Washington State House Passes Bill Banning Personal Vaccine Exemptions

Washington State lawmakers passed a bill that would eliminate all personal and philosophical exemptions for the measles vaccine for school-aged children. The legislation would still allow people to claim exemptions for religious reasons. The move comes as health officials are dealing with an outbreak in the state that has seen 71 people contract measles, most of whom are children under the age of ten.

The legislation passed by the House only removes the exemptions for the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, while the Senate is considering a bill that would remove them from all vaccines school children are required to have. It is unclear which version of the bill lawmakers will ultimately move forward with.

According to the Seattle Times, four percent of students in the state have received a non-medical exemption for the required vaccinations.

The outbreak is centered just north of Portland in Clark County, where 6.7 percent of kindergartners received a non-medical exemption for the 2017-18 school year.

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