Yes! If you have a loved one that is in their baby-making season of life and you have struggled to find the perfect way to have ‘the talk’ with them about vaccine safety and their legal exemption rights, allow Team TFVC to do the heavy lifting by gifting your loved one with our New Parent Informed Consent Bundle. Order your bundle HERE. You might also find the resources linked under General Safety helpful.

No. The child’s name and date of birth is required when the exemption affidavit form is requested. Expectant parents must wait until after the child is born to request the vaccine exemption affidavit form.

While none of the below information should be construed as legal advice, we hope to help you navigate your post-birth rights:

The post-birth interventions most hospitals recommend are: a Hepatitis B vaccine, an RSV-mAB vaccine, a Vitamin K injection, and an antibiotic ointment applied to your baby’s eyes. The hospital likely has standing orders related to all of these, so it is recommended that you read all admission paperwork related to these interventions well in advance of admission.

Regardless of these standing orders, parents are not breaking any laws by declining any or all of these interventions:

• – Declining the Hepatitis B and RSV-mAB vaccines is covered by Health & Safety Code 161.004
• – Declining the eye ointment is covered by Texas Administrative Code 97.13
• – There is no law mandating Vitamin K injections.

If you get push back or the hospital staff threatens to call CPS about your choices, ask the staff: “If you can show me the law that I am breaking (or that requires you to call CPS) for declining (given procedure), I’d be happy to reconsider. Otherwise, I’d prefer you to stop harassing me about my choice.” 

If you wish to decline any newborn intervention, be sure to review all hospital forms, policies and procedures before signing. You might also want to consider a written birth plan and newborn care plan that includes the understanding by staff of your choices.

If the hospital staff persists in harassing you or making threats of calling CPS, immediately find an attorney who can advise you about your legal options.

ImmTrac, the Texas Immunization Registry, is a no-cost service offered by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). ImmTrac stores immunization information from multiple sources electronically in one centralized system. Texas law requires written consent for ImmTrac participation and limits access to the registry to only those individuals who have been authorized by law. Each participant’s immunization information is consolidated into one electronic record.

You can remove yourself and your children from ImmTrac by using the ImmTrac Withdrawal Form/Withdrawal of Consent and Confirmation Form. Download, print, fill out and mail a form for each person you wish to remove.

If you do not wish to have your newborn participate in ImmTrac, you can deny your baby’s registration by marking “I DENY consent for registration.” on the ImmTrac Newborn Registration Form provided by the birth registrar at the hospital.

Despite the fact that ImmTrac is an opt-in (consent required) immunization registry system, we consistently receive reports from individuals that they or their children have been added to this tracking system without their consent. The number of reports we are receiving has recently skyrocketed, and we are hearing from people who not only denied consent in writing on the state’s consent form but also from people who never even saw a consent form.

To find out if you are in the ImmTrac system, you can call the DSHS at (800) 252-9152.

If you or your child has been added to the ImmTrac system without your knowledge or consent or DSHS has failed to remove your records after you request they do so, please file a complaint with the Department of State Health Services. You can file a complaint by e-mail to the attention of Manager, Immunization Branch at [email protected]

Texas law requires DSHS to keep record of these complaints and to report them to the Governor & House of Representatives by September of every even-numbered year. The last report claimed that no complaints had been received, which was surprising to us considering the number of complaints TFVC receives from Texas citizens.

You can find more ways to file a complaint and more information on the complaint-reporting process here.

There are two places in the Family Code that specifically address this issue. The codes make it clear that not vaccinating is NOT grounds for terminating parental rights or removing the child from the home. The Government Code also addresses this issue, prohibiting any agency under HHS authority from taking punitive actions against guardians for declining vaccines for their children.

Source: Family Codes 161.001(c)(5) and 262.116(a)(5); Government Code § 531.0335

Upon any initial contact, regardless if the underlying matter is a formal investigation or an alternative response assessment, the Department of Family and Protective Services is required to disclose to a parent the specifics of each allegation.

You may also find THIS BRIEF helpful in knowing your rights if you are contacted by CPS. 

Source: TAC § 707.491

According to statute, vaccines are not required to qualify for TANF. In fact, the code says that only “a statement by the caretaker or parent that the requirement violates the caretaker’s or parent’s religious beliefs or conscience” is required. It is TFVC’s recommendation, however, that you submit the official exemption affidavit when applying since some might not be familiar with the law. Moreover, you are encouraged to print the code to show in the event of any pushback. You can order exemptions here.

Vaccines are also not required to qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. Enrolled children must comply with the Texas Health Steps requirements, but there are no statutory mandates for vaccination. Additionally, as of September 1, 2023, doctors who contract with Medicaid/CHIP may not refuse to see Medicaid/CHIP patients based on vaccination status. Read the new law here. Please report any violations of this measure by submitting this form.

Source: Texas Administrative Code Rule §372.1154(c)(2) and Government Code Sec. 531.02119