Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/
Accessed 8 June 2013

Vaccine exemptions rising, tied to whooping cough
NEW YORK | Mon Jun 3, 2013 12:10am EDT
Excerpt
(Reuters Health) – The number of New York parents who had their child skip at least one required vaccine due to religious reasons increased over the past decade, according to a new study.

What’s more, researchers found counties with high religious exemption rates also had more whooping cough cases – even among children that had been fully vaccinated.

States set their own requirements on which vaccines a child must have received to enter school. All allow exemptions for medical reasons, and most, including New York, also permit parents with a religious objection to forgo vaccination.

Less than half of states permit exemptions due to personal or philosophical beliefs. But those also can get counted under religious views in places with less strict exemption policies.

“Particularly in New York State, I do believe that parents are using religious exemptions for their personal beliefs,” said Dr. Jana Shaw, who worked on the study at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse…

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/03/us-vaccine-exemptions-idUSBRE95202G20130603