Planned legislation would remove exemptions for vaccinations
Ponca City Now - June 8, 2015 7:57 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A state lawmaker wants to prevent Oklahoma parents from using certain exemptions to keep their schoolchildren unvaccinated.
Oklahoma requires students be vaccinated to attend public schools, but is one of about 18 states that allows parents to choose a philosophical reason for not vaccinating their children.
Republican Sen. Ervin Yen of Oklahoma City tells the Oklahoman he plans to file legislation next year to remove religious and philosophical exemptions. He says he is concerned about the rising number of Oklahomans who are choosing not to vaccinate their children.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health reports only .3 percent of kindergartners weren’t vaccinated because of their parents’ personal beliefs in the 2004 to 2005 school year. That number has risen to 1.1 percent in the 2014 to 2015 school year.
