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DOSSIER – In photos of this file dated January 30, 2019 and posted at the Vancouver Clinic in Vancouver, Washington state, warn patients and visitors of a measles outbreak. Lawmakers in the state of Washington voted Tuesday, April 23, 2019 in favor of removing the possibility for parents to claim a personal or philosophical exemption from the vaccination of their children against measles, although medical exemptions and religious still exist. (AP Photo / Gillian Flaccus, File)
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Lawmakers in the state of Washington voted Tuesday to prevent parents from demanding a personal or philosophical exemption from vaccinating their children against measles, although medical and religious exemptions remain.
The vote comes as the number of measles cases in the country has reached 600 this year.
The move is now heading to Governor Jay Inslee, who has expressed his support for the limitation of exemptions. The state has seen 74 cases of measles this year. Most of these cases involved a county and involved children aged 10 or younger who were not vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that by the end of last week, 626 measles cases had been confirmed in the United States so far this year, up from 555 a week ago. While 22 states have reported cases, most cases are concentrated in New York and neighboring Rockland County, north of the city.
Democratic State Representative Monica Stonier of Vancouver said the measure "will reduce the risks to our communities when an epidemic is possible."
"It keeps kids in school," she said. "This ensures the safety of people with compromised immunities in their communities."
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 public or private schools or licensed state daycares. Medical and religious exemptions remain in place as part of the measure.
Unless exempted, children must be vaccinated against almost a dozen diseases – including polio, whooping cough and measles – or show proof of their acquired immunity before they can go to school or go to the center of the small childhood.
The state Department of Health said that 4% of K-12 students in Washington benefit from a non-medical vaccine exemption. Of these, 3.7% of the exemptions are personal and the others are religious.
While the Senate had first sought a bill that would have removed the philosophical exemption for all required infant vaccines, both chambers have finally decided to go forward with the bill proposed by the House solely on measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, also known as MMR.
Republican Representative Joe Schmick said the measure was "the wrong direction we should take."
"Parents should make this call, and it would be up to them to decide," he said.
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