End religious exemption to vaccines

For most who claim it, the “religious exemption” to the state’s mandatory vaccination laws for school-age children is based in anything but religion.

No major religion forbids vaccines. Most religions encourage them.

But the number of religious exemptions increased dramatically in Connecticut over just a few years. This is serious a threat to a sound public health policy, and the state needs to get rid of it.

Too many unvaccinated children presents a clear public health risk. Last year, more than 100 schools had vaccination rates below what’s considered necessary for herd immunity. That is an unacceptable situation, and the state cannot condone it.

Gov. Ned Lamont recently pledged to remove the exemption, and it’s about time. Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell, the commissioner of the Department of Public Health, is now on board as well.

In Connecticut, the exemption is too easy to claim. Parents can get an exemption by simply signing a statement, which must then be acknowledged by a judge, lawyer, notary public, town clerk or school nurse, among a few others. A bill that would have simply removed school nurses from the list of people who can sign off on parents’ statements caused an uproar in the spring, even though it added clergy to the list of people who could acknowledge the objections.

No one should doubt the sincerity of parents who are concerned about their children’s health. It’s true that some people have been injured by vaccines. But those cases are so vanishingly rare, and the benefits of vaccines so broadly understood, that the exception proves the rule: Vaccines are safe, effective ways to prevent disease.

As Sen. Martin Looney, president pro tem of the state Senate said, “Children are not chattel.” And parental rights do not include risking the health of children across the state.

A number of states have removed religious exemptions, including Maine and New York. It’s time for Connecticut to join them.