Issue 1886: August 5, 2026

On July 28, New York Times published a comprehensive record and analysis of the more than 400 vaccine-related bills introduced in state legislatures between August 1, 2025 and July 1, 2026. The summary, Dozens of States Tried to Roll Back Vaccine Laws. Here’s How They Fared [gift link], provides interactive graphics and state-specific data, offering a broad overview of the status of immunization legislation in the United States and trends expected in future legislative sessions. This article is a valuable resource to anyone interested in state vaccine policy and legislation.

The findings include:

• More than 200 measures were introduced in 34 states, aiming to dismantle vaccination rules or raise questions about vaccine safety
• Only a very small number of these bills became law, but similar proposals are expected to return next session
• Bills fell into five broad categories: loosens requirements, alters vaccination systems, protects the unvaccinated, targets mRNA or COVID vaccines, and promotes claims of risk
• Language in bills often focused on health freedom and personal liberty

In July, Immunize.org posted its 2026 annual update of state requirements for entry into childcare, school, and college, as well as state immunization requirement exemption policies. The small number of changes compared to the 2025 update reflects that few of the bills introduced during these legislative sessions affected these requirements. However, the types of vaccine-related bills introduced during this legislative session also address occupational health, vaccine access, and medical practices and policies. Access Immunize.org’s state policy web pages based upon information confirmed and provided by state, New York City, and District of Columbia immunization program managers. Access the following information at the links below:

• Vaccine-specific maps and data tables summarizing state immunization requirements for childcare, school, and college entry
• Current state vaccine exemption policies for childcare and school entry
• Web links to each state’s website with details about their childcare and school requirements, and additional related resources
• Archived data tables and maps for 2023–25

For organizations with new staff or staff who need a refresher, the following six resources at Immunize.org are essential for building and sustaining vaccination knowledge and skills.

Our new Getting Started: For the New Vaccinator web page connects new vaccinators of all clinical backgrounds to basic resources that support each component of successful vaccine delivery. It also highlights key content from external partners. This section does not include every resource, but it is a good place to start.

Key Vaccination Resources for Healthcare Professionals is a 5-page annotated list of important training, education, and reference materials for people who vaccinate or oversee vaccination clinics.

Skills Checklist for Vaccine Administration is a 3-page tool to guide supervisors who observe and assess staff members' skills.



Clinical Resources: Storage and Handling web page features checklists, "Do Not Unplug" signs, ways to avoid errors, temperature logs, storage troubleshooting records, and more. You'll find links to CDC's storage and handling training tools, including the new 2026 update of CDC’s Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit along with other partner resources.

Clinical Resources: Administering Vaccines web page offers handouts on appropriate injection techniques, information on how to properly deliver intramuscular and subcutaneous injections, medical management of adverse reactions, summaries of vaccine recommendations, and how to use vaccines needing reconstitution.

Immunize.org updated its Notification of Immunization Letter Template, adding clesrovimab (Enflonsia, Merck) and adding the brand names of licensed COVID-19 mRNA and protein subunit vaccines.

National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is here. This annual observance highlights the importance of protecting people of all ages against vaccine-preventable diseases through on-time vaccination. NIAM serves as a focal point for sharing credible information about the importance of staying up to date with routine immunizations.

The Voices for Vaccines (VFV) NIAM 2026 web page serves as a guide to promoting immunization throughout the month. This year's theme is that protection from vaccine-preventable diseases gives you one less threat to worry about. The page includes customizable social media graphics and video templates, sample captions, and a weekly posting schedule. VFV encourages partners to share these messages using the hashtags #AskForVax and #NIAM26.



During NIAM, encourage your patients to catch up on well-care exams and recommended vaccines. Research shows that healthcare providers remain the most trusted source of vaccine information for parents and patients.

Immunize.org's www.Give2MenACWY.org website promotes the importance of adolescent vaccination, including the recommended MenACWY vaccine booster dose at age 16. Many teens are behind on vaccines, so vaccine outreach is more important than ever.

If you are looking for tools to explain meningococcal vaccine recommendations and assist in improving adolescent coverage for all recommended vaccines, view this site. Check out the many helpful tools from Immunize.org, CDC, and other organizations.

In its July 21 issue, Lancet published Effectiveness of Nirsevimab Immunisation on Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Children Nationwide in France: An Observational Cohort Study. RSV disease may be associated with an increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), as a secondary bacterial infection. This research team found an association between a reduced risk of IPD among young children immunized with the RSV preventive antibody product nirsevimab (Beyfortus, Sanofi) during the first year of life. Portions of the findings and interpretation sections appear below.

Of the 608 641 children born in France during the study period, 527 971 were included, of whom 119 435 (22.6%) received nirsevimab. During the 6-month follow-up period, 112 cases of IPD occurred: 17 (14.2 per 100 000) in the immunised group versus 95 (23.3 per 100 000) in the non-immunised group. After IPTW [inverse probability of treatment weighting], nirsevimab was associated with a 36% reduction in the odds of hospitalisation for IPD 6 months after immunisation . . . 9 months after immunisation, effectiveness remained consistent with a 34% reduction . . .

Nirsevimab immunisation in children younger than 12 months was associated with a lower risk of IPD for at least 6 months following immunisation. These findings suggest an additional benefit of nirsevimab implementation beyond RSV disease prevention, but further studies are needed to confirm these findings.

In its July 23 issue, PLOS One published Parents’ Role as Advocates for and Against Childhood Vaccination: Findings from a Nationally Representative Survey. This research team’s goal was to identify future intervention partners by understanding parents’ role in advocating for or against childhood vaccines. They sent the survey to U.S. parents/caregivers who had at least one 9- to 12-year-old child and were participating in a broader online survey about adolescent health. These participants were members of an existing panel of community-dwelling adults, constructed from a probability-based sample of households, designed to be representative of the U.S. population.

The conclusions section appears below.

Findings of our nationally representative study suggest that parents who encourage routine vaccination far outnumber those who discourage it. Given that encouragers often advocate for measles vaccine, future efforts to increase vaccination coverage should consider ways to partner with parent advocates to stem the alarming resurgence of this disease.