MACo Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally today testified virtually before the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee in support of SB 67 – Emergency Medical Services – Paramedics– Vaccination Administration.

This bill would strengthen local health departments’ ability to carry out targeted public health initiatives by authorizing paramedics to administer specified vaccines with proper training and oversight.

From the MACo Testimony:

SB 67 would authorize paramedics to administer vaccines on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s (CDC) recommended adult immunization schedule if the services are part of a public
safety or commercial emergency medical services (EMS) occupational health program or a population
health outreach effort conducted by local health departments, hospitals, or health systems in the state.

Vaccinations must be (1) provided under the direction of the EMS operational program, ambulance
service medical director, or other qualified physician and authorized by the Maryland Institute for
Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) and (2) provided in accordance with a written
agreement between the paramedic’s EMS operational program or commercial EMS service and the
appropriate local health department, hospital, or health system.

Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2021 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database.