Towards Eliminating Nonmedical Vaccination Exemptions Among School-Age Children

Abstract

The increase in childhood vaccine hesitancy and corresponding use of nonmedical exemptions to abstain from vaccination has deleteriously impacted the public’s health. This has many in the field calling for widespread elimination of nonmedical school-entry exemptions, as has been done in six states to date: West Virginia, Mississippi, California, New York, Maine, and Connecticut. By eliminating nonmedical exemptions, vaccination rates can be improved, with the corresponding decline in vaccine-preventable disease incidence. Yet the path towards widespread adoption of these policies presents legislative and judicial implications which evolve with the changing political landscape. In this this article, we discuss legislative actions concerning the expansion of exemptions, whether the widespread elimination of nonmedical exemptions would be effective from a practical and legal end, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced such legislation, with specific focus on Delaware.