HB218: HB218 Health; lower the age from 50 to 18 years old at which hospitals shall offer inpatient vaccinations for the influenza virus prior to discharge

Georgia law currently requires hospitals to offer a flu vaccine to inpatients age 50 or older before they are discharged, and a pneumococcal disease vaccine to inpatients 65 or older. This bill changes only the flu vaccine age threshold, lowering it from 50 to 18, so that any adult inpatient, not just those 50 and up, would have to be offered the flu shot before leaving the hospital. The pneumococcal vaccine age requirement (65 and older) stays the same. Vaccinations would still follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations and Georgia Department of Public Health rules, and only when the vaccine is not medically contraindicated and is actually available. Hospitals could still use standing orders approved by their medical staff to administer the shots without a separate doctor's order each time.

• Lowers the minimum age at which Georgia hospitals must offer inpatients a flu vaccine before discharge, from 50 years old to 18 years old.
• Leaves the pneumococcal disease vaccine requirement unchanged, still applying only to inpatients 65 years of age or older.
• Keeps the existing conditions that vaccines follow CDC recommendations and state health department rules, unless contraindicated and subject to vaccine availability.
• Keeps intact the existing option for hospitals to use a standing order approved by hospital medical staff to administer the vaccinations.

Georgia hospitals and their medical staff, who must offer the flu vaccine to a larger group of discharged patients, and adult inpatients between 18 and 49 years old, who would now be routinely offered a flu shot before leaving the hospital.

Many more adult patients, not just those 50 and older, would routinely be offered a flu vaccine before leaving the hospital, potentially increasing flu vaccination rates among younger adults while adding a small administrative step for hospital discharge procedures.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 31-7-18(a) to change the flu vaccine offer requirement from inpatients 50 or older to inpatients 18 or older.
• Section 1 keeps the pneumococcal vaccine offer requirement at age 65 or older, unchanged from current law.
• Section 1 retains the requirement that vaccinations follow CDC recommendations and Department of Public Health rules, unless contraindicated and subject to availability.
• Section 1 retains the provision allowing vaccinations to be given under a standing order approved by the hospital's medical staff.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-02-11House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
3. 2025-02-05House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-04House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-03House Hopper (House)

• Katie Dempsey (R, HD-013)Primary sponsor
• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)
• Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)
• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)

• hospital vaccinations
• flu vaccine policy
• public health law
• patient discharge requirements