Arizona Declared ‘Pro-Vaccination’ State - Should More States Follow?

What’s the story?

• Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) has declared the Grand Canyon State will be a “pro-vaccination” state, and has vowed he won’t sign several controversial bills that could lead to fewer vaccinations.
• “I’m pro-vaccination and anti-measles,” Ducey said, referring to a measles outbreak that continues to affect enclaves around the country.

“I think it’s important for people to know that we are pro-vaccination in the state of Arizona,” Ducey said. “Vaccinations are good for our kids and helpful for public health.”

• Most states currently allow parents to opt out of vaccinations for religious reasons, and 17 states allow exemptions for personal and philosophical reasons. Following the recent measles outbreak, however, at least eight states want to curb personal exemptions for the measles vaccine and some states want to remove “philosophical exemptions" for all vaccines.

What are "philosophical exemptions"?

• While scientific evidence shows that vaccines are safe and effective, 18 states currently allow parents to opt-out of vaccinating their children for “philosophical reasons.”
•  "Nobody should sit in judgment of another person's religious and spiritual beliefs," Barbara Loe Fisher, a spokesperson for the National Vaccine Information Center, a group that lobbies against mandatory vaccination, told NPR.

"No person should be allowed to force someone to violate their conscience when they're making a decision about the use of a pharmacological product that carries a risk of harm."

Source: Adapted from Immunization Action Coalition, Feb. 2017 (published by the National Conference of State Legislatures).

What are the laws?

• All 50 states have laws requiring specific vaccines for students.
• All 50 states allow medical exemption to vaccination.
• Every state except Mississippi and West Virginia grant religious exemptions—for example, Christian Scientists believe diseases should be healed through prayer.
• 18 states allow philosophical exemptions for those who object to immunizations because of personal, moral, or other beliefs. This includes the thoroughly-discredited myth that vaccines cause autism. 

Which states allow nonmedical exemptions?

• Nonmedical exemptions (NMEs) are permitted in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

What do you think?

Should more states require vaccines? Should more states offer NMEs? In Virginia, parents can receive a personal exemption only for the HPV vaccine—should NMEs only pertain to certain vaccines? Take action above and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / fstop123)