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OLYMPIA – A measure to remove the philosophical exemption for the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was approved Wednesday night by the Washington State Senate.
After some initial confusion as to whether the bill had been properly introduced by the deadline, majority Democrats returned in the evening to debate the measure and passed it by 25 votes against. 22. The House passed the measure last month, but as it was amended by a Senate committee, the bill is returned to the rotunda for a final vote.
The bill was introduced in the midst of a measles outbreak in the state that sickened 74 people. The last case identified in Clark County, southwestern Washington – where 73 cases have been reported – dates back to March 18. A home is considered eliminated after 42 days without a new case.
Democratic Senator Annette Cleveland of Vancouver, a legislator from this region, said a vote against the measure is "a vote against public health."
"Our responsibility is to take quick action to prevent the potential for unnecessary suffering," she said.
Washington is one of 17 states that allow non-medical vaccine exemption for personal or philosophical beliefs. In addition, medical and religious exemptions exist for state public or private schools or licensed child care centers.
Unless waived, children must be vaccinated against almost a dozen diseases – including polio, whooping cough and mumps – and show proof of their acquired immunity before they can attend school or daycare. While the Senate first asked for a bill that would remove the philosophical exemption for all required childhood vaccines, it finally decided to move forward with the more limited measure of the House to focus on measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, also called MMR.
Republican Senator Steve O'Ban of University Place said the passage of the bill is an inappropriate exercise of government power.
"We will impose and require that parents who have made the choice not to submit their children to an invasive procedure must now do so," he said.
More than a dozen amendments were rejected, including one that would have removed the immunization requirements of students attending private schools and another that would have required the Board of Health to obtain approval. to add vaccines to the list of required immunizations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that 555 cases of measles were confirmed this year, compared with 465 a week ago.
Although 20 states, including Washington, reported cases, New York was the epicenter with nearly two-thirds of cases.
Four percent of K-12 students in Washington benefit from exemptions for non-medical vaccines, the state health department said. Of these, 3.7% of the exemptions are personal and the others are religious.
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