The Legislature shouldn’t decide what vaccines to make illegal | Opinion

A bill currently making its way through the Idaho Legislature could put the health of countless people at risk.

Idaho’s Senate Health Committee recently advanced legislation that would impose a two-year moratorium on certain human gene therapy products and ban the use of mRNA vaccines for children and pregnant women for two years.

If enacted, the measure would block Idaho patients from accessing promising new vaccines even if federal regulators determine they are safe and effective. It would also send a troubling message that politics — not science or patient choice — will determine which medical technologies Idahoans are allowed to use.

The consequences could be serious.

Take seasonal influenza — a common disease whose risks are often underappreciated, especially for children. The flu can cause severe breathing problems, hospitalizations and even death. Last year in the United States, 280 children died from the flu, one of the highest pediatric death tolls since the government started tracking them in 2004.

Children are not the only ones at risk. Seasonal flu is a significant health threat for adults, too — especially those over the age of 50. The 2024-25 flu season caused an estimated 45,000 deaths; more than two-thirds of them were among seniors. The illness also imposed roughly $29 billion in total health and economic costs during that season.

Current vaccines meaningfully reduce the likelihood that patients will experience the worst outcomes. But there is still room for improvement. More effective vaccines could provide stronger protection and further reduce the chances of severe illness or death.

That’s where innovative mRNA vaccines may help.

Many people first heard about mRNA technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the science behind them is not new. Private firms have been researching mRNA technologies, with support from the federal government, for four decades. Today’s mRNA vaccines are the product of years of scientific research and technological advancement.

For influenza, mRNA therapies could be transformative. These vaccines instruct cells to produce proteins that prompt the immune system to recognize and fight a disease. Scientists are exploring their use against a wide range of illnesses, from infectious disease to cancer.

Clinical trials indicate that the new mRNA vaccines offer strong protection against several diseases. European regulators recently recommended that the European Commission approve Moderna’s combined mRNA vaccine that targets both flu and COVID-19.

Given the potential benefits of mRNA vaccines, it is disconcerting that the Idaho Senate’s 29 Republicans and six Democrats would consider denying children and pregnant women access to them.

If federal regulators ultimately approve an mRNA vaccine, the proposed legislation would still prevent Idaho patients from accessing it. That restriction would undermine patients’ freedom to pursue medical care of their choosing. It could also put vulnerable patients’ health at risk.

Further, the bill sends a troubling signal to the biopharmaceutical companies investing billions of dollars in life-saving therapies. Policies that discourage the use of breakthrough technologies can chill investment and slow the development of new treatments that could allow patients to live longer and healthier lives.

Healthcare policy always involves trade-offs. But one of the great strengths of the U.S. healthcare system has been its ability to foster medical innovation. Since 2000, the FDA has approved more than 900 novel medicines.

Collectively, they’ve added years to our lives and boosted the quality of life we enjoy. Thirty-five percent of the increase in U.S. life expectancy between 1990 and 2015 was due to pharmaceutical innovation, according to a recent study published in Health Affairs.

And the benefits continue today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that U.S. life expectancy has climbed to an all-time high of 79 years, in large part because of declining death rates from things like heart disease — progress made possible by innovative new medicines.

mRNA research exemplifies the promise of biopharmaceutical science. Policies that discourage the use of mRNA technology risk slowing progress that could save lives. If Idaho moves forward with a moratorium on mRNA vaccines for children and pregnant women, it is ultimately patients who will bear the cost.

Sally C. Pipes is president, CEO and Thomas W. Smith fellow in Health Care Policy at the Pacific Research Institute. Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D., is senior fellow and director of the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the Pacific Research Institute.