Gov. Peter Shumlin signed a controversial bill that removes Vermont’s philosophical exemption to school entry vaccines.
Shumlin had said for weeks he was “inclined” to sign the bill, and the governor put his pen to it Thursday without fanfare. He held a press conference earlier in the day for the signing of the transportation bill.
“Vaccines work and parents should get their kids vaccinated. I know there are strong feelings on both sides of this issue. I wish the legislation passed three years ago had worked to sufficiently increase vaccination rates. However we’re not where we need to be to protect our kids from dangerous diseases, and I hope this legislation will have the effect of increasing vaccination rates,” Shumlin said in an emailed statement.
The law does not remove the religious or medical exemptions for school entry vaccines.
There are 3,479 children in Vermont covered by philosophical exemptions, which represents 3.8 percent of all students in the state, according to the most recent Department of Health figures.
Philosophical exemptions will no longer be valid starting July 1, 2016.
Vermont requires five vaccines for school entry: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis; polio; hepatitis B; chickenpox; and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR).
Efforts to remove the philosophical exemption were renewed after a measles outbreak that spread to 19 states earlier this year, raised concerns that declining vaccination rates in Vermont increase the severity of a potential outbreak here.
Vaccine choice advocates vigorously opposed its elimination, rallying earlier this week to urge Shumlin not to sign the bill.
