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OLYMPIA – A proposal to end the personal exemption of parents who do not want their children vaccinated against measles was sent Monday to the Plenary Senate, Republicans calling the attack attacks on individual freedom and Democrats to defend it.
The legislature has struggled for several months to reduce the exemption for child vaccines required for enrollment in public schools following the outbreak of a measles outbreak in Vancouver in January.
The proposal approved by the Senate Committee on Health and Long-Term Care would still allow for medical and religious exemptions to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine or MMR vaccine, but would eliminate the "personal or philosophical" exemption for these vaccines.
It has already been passed by the House, but it is less restrictive than a bill previously passed by the committee that would have removed the personal exemption for all childhood vaccines. This bill has never been voted on in the Senate.
"Personal choice should never be a problem," said Senator Randi Becker, R-Eatonville. "What's the next thing when we say" We need the herd mentality "?"
Senator Karen Keizer, D-Kent, then suggested that Becker was confusing his terms. Health officials spoke of ending the personal exemption to create "collective immunity," she said, when 95% or more of the public is vaccinated so that the population as a whole is safe.
"It's not a mentality, it's a scientific fact," Keizer said. "We have no alternative facts here."
People should not have more personal choice when it comes to vaccination that a homeowner does not have the personal choice of making a fire in his garden at the height of the fire season, she said. .
Senator Ann Rivers of the R-La Center accused the Democrats of rushing to make a decision about the MMR vaccination "so we can crush our breasts".
"Some will say that it's really a joyous day in the state of Washington," Rivers said. "But you know, this is a really sad day because we are depriving parents of the right to make a very important decision and perhaps signing a death sentence for some of these children who should not have any for medical reasons. . "
Committee Chair Annette Cleveland, a Vancouver Democrat with 73 cases of measles reported in the last three months, said parents will still have a say because medical exemptions will continue.
"It's certainly not a day of joy in Washington State where a family must watch their child succumb to a disease that was eradicated at some point," said Cleveland.
Senator Steve O'Ban, R-Pierce County, moved an amendment to maintain the personal exemption but instructed a working group to study the issue. But Cleveland asserted that a task force would not address a public health emergency.
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