Vaccination News 2015: Oregon Bill Seeks To Bar Parents from Claiming Non-Medical Exemptions for Children's Vaccination

With measles outbreaks being reported in several U.S. states, a senator from Oregon is pushing for parents and guardians to be prohibited from claiming non-medical exemptions from vaccination for their children.

Originally, Oregon Senate Bill 442 requires the Oregon Health Authority to give deadlines to parents who availed themselves of non-medical vaccination exemptions in the submission of documents to school administrators, which include documents signed by a healthcare practitioner verifying that the parent has reviewed the risks and benefits of immunization, or a certificate attesting that the parent has completed a vaccine educational module.

An Oregon law passed in 2013 and which took effect on March 1, 2014, required parents or guardians who seek non-medical exemption from vaccination for their children to receive education on the risks and benefits of vaccination.

But amendments to the bill being proposed would ban the claiming of non-medical exemptions for vaccination.

The bill also directs the Oregon Health Authority to define which conditions are qualified for medical exemptions from vaccination.

A Feb. 18 public hearing was set to discuss the bill's importance, "the public health risks associated with Oregon's abysmal immunization rate, the safety of immunizations, and how important they are and how we know that they are very safe," according to Oregon Live.

State Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, who sponsored the bill, expected testimonies from those who oppose the bill and who are concerned about the purported side effects of vaccines.

"When it comes to parental choices that put their child at significant risk and put our community at significant risk, that's where I start to draw the line," Hayward was quoted as saying.

She added: "I'm a family physician and a mom. I care deeply about the health of our state's children and about my children and I think it's the right thing to do."

Feb. 18 was also set as the School Exclusion Day under the Oregon Immunization Program. Starting on that day, children will not be allowed to attend school or child care if their records show missing immunizations.

Last year, local health departments in Oregon sent 32,345 letters to parents and guardians, telling them that their children needed immunizations to stay in school or child care.

A total of 5,227 children were kept out of school or child care until the immunization information was turned in to schools or child care facilities.