State bill introduced to nix personal exemptions for measles vaccine
Jan 28, 2019, 3:29 PM | Updated: 9:25 pm
The measles vaccine. (AP)
(AP)
A recently-introduced bill in the Washington State Legislature would put a stop to personal exemptions for the measles vaccine in children.
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As of early Monday, there were 36 confirmed cases of measles in Washington, stemming from an outbreak that is thought to have started in Clark County. Clark County’s immunization rate for school-aged children is 78 percent, and a large majority of these cases were in children who were not vaccinated.
House Bill 1638 — introduced last Friday — would eliminate personal exemptions for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. The current law in place allows parents to decline immunization for children based on “philosophical or personal objections,” health risks as confirmed by a licensed physician, or religious beliefs.
HB-1638 would only apply to measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines in the “philosophical or personal objections” category. According to the Washington State Department of Health, just over 77 percent Washington state kindergartners were unvaccinated because of personal exemptions.
“Vaccines are really important to keep kids and other people healthy and safe. I’ve seen what a lot of these diseases do to some children and it can be very devastating,” Dr. Melissa Genualdi told KIRO Radio’s Heather Bosch last week.
RELATED: Washington measles outbreak prevalent in unvaccinated kids
Including Washington, there are 18 states that allow personal exemptions for immunizations. Just three — California, West Virginia, and Mississippi — do not allow any exemptions that are not for specific health reasons.
