State Rep to Introduce Bill That Would Nix Religious Vaccination Exemption

Vermont Rep. George Till (D-Jericho) plans to introduce a bill next week that would prevent parents from opting their children out of mandatory school vaccinations for purely religious reasons, setting the stage for yet another showdown over public health and civil liberties — only this time, in the middle of a pandemic.

Till, a practicing physician, told Seven Days on Friday that he found it "disturbing" to see how many people "suddenly found religion" after Vermont became the first state in the nation to remove its "philosophical exemption" five years ago, a move he strongly supported.

A study published in late 2019 found that while the number of Vermont kindergarteners who avoided vaccinations for non-medical reasons dropped from 5.7 percent to 3.7 percent in the two years after the policy change, the rate of religious exemption claims jumped from 0.5 percent to 3.7 percent.

"The truth of it is that there are very few religions that actually have an objection to [vaccines]," Till said. "People were really, truthfully just misusing the religious exemption."

Read more: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2021/01/22/state-rep-to-introduce-bill-that-would-nix-religious-vaccination-exemption