Potential impact of ending religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements in New York State
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Issue brief (New York State Health Foundation)
- Contributor(s):
- New York State Health Foundation, issuing body.
- Publication:
- New York, NY : New York State Health Foundation, July 2019
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Schools -- legislation & jurisprudence Vaccination -- legislation & jurisprudence Vaccination Refusal -- legislation & jurisprudence Religion New York United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Measles--a disease the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared eliminated in the year 2000--recently reached its highest levels in 27 years in the United States. At one point, more than two-thirds of these cases were in New York State and New York City. Since September 2018, there have been 623 confirmed measles cases in New York City3 and 369 additional confirmed cases elsewhere in New York State. Measles is preventable with a series of vaccinations in childhood, but most affected communities in New York have relatively large populations of children who have not been vaccinated because of the personal beliefs of their families. Children are required to show proof of vaccination for all required immunizations, including measles, mumps, and rubella, to attend public or private school in New York State. However, a small percentage of children are granted exemptions each year and permitted to attend school unvaccinated. Exemptions from vaccinations because of a conflict with personal or religious beliefs held by the child's family are categorized as "religious exemptions." Children can also be exempt from school vaccine requirements if receiving the vaccine could endanger their health ("medical exemptions"). During the 2017â18 school year, 26,217 students in public and private school and preschool programs statewide had documented religious exemptions from required vaccines.6 To lower the number of disease-susceptible children in the State, New York State passed legislation ending the religious exemption from immunizations for school-age children on June 13, 2019, joining five other states that do not allow religious exemption for vaccinations.8 Following its enactment, a suit was filed on July 10, 2019 challenging the new law; additional legal challenges are expected. According to the law, to enroll or remain enrolled in school, children who previously had a religious exemption must now have received the first dose in each age-appropriate immunization series as soon as June 28, 2019. By July 14, 2019, parents and guardians must have presented evidence to the principal, teacher, owner, or person in charge of the school that they have scheduled appointments for the required subsequent doses. Children who are not vaccinated and do not have a valid medical exemption will no longer be legally allowed to attend school in New York State. Schools that continue to permit unvaccinated students to attend without a medical exemption may face civil penalties. This legislation applies to all Kâ12 public, private, and parochial schools, as well as public and private preschool and daycare centers. It also applies to students enrolled in special education services and students who are educated off school grounds, if they are formally enrolled or associated with a school in New York State. Colleges and universities within the State are still permitted to allow religious exemptions.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (6 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101770961 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101770961