Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
When Exemptions Are Few, Kids Get Immunized
With rampant diabetes and obesity, Mississippi and West Virginia have struggled with health crises. Yet when it comes to getting children vaccinated, these states don't mess around. The states, among the poorest in the country, are the only ones that refuse to exempt school children from mandatory vaccinations based on their parents' personal or religious beliefs. Separate efforts to significantly loosen those rules died in both states' legislatures last week. (2/10)
Robert Siegel speaks to Emory University epidemiologist Dr. Saad Omer about his research into state laws covering non-medical vaccine exemptions. (2/10)
Federal lawmakers Tuesday offered a bipartisan endorsement for the use of vaccines as a safe and effective means of protection against preventable infectious diseases in an effort to alleviate concerns raised in recent years by anti-vaccine parents, even as a major proponent of parent choice was not heard from. (Johnson, 2/11)
