Committee advances bill moving pharmacy immunization authority back into Pharmacy Act and adding Department of Health guidance role; amendment approved 14-12

The House Professional Licensure Committee reported House Bill 1881 as amended after a recorded roll-call vote. The bill would move the administration-of-injectables provisions back into the Pharmacy Act from the Pharmacy Audit Integrity and Transparency Act, add the Department of Health as an entity that may issue guidelines informing pharmacist immunization authority, and adjust the grandfathering period for pharmacy technicians registering with the State Board of Pharmacy for the first time.

A committee staff member described the bill’s scope, saying it re-locates injectables language to the Pharmacy Act, “adds the Department of Health as an entity that can offer guidelines and thus provide authority for pharmacists to administer immunizations in a pharmacy,” and alters the technician grandfather clause. Representative Venkat, a sponsor, told the committee the measure is intended to protect access for Pennsylvanians who choose to be vaccinated and that “nothing in this bill is a vaccine mandate.” He also said conflicting guidance from federal and medical organizations had created inconsistency and that adding Department of Health authority would permit accountability to the legislature and public.

Representative Venkat offered Amendment A01823. Committee staff described the amendment as limiting when the Department of Health can rescind approval of an immunization to those that it has previously recommended, adjusting the timeframe for grandfathering existing pharmacy technicians, and clarifying that a physician’s guidelines apply to all immunizations administered by pharmacists. The committee approved amendment A01823 in a roll-call vote: yeas 14, nays 12. The committee then voted on the bill as amended; the roll call on the bill recorded 14 yeas and 12 nays and the bill was reported as amended from the committee.

The transcript records names and proxy designations for the roll-call votes. The transcript does not show additional committee debate beyond the sponsor’s remarks and the staff explanations of the bill and amendment. The committee’s actions move HB 1881 forward with the Department of Health explicitly authorized to provide guidance on pharmacist immunizations, subject to the limits in the adopted amendment.