Vaccine tracking in N.J. is expanding. ‘Medical choice’ group is challenging new rules.

A longtime adversary of vaccine mandates in New Jersey is trying to overturn recent updates to vaccine standards and procedures.

The New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice is appealing changes adopted Jan. 20 by the state Department of Health that expand who’s required to be included in the vaccine registry and allow private institutions to impose additional vaccine requirements.

The group previously filed a lawsuit in December 2025 against the New Jersey Department of Health, former Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown and the Public Health Council challenging both the process and substance of the rule changes.

In the complaint, which has since been withdrawn, the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice describes itself as “an organization devoted to medical freedom” and comprised of parents, families and individuals across the state “who care deeply about medical choice, religious freedom and personal privacy.”

The complaint argues that the updates “impose obligations, penalties, and affect substantive rights, without lawful adoption.”

The organization said the litigation was about fighting against “the erosion of parental rights, privacy, and due process” in a public Facebook post.

“This is about accountability. This is about constitutional protections. And this is about standing up for families when government agencies exceed their authority,” according to the post.

The New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice was formed in 2006 out of the now-defunct New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination. It was created partially in response to proposals to mandate flu shots for preschool and two more shots for sixth graders, according to the advocacy group’s website. Ultimately, the state’s health commissioner approved the proposal, making New Jersey the first state to require flu shots for preschoolers.

The group was more successful in 2019-2020 when it lobbied against a controversial bill that would have removed religious exemptions as a valid excuse for children to bypass vaccination. The bill failed to muster enough support to pass.

More recently, the organization tried to stop legislation that broadens the number of medical experts New Jersey can use for vaccine guidance. Despite backlash from parents’ rights groups and Republican legislators, the bill gained majority support in the State Legislature and was signed into law by former Gov. Phil Murphy.

This time, the advocacy group is opposing changes adopted by the state Department of Health that expand required reporting of vaccinations to the New Jersey Immunization Information System, the state’s confidential immunization registry.

Under the new rules, any health care provider who administers vaccines to children age 17 and under is mandated to enter these vaccines into the state registry. Previously, this was only required for children under the age of 7.

There’s also a phased plan for adding adults to the registry. By Jan. 20, 2027, the rule applies for anyone between 18 and 19 years old, and then it increases to anyone 19 and older starting July 19, 2027.

Previously, individuals born before Jan. 1, 1998 had to give their provider consent to be part of the state registry.

Also of note, the new rules allow private facilities — including preschools, K-12 schools, childcare facilities and colleges — to impose immunization requirements that exceed state requirements and are consistent with nationally recognized advisory bodies. This takes effect Sept. 1.

The New Jersey Department of Health first published the updates on Sept. 15, 2025 and invited residents to submit written comments, either electronically or by regular mail, through Nov. 14, 2025.

They received 2,686 comments from the public, ranging from concerns about privacy and parental rights to support for more complete immunization records and data, according to a notice of adoption.

Among the submissions were several requests for a public hearing on the proposal. One commenter requested that the department “slow down and hold public hearings” while another commenter stated “a public hearing is absolutely necessary,” according to the document.

In a written response to the comments, the health department said it “provided ample time, notice, means, and opportunity for comments to be submitted on the proposed rulemaking, as evidenced by the number of comments received. Therefore, the Department will not hold a public hearing or extend the comment period for an additional period.”

Nine days after the new rules were adopted, the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice and three residents who requested a public hearing filed a notice of appeal.

Maria Quigley, one of the plaintiffs in the appeal, said she’s concerned the new rules reduce transparency.

“They’re expanding collection and reporting without informed consent. They’re concentrating power in an unelected agency of our state government and they’re essentially taking away our rights,” said Quigley, a co-founder of the parental rights advocacy group NJ Stands Up. The group itself is not named as a plaintiff.

The appeal argues that the updates are void because neither the Department of Health nor the Public Health Council held a public hearing about them. It also claims that the health commissioner, who signed the rules, has no authority to make the changes in the first place.

“This appeal is entirely about process and the constitutional separation of powers,” said Dana Wefer, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in their appeal.

The plaintiffs argue that the State Sanitary Code, which guides public health, was unfairly stripped of its rule-making authority 20 years ago.

Wefer said her clients want the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey to review the final action of the Department of Health and the Public Health Council, including the Jan. 20 adoption of changes to the State Sanitary Code.

They also want to restore the rule-making authority of the Public Health Council to ensure the health commissioner isn’t the sole authority with power to make amendments to the State Sanitary Code.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment.

When state officials announced the changes in January, they said they modernize disease reporting and align vaccination standards with current public health best practices.

The revisions don’t add any new vaccination requirements for school attendance, according to a state press release.

New Jersey has had statewide immunization requirements — for public and private schools — since 1975.

When the rules were first adopted, then-Health Commissioner Joanne E. Finley said the new regulations “will aid in preventing future outbreaks of immunizable disease,” according to a 1975 Star-Ledger article.

At the same time, the state made provisions to exempt students for medical or religious reasons. More and more students are skipping vaccines in recent years.

During the 2024-25 school year, a record 24,962 kids skipped vaccines for religious reasons, a nearly 25% increase from the previous year.

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