The AAP Wants to Legally Require Immunizations for Your Kids
With the recent measles outbreaks spreading across the United States, a renewed focus has been placed on immunization requirements (or lack thereof) for kids who attend public school.
Currently, all public schools in the U.S. require students to have their immunizations before they can attend. However, all but 3 allow parents to "opt-out" of the requirements for religious reasons. 18 of those 47 states (including Louisiana and Texas) allow parents to ignore the requirements for "personal, moral or philosophical beliefs against immunizations."
FOX 4 is reporting that these states have a higher concentration of "hot zones," or localized outbreaks of diseases (like the recent reports of increased measles infections). The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is campaigning to end these types of exemptions. They claim that the only exemptions that should exist are medical. Currently, only California, Mississippi and West Virginia don't give parents the ability to opt-out of the requirement.