![]() Source Texas Department of State Health Services. Information on the NME rate for each school is important for parents of immunocompromised children searching for schools with high vaccination rates, which would reduce the likelihood of their child being exposed to vaccine-preventable diseases.įigure 1 - Rate of Nonmedical Vaccine Exemptions in Texas, Grades K–12 ![]() However, for larger districts such as the Houston Independent School District (HISD) with more than 250 schools and approximately 200,000 students, this aggregate data does little to show public health officials where NME rates are higher or lower (HISD 2018). Currently, the state releases data about NMEs at the school district level. Sheffield with Representatives John Zerwas, Jim Murphy, and Donna Howard, the bill sought to release campus-level medical and nonmedical vaccine exemption rates publicly on the Texas Department of State Health Service (TX DSHS) website. Sponsored by Public Health Committee Vice Chairman Representative J.D. HB 2249 was titled “requirements for and the transparency of epidemiological reports and immunization exemption information and reports” and was also known as the “Parent’s Right to Know” bill (Texas HB 2249 2017). The first vaccine-related bill to receive a hearing in the 2017 legislative session was HB 2249 on April 11, 2017. Legislative Hearings: HB 2249 "Parent's Right to Know" and HB 1124 "Making NMEs Easier to Obtain" While some of these witnesses acknowledged the public health concerns with NMEs, they emphasized that personal rights are equally if not more important and need to be addressed as well. Still others discussed concerns that families who obtain NMEs will be discriminated against if information on school NMEs was made available. In addition, several witnesses argued that vaccination requirements violated their personal rights, freedom, and privacy. Witnesses argued that the vaccines were unsafe, ineffective, and/or led to increased disease. A series of themes emerged from the testimonies of the witnesses opposed to vaccination requirements. This paper reviews and analyzes the transcripts from the two hearings to identify key arguments promoting NMEs or opposing school-mandated vaccinations. In the 85th Texas legislative session (in 2017), two vaccine-related bills received public hearings-House Bill 2249 (HB 2249) and House Bill 1124 (HB 1124). In contrast, stricter NME requirements lead to higher vaccination rates and increased public safety (Omer 2012 Shaw 2018). Data indicate that high NME rates correlate to lower vaccination rates for vaccines such as the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella), leading to a higher risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (Olive et al. ![]() Four Texas cities-Houston, Fort Worth, Plano, and Austin-were identified as “hotspot” metropolitan areas with high rates (more than 400 students) of NMEs for kindergarten students (Olive et al. This increase in undervaccinated children has raised serious concerns with public health experts within the state. Since the policy change, conscientious NMEs have increased to 56,738 NMEs in 2017-18 from 2,314 in 2003-04, almost a 25-fold increase (TX DSHS 2016 TX DSHS 2018). In 2003, the Texas legislature passed a law expanding exemptions to allow parents to opt out of vaccinations for reasons of conscience. Texas first began granting exemptions for medical and religious reasons in 1972 (TX DSHS 2016). that allow parents to obtain nonmedical exemptions (NMEs) for required school and daycare immunizations based on philosophical or personal beliefs (Olive et al.
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