Wisconsin Physician Group Comes Out Against Vaccine Exemptions

The Wisconsin Medical Society has voted to oppose exemptions that allow parents not to vaccinate their children because of personal beliefs.

Last year, 4.3 percent of students across the state didn’t get shots due to such beliefs. But there are areas where the rates of unvaccinated children are much higher.

Patrick Remington, a public health physician and member of the WMS’s board of directors, supports the decision to oppose exemptions for philosophical, moral and personal beliefs. He said doctors also would like school vaccination rates to be made public.

“A parent may be interested to know that a school where their child is going has a rate that is below what is recommended, and that school might be a risky place for their child to go if their child is being treated for cancer or has an immune deficiency,” Remington said.

Wisconsin is one of 20 states that allow personal belief waivers for students.

This month, the American Medical Society adopted a policy that says exemptions should only be allowed for medical reasons, not personal or religious. Much of the concern has been prompted because of measles outbreaks across the country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 668 measles cases in 2014, a record-high number. The most recent and publicized outbreak involved an amusement park in California.

Wisconsin has not had any documented cases of measles this year.