A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT requiring hospitals to provide parents of newborns with educational information about pertussis disease and available vaccine protections in order to better protect newborns against pertussis disease.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 5 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 131E‑79.2.  Educating parents of newborns regarding pertussis disease.
(a)	Each hospital licensed under this Article shall provide to the parents of newborns delivered at the hospital free, medically accurate educational information about pertussis disease and the availability of the tetanus‑diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine to protect against pertussis disease. The hospitals shall provide this educational information to parents during the postpartum period and prior to the mother's discharge from the hospital. As used in this section, "postpartum period" means the period of time between the mother's admittance to the hospital for delivery of the newborn child through the first few hours after childbirth.
(b)	The educational information provided to parents pursuant to this section shall include, at a minimum, the most current recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices regarding the use of tetanus‑toxoid‑diphtheria‑acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine to reduce the burden of pertussis in infants.
(c)	Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a hospital to provide or pay for any vaccination against pertussis disease."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2013.