Forty-five states allow parents to cite religious exemptions from school immunization laws, while 15 allow personal belief exemptions. Researchers examined CDC data on exemptions for children entering kindergarten between 2011 to 2018.
They found that states that allowed both exemptions were less likely to have kindergartners with religious exemptions, compared to states that allowed religious exemptions only.
The researchers also studied the effects of Vermont’s decision to eliminate personal belief exemptions in 2016. They found that the number of kindergartners with a religious exemption in Vermont increased after the personal belief exemption was no longer allowed.
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