TESTY TURN IN VAX DEBATE
The debate over vaccine mandates has reached a fever pitch in as anti-vax groups hit back and college mandates enrage students and parents.
On Beacon Hill, an avalanche of testimony over public school vaccine mandates has pitted parents, teachers and doctors against one another — with testimony turning nasty at times.
Religious exemptions took center stage at a virtual State House hearing earlier this week as testimony unfolded over a set of bills that seek to curb the number of vaccine exemptions in public schools.
Religious exemptions account for more than 80% of all vaccine exemptions in Massachusetts, state Department of Public Health data shows, where exemptions combined account for 1.14% of the entire student population — far below the threshold medical experts say could affect herd immunity.
Still, DPH data shows a six-fold increase in exemptions being sought by students since the 1980s, which lawmakers said worries them.
“While you might see an overall high vaccination rate for the entire state, that’s not the way that these diseases penetrate our communities,” state Rep. Andy Vargas, D-Haverhill, said Monday, who pointed out all but one county has schools where the 95% herd immunity threshold for measles has not been met.
A bill filed by Vargas seeks to eliminate exemptions on religious grounds as several states, including Connecticut, New York and Maine have done. Another by state Sen. Becca Rausch, D-Needham, would streamline religious exemptions under stricter criteria.
Several parents questioned whether the bills are a precursor to COVID-19 vaccine requirements for their children. Gov. Charlie Baker has said there would be no statewide mandate for adults or school-aged children.
Still, anti-vaxxers hit back.
Mashpee parent Clayton Southworth called the bills the product of an “authoritarian dictatorship.”
“Millions of us parents will not let this happen. … Do not poke the bear. We will fight,” Southworth said. “You don’t have the right to force your beliefs on me. I don’t have the right to inject monkey semen into you.”
Joint Committee on Public Health Chairwoman Joanne Comerford clapped back saying, “We are not in the business of poking the bear, but message received. Piss poor job.”
Ashley Reed, who claimed in her testimony to be a “vaccine-injured” individual and mother of two unvaccinated children said eliminating the religious exemption would violate her religious freedom as a Christian.
Only one major religion — Christian Science, founded in Boston — prohibits vaccination. Others that condemn abortion and use of fetal tissue leave the decision to the flock.
State Sen. Jack Lewis, D-Winchester, who graduated from the seminary 11 years ago, said even the Catholic Church condoned the COVID-19 vaccine as “morally acceptable … due to the situation of the ongoing pandemic.”
At least one person was ejected from the virtual hearing for insulting a lawmaker and others were reprimanded.