Legislators Say: We’re Facing a Crisis – No More Religious Exemptions From Measles Vaccinations!

By Joe Leo

 

New Yorkers have a health crisis on their hands. Measles has resurfaced in New York State and is causing one of the biggest health scares of the twenty-first century.

At a press conference held in front of City Hall on Thursday, state senators accompanied by state physicians said that getting rid of the religious exemption for vaccinations is a necessity for public health.

They are pushing legislation to bar the so-called religious exemption, allowing some to escape the requirement that their children be vaccinated.

“Parents are being misled by ‘junk science’ and using a personal belief loophole not to get their kids vaccinated,” State Senator Brad Holyman said.

Since 2018 there have been 400 confirmed cases of measles in New York State. The press was a response to the state of emergency that Rockland County announced one week ago following an outbreak of measles, with 161 people said to have the disease.

David Carlucci, who represents Rockland County in the senate, said New York State has to wake up to the crisis it is facing.

Measles was reported to have been eradicated in the United States by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. But it has been making a return with a combination of non-vaccinated children in the U.S. and the virus coming in from outside the country.

New York State Assembly member Jeffrey Dinowitz said, “Not getting your kid vaccinated is not just doing wrong by your kid, but doing wrong for all children.”

Holyman added, “Parents have been misinformed and driven to fear [of the vaccination] . . .”

A bill to their, outlawing the religious exemption in California, was heavily referenced during the hour-long press conference. Following a similar measles outbreak, California lawmakers got rid of all religious exemptions and increased their vaccination rate from 90 percent to 95 percent.

“Fifty million people can’t be wrong,” Dinowitz shouted when bringing up the California bill.

Dr. Shelia L. Palevsky suggested that New York State should not allow children into any school in the state if they are not vaccinated. “Measles is the most contagious disease we know about, more than Ebola,” the doctor said.

New York state is not the only state fighting to remove religious exemption for vaccinations. Iowa, Maine, New Jersey, and Vermont are all planning to draw up bills barring religious exemption. Currently four states do not allow religious exemptions: Arizona, California, Mississippi, and West Virginia. City Council Health Chair Mark Levine was not in attendance but his colleagues said that he is strongly behind this cause.