It's easy to find bad information about the safety of vaccines on the internet. That's, well, the internet. But what's scarier is that in many states, parents who buy into those myths can easily opt out of immunizing their children. In some cases, it's no harder than checking a box on a school form saying that vaccines are against their "personal beliefs."In a 2012 study of vaccine exemption policies across the country, a team of researchers led by Saad Omer, a professor of public health at Emory University, found that of the 20 statesthat allowed personal belief exemptions for enrollment in a public school or child-care program, less than a third made it "difficult" to do so.
(for instance, by making parents re-apply for one each year, explain their beliefs in writing, or get a notarized letter of approval from a health care provider). In the nine "easy" states identified in the study, the rules required only signing a form. Indeed, Omer suspects that some parents sign vaccine exemption forms not because they actually hold anti-vaccine beliefs, but simply because it's easier than juggling the doctors' appointments, missed work, and other inconveniences of getting kids vaccinated. (More about that here.)
if accurate it would seem that those parents who reject vaccinations for their kids well being are either all Jehovah Witnesses or have more important concerns than their kids life just my opinion.
Personal belief exemptions aren't the only option available to vaccine-averse parents. Every state allows for medical exemptions for reasons such as an anaphylactic allergic response to a previous vaccine.Forty-eight states (all but West Virginia and Mississippi) allow exemptions on religious grounds. In many states, obtaining a religious exemption isn't any harder than getting a personal belief exemption. But according to Omer, religious exemptions aren't as popular as personal belief exemptions.He's found that opt-out rates in states that allow personal belief exemptions are 2.5 times as high as rates in states that only permit religious exemptions. In one analysis he found that whooping cough rates in states with personal belief exemptions are more than double those in states that allow only religious exemptions.
note the dark green states they are all red states, why would a state want to make it harder to protect your children i guess the same reason they oppose ACA, that really makes no sense but were talking red states there is no sense of anything but opposition and hate.
my biggest problem is did these state officials decide to do this on their own or did those people vote for it if the former where is the noise, if the latter God Bless those kids. if these were blue states republicans would run ads that say "Dems don't care about their kids willing to let them get sick or die" but that's not the circumstance is it those are red states. this is what the republicans want when they say send legislation back to the states because it gives them control over those Americans not because they know better
