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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Oregon House OKs bill making schools publish vaccine rates

The Columbian
Published:

SALEM, Ore. — House lawmakers approved a measure Thursday ordering schools in Oregon to make public the number of vaccinated students they have enrolled in their classes and to carve out those rates by each disease.

Oregon has one of the highest rates of kindergarten students using a nonmedical waiver to opt out of one or more vaccinations, with 5.8 percent of this year’s kindergarten class entering school without some of their shots.

Lawmakers have been trying to reduce those rates, saying a high number of immunized students protects those who can’t get the shots themselves, such as children with leukemia or suppressed immune systems.

But parents have pushed back against immunization requirements, saying it takes away their choices, and got legislators to shelve a measure introduced in February removing the personal belief exemption. They’ve also said this bill could shame them into vaccinating their kids when they don’t want to.

“I don’t think you have to extrapolate very far to see what perhaps the next outcome might be, i.e. allowing parents to opt their kids out of particular schools that may not have a satisfactory immunization rate, in their mind,” said Rep. Mark Johnson, a Hood River Republican.

Supporters of the measure say it’ll help parents with children vulnerable to contagious diseases decide whether a school is safe for their kids.

“If a parent has a particularly vulnerable child and a school that child has been assigned to has particularly bad immunization rates, making their child more vulnerable, they certainly have a right to know about it,” said Portland Democrat Rep. Mitch Greenlick.

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