Maryland Influenza Vaccine Bill Builds Pandemic Infrastructure—Grants Pharmacists Vaccine Ordering Power Under Pharma-Funded Sen. Augustine
SB773 singles out flu vaccines while authorizing pharmacists to order COVID-19 and emergency shots—creating a permanent, federally-linked deployment system activated during future influenza pandemics.
Maryland lawmakers are advancing legislation that explicitly prioritizes influenza vaccines while constructing a permanent, pharmacy-based vaccine ordering system designed to activate during future public health emergencies.
At the center of the new Maryland bill—SB773—is a provision that singles out influenza alongside COVID-19 and emergency-use vaccines, granting pharmacists the authority not just to administer them, but to order them independently.
The move comes as multiple state and federal lawmakers are already laying the legislative groundwork for a future influenza pandemic response, coordinating authority and deployment systems before any such event is declared.
According to the bill text:
“A VACCINATION FOR OR administer a vaccination… [including] 1. An influenza vaccine; 2. A COVID–19 vaccine; or 3. Used in response to a public health emergency”
The legislation is advancing under a sponsor funded by pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacy chains, and insurers positioned to profit directly from the bill’s expansion of influenza vaccination, raising conflict of interest concerns (see following section).
You can contact Sen. Augustine’s office here and the other Maryland senators here.
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Follow the Money—Pharma & Pharmacy Interests Directly Aligned With Influenza Expansion
The bill’s sponsor, Senator Malcolm Augustine (D-47), has received funding from entities that directly benefit from expanded influenza vaccination through pharmacies, according to FollowTheMoney.org.
Contributors include:
Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Gilead Sciences
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
CVS Caremark, Walgreens, Epic Pharmacies
UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, Amerigroup
These entities:
Manufacture influenza vaccines
Distribute them through pharmacies
Process reimbursement through insurance systems
The same industries funding the sponsor stand to benefit from:
Increased flu shot ordering
Expanded pharmacy authority
Scaled emergency deployment
The financial interests of the bill’s sponsor align with the operational outcomes of the legislation.
Influenza Is Central
The inclusion of influenza is explicitly named as a primary category in the statute.
Unlike general vaccine authority, this bill locks influenza into law as a standing, pharmacist-controlled category, meaning:
Flu vaccines can be ordered directly by pharmacists statewide
No physician initiation required
No additional legislative approval needed
Influenza is the only recurring seasonal virus specifically named alongside COVID-19, placing it at the core of the system being built.
A Permanent Influenza Deployment Network
By singling out influenza and pairing it with emergency-use language, SB773 creates a dual framework:
Seasonal influenza vaccination infrastructure (always active)
Pandemic influenza response infrastructure (activated during emergencies)
This is the key architecture:
Normal times → pharmacists order flu shots annually
Emergency declaration → same system scales instantly
The bill effectively builds a standing influenza response network embedded in retail pharmacies across the state.
Emergency Clause Converts Flu Infrastructure Into Pandemic Engine
The same section that names influenza also includes:
“used in response to a public health emergency”
This creates a seamless transition:
Seasonal flu → declared emergency → expanded vaccine authority
Once an emergency is declared:
New influenza-related vaccines can be deployed
Pharmacists can order them immediately
The system already exists and is already operational
No new system needs to be built because it’s pre-positioned.
Federal Control Over Future Influenza Vaccines
The bill further ties authority to CDC recommendations, including future changes:
“to account for any new vaccines recommended… after December 31, 2024”
This means:
Any new influenza vaccine added by federal authorities
Automatically becomes orderable by pharmacists
Federal influenza policy becomes operational law at the pharmacy level.
Pharmacists Elevated Into Prescribers
SB773 authorizes pharmacists to:
“ORDER OR administer a vaccination”
For individuals as young as 3 years old (via caregiver)
This removes physicians as the primary gatekeepers and replaces them with a retail-based ordering system.
Statewide Tracking Expanded to Influenza Orders
The bill requires:
“all vaccinations administered OR ORDERED… [be reported] to the ImmuNet Program”
This includes influenza vaccines—meaning:
Orders are tracked
Administration is tracked
The system captures the full pipeline
What This Actually Builds
SB773 constructs a layered system:
Influenza-specific authority (always active)
Emergency expansion clause (triggered during crises)
Federal recommendation pipeline (automatic updates)
Pharmacy-based execution network (statewide scale)
Centralized tracking (orders + administration)
Bottom Line
Maryland’s SB773 positions influenza as the operational core of a pre-staged pandemic response system—locking in a pharmacy-based deployment network that can scale instantly under emergency powers—while advancing under a sponsor funded by the very pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacy chains, and insurers that stand to profit from that expansion.
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This seems like a sure way to bypass pesky doctors and informed consent during any future pandemic.
Brain, dead politicians, being gaslit by big pharma lobbyists to keep the fear and injections alive. They don’t give a damn about how many are harmed..