Officials push for vaccinations

More parents in Idaho have their children opt out of shots

When Idaho had a rare measles outbreak a few months ago, health officials scrambled to keep it from spreading. In the end, 10 people, all in one family, were infected, all unvaccinated.

This time, the state was lucky, said the region’s medical director,

Dr. Perry Jansen. The family quickly quarantined, and the children were already taught at home. The outbreak could have been worse if the children were in public school, given the state’s low vaccination rates, he said.

In Idaho last year, parents opted out of state-required vaccines for 12 percent of children entering kindergarten, the highest rate in the nation.

“We tend to forget that diseases like measles and polio used to kill people,” said Jansen, medical director of the Southwest District Health Department

All states require children to have certain routine vaccines to go to public school, and often private school and day care, to prevent outbreaks of once-common childhood diseases such as measles and whooping cough. All provide exemptions for children who have a medical reason for avoiding the shots. Most also offer waivers for religious beliefs. Fifteen allow a waiver for any personal belief.

Last school year, vaccination waivers among kindergartners hit an all-time high: 3 percent, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Waivers for religious or personal beliefs have been rising, with some states loosening laws, others by vaccine misinformation and political rhetoric amplified during the pandemic.

In Idaho, “a parent only has to provide a signed statement,” to get a waiver, the state’s health department said.

September’s measles outbreak started when a resident of Nampa returned home from a trip abroad. Measles is usually brought into the U.S. through travel as widespread vaccination has all but eliminated local spread of the disease.

It takes a very high level of vaccination — around 95 percent — to protect against the spread of measles and other diseases, experts say. During the pandemic, the national rate for vaccinations among kindergartners dropped to 93 percent.

While some states have made it easier to opt out, others have clamped down. Connecticut eliminated its religious waiver for vaccinations in 2021. With only a medical waiver now, the kindergartner vaccination rate reached 97 percent or above last year.