When Exemptions Are Few, Kids Get Immunized
The Associated Press reports that Mississippi and Tennessee, which refuse to exempt school children from mandatory vaccinations based on their parents' religious or personal beliefs, have the nation's highest vaccination rates. And on Capitol Hill, lawmakers offer bipartisan support for the use of vaccines to inoculate against preventable infectious diseases.
The Associated Press:
Mississippi, West Virginia Toughest On School Immunizations
With rampant diabetes and obesity, Mississippi and West Virginia have struggled with health crises. Yet when it comes to getting children vaccinated, these states don't mess around. The states, among the poorest in the country, are the only ones that refuse to exempt school children from mandatory vaccinations based on their parents' personal or religious beliefs. Separate efforts to significantly loosen those rules died in both states' legislatures last week. (2/10)
NPR:
When It's Hard To Get A Vaccine Exemption, More Kids Get Shots
Robert Siegel speaks to Emory University epidemiologist Dr. Saad Omer about his research into state laws covering non-medical vaccine exemptions. (2/10)
Modern Healthcare:
Bipartisan Support Voiced For Vaccinations, As One Critic Stays Away
Federal lawmakers Tuesday offered a bipartisan endorsement for the use of vaccines as a safe and effective means of protection against preventable infectious diseases in an effort to alleviate concerns raised in recent years by anti-vaccine parents, even as a major proponent of parent choice was not heard from. (Johnson, 2/11)