Washington lawmakers weigh vaccine bill in epidemic

In the midst of a measles outbreak that has sickened more than 50 people in the Pacific Northwest, lawmakers in Washington heard testimony Friday on a bill that would prevent parents from claiming a personal exemption or philosophical allowing them to remove their school-age children from combined measles, mumps vaccine and rubella.

Hundreds of people opposed to the measure lined up more than an hour before the start of the hearing before the Health and Wellness Committee of the House, many wearing stickers with the HB bill number 1638, surrounded by a barred circle.

The bill comes as health officials have reported at least 52 known cases in the state of Washington and four in Oregon. Most of Washington's cases are concentrated in Clark County, just north of Portland, Oregon. The measure is sponsored by a lawmaker from this region, Republican Paul Harris of Vancouver, and enjoys the support of the state medical badociation and Governor Jay Inslee. Inslee said the state of emergency last month.

Harris said residents of his area are "concerned about our community, its immunity and the safety of the community."

The measure helps to prove the immunity of the disease through laboratory evidence or a history of disease to substitute for vaccination.

At present, the State grants school vaccination exemptions to children in public or private schools or licensed child care centers on the basis of medical, religious, personal or philosophical convictions. Unless otherwise requested, a child must be vaccinated against almost a dozen diseases – including poliomyelitis, whooping cough and mumps – and present evidence of acquired immunity before attending school or attending a day care center.

John Wiesman, secretary of the state's Department of Health, said the effort to limit exemptions was "to protect schools and protect vulnerable children."

Wiesman told the panel that, compared to other state epidemics over the past decade, "the epidemic we are currently facing is larger and infects people faster than recent history."

Among the opponents of the bill, environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., questioned safety standards for vaccines.

After the hearing, Susie Corgan, of Informed Choice Washington, said that parents worried about their children's adverse reactions to vaccines are entitled to philosophical exemptions.

"Where there is a risk, there must be a choice, and there is a risk with this vaccine as with any other medical procedure," she said.

Four percent of high school students in Washington benefit from a non-medical vaccine exemption, according to the state's Department of Health. Of these, 3.7% of the exemptions are personal, the rest being religious exemptions. In Clark County, 6.7% of kindergarten children benefit from a non-medical exemption for the 2017-2018 school year, according to health officials.

Washington is one of 17 states, including Oregon, that allow a type of non-medical exemption for vaccines against "personal, moral, or other beliefs," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Legislation introduced in the state of Washington in 2015 that would have removed personal or philosophical conviction allowance for a child vaccine exemption has never been introduced in the House for a vote after being confronted with strong opposition.

The WSMA and Inslee also support a larger bill introduced in the Senate earlier this week. This measure, which has not yet been auditioned, would not allow personal or philosophical derogations for compulsory school vaccinations.

California abolished personal belief vaccine exemptions for public and private schoolchildren in 2015, following the measles outbreak at Disneyland that sickened 147 people and spread to the US and Canada . Vermont also dropped its personal exemption in 2015.

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