135.146 - FIRST RESPONDER VACCINATION PROGRAM.

        135.146  FIRST RESPONDER VACCINATION PROGRAM.
         1.  In the event that federal funding is received for
      administering vaccinations for first responders, the department shall
      offer a vaccination program for first responders who may be exposed
      to infectious diseases when deployed to disaster locations.  For
      purposes of this section, "first responder" means state and local
      law enforcement personnel, fire department personnel, and emergency
      medical personnel who will be deployed to sites of bioterrorism
      attacks, terrorist attacks, catastrophic or natural disasters, and
      other disasters.  The vaccinations shall include, but not be limited
      to, vaccinations for hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, and
      other vaccinations when recommended by the United States public
      health service and in accordance with federal emergency management
      agency policy.  Immune globulin will be made available when
      necessary.
         2.  Participation in the vaccination program shall be voluntary,
      except for first responders who are classified as having occupational
      exposure to blood-borne pathogens as defined by the occupational
      safety and health administration standard contained in 29 C.F.R. §
      1910.1030.  First responders who are so classified shall be required
      to receive the vaccinations as described in subsection 1.  A first
      responder shall be exempt from this requirement, however, when a
      written statement from a licensed physician is presented indicating
      that a vaccine is medically contraindicated for that person or the
      first responder signs a written statement that the administration of
      a vaccination conflicts with religious tenets.
         3.  The department shall establish first responder notification
      procedures regarding the existence of the program by rule, and shall
      develop, and distribute to first responders, educational materials on
      methods of preventing exposure to infectious diseases.  In
      administering the program, the department may contract with county
      and local health departments, not-for-profit home health care
      agencies, hospitals, physicians, and military unit clinics.  
         Section History: Recent Form
         2004 Acts, ch 1012, §1, 2; 2005 Acts, ch 3, §31