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Governing: The Vaccination-Exemption Challenge

Dr. Alison Buttenheim recently penned an op-ed piece for Governing discussing the current vaccination-exemption challenge. As more and more parents opt out of vaccinating their children and more outbreaks of headline-grabbing diseases such as measles and pertussis, many states are strengthening their vaccination-exemption laws.  For instance, California, offers no non-medical exemptions for parents who do not wish to comply with school-mandated vaccinations.  So while there have been fewer measles outbreaks, there has been a 150% increase in medical exemptions in California over the past year. Buttenheim discusses how state legislators can balance both protecting disease outbreaks and the collective “herd immunity,” as well as the concerns of anti-vaccine parents who are concerned about parental rights. Read more at Governing.

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