Philosophical opt-out for vaccine repealed

The Senate has voted to repeal Vermont’s philosophical exemption from immunization requirements to enter kindergarten.

On an 18-11 vote, the Senate tacked the repeal onto a House bill, H.98, which makes technical corrections in laws about communicable disease registries — including the vaccine registry. The underlying bill passed on a voice vote.

The five required immunizations are for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis; polio; hepatitis B; chickenpox; and measles, mumps and rubella. There would still be religious or medical exemptions from those immunizations.

After a hearing in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, Sen. Dick McCormack, D-Windsor County, said the debate pits personal liberty against public health.

“I think we all agree that there are limits on personal liberty,” McCormack said.

The issue resurfaced this winter after a measles outbreak spread to 19 states and infected more than 150 people, raising concerns about declining immunization rates nationally and in Vermont.

Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, who led an unsuccessful effort to repeal Vermont’s philosophical exemption in 2012, was lead sponsor of the amendment. In 2012, the Legislature, kept the exemption, but increased educational requirements around the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Last week, Mullin said Vermont’s declining immunization rates show those efforts aren’t working.

The number of parents claiming a religious or philosophical exemption increased from 5.4 percent in 2012 to 6.1 percent last year, and the majority were philosophical. For the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, more than 90 percent of exemptions claimed by parents were philosophical, according to Health Department figures.