the public health police.

?We have a concern that we will be forced to be quarantined if we refuse the vaccine,?? said Laura Jackson, president of the Liberty Preservation Association of Massachusetts, which mustered 30 to 40 members for the lobbying drive. ?What I?d like to see done with this law is have it burned.??

Those concerns, public health authorities insist, are entirely unfounded. But the association?s multimedia campaign - aired over talk radio and its website - compelled state Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach to send an italicized, bold-faced missive to legislators, stressing that ?mandatory vaccination is not and has never been part of the plan or discussion in Massachusetts? pandemic response.??

The bill, Auerbach and other top officials said in interviews, would never force anyone to be vaccinated unwillingly, and its extraordinary measures - such as quarantining people who decline inoculations - would be reserved for equally extraordinary times, such as a bioterror attack or the emergence of a highly lethal, rapidly spreading germ. Swine flu, caused by the H1N1 virus, is not such a germ, Auerbach said.

The protest by the group, whose founders supported Republican Ron Paul in the 2008 presidential election, reached its pitch at an especially delicate moment for public health authorities. Auerbach?s letter demonstrates that his agency is worried the dissent could raise doubts about vaccination and imperil an unprecedented campaign to inoculate millions this fall against the seasonal flu and the swine strain.

?Accuracy of information is going to be key in terms of the public understanding what they should do,?? Auerbach said in an interview.

In the opposition to Massachusetts? revised public health emergency law, as well as in the combustible health care town hall meetings that greeted some members of Congress this summer, analysts see more than traditional conservative concerns about individual liberty and big government.

They also find signs of deeper worries about a world descending into uncertainty, with panic over economics and the emergence of a novel flu strain.

?It doesn?t surprise me that when you have another epidemic, another threat of a disease, then you get emotions tweaked up, and separately in the health care debate, we?ve seen a rise in emotionalism replacing logic,?? said Gene W. Matthews, a senior fellow at the University of North Carolina?s Institute for Public Health.

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/17/in_public_health_bill_a_contagion_of_fear/