Vaccination exemption based on personal beliefs

May 17, 2016

Currently, New Hampshire requires that all schoolchildren receive immunizations for 7 illnesses, but parents may apply for an exemption if a physician certifies the immunization could be detrimental to the child's health, or if parents or guardians object for religious reasons.

However, twenty states also allow parents to exempt their children from vaccinations based on non-religious, personal objections like particular morals or philosophical beliefs.

Those in favor of allowing such exemptions hold that parents should not be forced to immunize their children if it would compromise personal or philosophical beliefs.

Those opposed argue that allowing such exemptions risks compromising "herd immunity" which protects those children who are unable to receive vaccinations for medical reasons, and suggest for some diseases like measles that 90-95% of the population be vaccinated.

Comments

Jessica

June 16, 2019

Where there is a risk there must be a choice! Getting a medical exemption is an extremely difficult process and in 90% of cases you may not get a medical exemption for your child unless he or she has had a serious adverse reaction in the past or a sibling has had a reaction. Even in a case where a child has an allergy to an ingredient in the vaccine it can still be a grueling process to get an exemption for that vaccine, instead the parents are told to “stand by with an epi-pen, just Incase” in what world is this acceptable? Our children are not lab rats to be tested on! I will not play roulette with my child’s life, especially since I have done my part in having genetic testing done to show that my child has a genetic predisposition to vaccine injury! Currently that is still not enough to get a medical exemption! This should not even be a topic up for discussion, parent should always have a choice when it comes to making medical decisions for their children as long as they of sound mind! To say that this is an over-reach of government is a drastic understatement! There must be ways to test to see if these children are high risk of injury before exposing them to this kind of risk. We are all just parents trying to protect our babies! There is no cause more important than that.