Health
Tougher Laws a Likely Legacy of the Disneyland Measles Outbreak
In this Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015 photo, pediatrician Charles Goodman holds a dose of the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccine at his practice in Northridge, Calif. The vaccine is 99 percent effective at preventing measles, which spreads easily through the air and in enclosed spaces. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, cough and a rash all over the body. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
(Reuters) – Chris Barr had no problem getting his eight children exempted from vaccinations when they went to school. First in California, and later when the family moved to Arkansas, the natural healing practitioner simply signed a piece of paper stating that his personal beliefs didn’t allow the immunizations.
Such exclusions may not be so easy to obtain going forward. This year’s highly publicized measles outbreaks, which have infected more than 150 people in 17 states, are no longer front page news. But they could well have a lasting public health legacy. Already, lawmakers in at least 10 states are promoting legislation that would make exemptions far harder to obtain.
The proposed laws have been introduced in statehouses by both Democrats and Republicans and include a range of approaches, from requiring schools to post immunization rates to entirely eliminating religious and philosophical exemptions. But they all respond to one undeniable fact: Most of the recent measles cases have been in people who were not vaccinated against the disease.
Lawmakers say they are optimistic about the chances of the bills, though most of them aren’t far enough along in the pipeline to predict their fate. Many of the authors say the extensive coverage this year has helped their case.
