Touting a new study, Lisa Beyer advocates making it harder for parents to opt-out of vaccinating their kids:
In states that have easy requirements for [immunization] waivers — for instance, one parent merely signs a form — nonmedical exemptions grew on average by 13 percent yearly, to 3.3 percent of all students. In states that make it harder for parents — for example, by requiring a letter explaining the reason for opting out — the growth was slower (8 percent yearly) and the percentage of students significantly lower, 1.3 percent.
In what is shaping up to be the worst year for whooping cough in the U.S. since the 1970s — with 29,000 cases and 14 deaths reported so far — the study points to a sensible immunization policy. If vaccine waivers are tougher to get, some parents will forgo them out of convenience. Others will see the hurdles as a sign of how seriously society regards immunizations. Either way, more kids will get the vaccines they need for their own health, and that of their classmates.
The Dish 