Texas ‘Mad Moms’ Gain Momentum Against Vaccine Mandates with Support from Health Secretary

In 2015, Rebecca Hardy and Michelle Evans joined forces with other like-minded women to establish Texans for Vaccine Choice amid a measles outbreak in California. Their efforts successfully blocked legislation that sought to tighten vaccine requirements for Texas schools and contributed to the removal of the lawmaker behind the bill, earning them the nickname “mad moms in minivans.”

Currently, as a measles outbreak originating in West Texas spreads nationally, these activists have attracted a growing number of supporters. The 2024 elections brought in a wave of new Republican lawmakers who endorse voluntary vaccination policies. Their most notable advocate is Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., recognized as a leading vaccine skeptic.

This year, Texas lawmakers have introduced over sixty bills related to vaccines. Recently, the Texas House approved three measures designed to ease exemptions for parents, restrict vaccine manufacturers from advertising within the state, and prohibit doctors from denying organ transplants to unvaccinated individuals.

A national group representing state and local immunization officials reports tracking 545 vaccine-related bills across state legislatures, a rise of 180 from the previous year. This surge is seen as a sign that the vaccine debate is intensifying following a decline after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite concerns from public health experts that school vaccine mandates might be rolled back due to political shifts and influential skeptics, such reversals have not yet materialized.

Rebecca Hardy, president of Texans for Vaccine Choice, remarked that for a decade their organization faced a federal government that was either indifferent or opposed to their cause. She added that while they are encouraged by having federal officials willing to collaborate, the exact implications of this cooperation remain unclear.