‘We’ve Become Complacent’: New York Lawmakers Push To Allow Teens To Get Vaccinated Without Parental Consent
If passed and signed into law, the bill would make New York part of a group of states — ranging from liberal Oregon to conservative South Carolina — that allow minors to ask for vaccinations without parental approval. News on the outbreaks comes out of Arizona and Missouri, as well.
The New York Times:
N.Y. Lawmakers Want To Allow Teenagers To Get Vaccines, Even If Parents Say No
After a measles outbreak in Brooklyn and Rockland County and amid growing concerns about the anti-vaccine movement, a pair of state legislators are proposing allowing minors to receive vaccinations without permission from their parents. The bill would allow any child 14 years or older to be vaccinated and given booster shots for a range of diseases including mumps, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, influenza, hepatitis B and measles, which seemed to be the primary reason for alarm after the recent outbreaks. (McKinley, 3/11)
USA Today:
Vaccines: Facts About Vaccines As Tetanus, Mumps, Whooping Cough Rise
Reports about the return of preventable diseases have been spreading almost as fast as the outbreaks themselves, which are often linked to unvaccinated communities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 228 individual cases of measles in 12 states from Jan. 1 to March 7. As recently as 2016, there were 86 such cases nationwide for the whole year. In 2000, the illness was declared eliminated in the U.S. Mumps and pertussis – whooping cough – have also been on the rise in recent years, the CDC said. (Ortiz, 3/12)
Arizona Republic:
Arizona Measles Outbreak 2019 Has An Important Lesson About Our Future
There was a time when lax laws in Arizona and more than a dozen other states could accommodate the eccentricities of anti-vaxxers and the uncommon religious beliefs of certain parents. We never needed full compliance to protect the herd. With 93-95 percent of people vaccinated, you could still prevent outbreaks. But eccentricity has turned to fad, and a movement of anti-vaxxers has grown more adroit at recruiting numbers in their communities and in the Legislature. (Boas, 3/11)
St. Louis Public Radio:
Health Officials On Alert After Measles Case Confirmed In Jefferson County
Health officials in Jefferson County are trying to find people who may have come in contact with a person there who has caught measles. The person caught the virus after traveling, according to officials at the Jefferson County Health Department. (Fentem, 3/11)
