(Radio Iowa) – Two Republicans in the Iowa Senate have agreed to advance a bill that would prohibit Iowa businesses and health care facilities from requiring that employees get vaccinations. A 97-minute-long subcommittee hearing on the bill was dominated by critics of vaccinations in general. Shanda Burke, a lobbyist for a group called Informed Choice Iowa, says she quit her job as a medical assistant because her employer required flu shots.

The bill also lets parents claim a conscientious objection to having their child meet vaccination requirements for school attendance. Medical groups oppose the bill. Lena Tucker Reinders, executive director of the Iowa Public Health Association, says social media posts are fueling vaccine hesitancy.

Dr. Amy Shriver, a Des Moines pediatrician, says bills that grant exceptions to vaccinations have a dramatic effect.

Senator James Carlin, a Republican from Sioux City who just announced he’s running for the U.S. Senate, chaired the hearing. He says there are legitimate concerns on both sides of the debate.

Health insurance companies would be prohibited from denying coverage based on a lack of immunizations if the bill as currently written becomes law.