SR: Time to tighten vaccination law

The mumps outbreak is a good time to revisit the importance of “herd immunity” and the vaccination exemptions allowed under state law.

As of Wednesday, the Spokane Regional Health District had ordered more than 200 unvaccinated public school students to stay home. It’s for a good reason.

State law allows unvaccinated children to attend public schools if parents or guardians object on religious, medical or personal grounds. Religion is seldom invoked, and the medical exemption requires a signed note from a health care provider. That’s an important requirement, because of the proliferation of crackpot theories about the “dangers” of vaccinations.

Unlike many states, Washington still allows parents to opt out for personal reasons. The reason may be as simple as considering the shots a bother. That’s a shortsighted roll of the dice, because unvaccinated kids are far more likely to contract a communicable disease. Even if they don’t, they can be sent home for weeks at a time. Those parents now face child care challenges and the prospect of their children falling behind in school.

That sounds like a far greater hassle than getting them immunized in the first place/ Spokesman-Review Editorial Board . More here .