Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

What is Connecticut’s religious exemption from vaccines? Here are five things to know about the controversial provision

  • Health
  • by Jenna Carlesso
  • October 18, 2019
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

mark pazniokas :: ctmirror.org

Renée Coleman-Mitchell, commissioner of public health, with Gov. Ned Lamont recommending a repeal of the state’s religious exemption to vaccines.

Democratic legislators ignited controversy last spring when they suggested the state repeal its religious exemption to mandatory vaccinations, a longstanding provision in Connecticut law that allows parents to refrain from immunizing their school-aged children on the basis of religious belief.

Lawmakers stopped short of introducing legislation this year, but they pledged to revive the issue when the General Assembly is back in session next February. In the meantime, Gov. Ned Lamont and Renée Coleman-Mitchell, the state’s public health commissioner, have added their voices to the debate, calling for a rollback of the religious exemption.

Here’s a look at what’s happening with the controversial provision.

When was the religious exemption added to state law?

The Connecticut General Assembly included the religious exemption in a bill passed in 1959 that made vaccinations mandatory for school attendance. The state at the time was in the midst of a polio epidemic. Lawmakers called the measure a necessary step in shielding children. About 63,000 kids under age 5 were not protected against the disease. Another 24,000 between the ages of 5 and 9 were not fully immunized. The exemption was added as a “safeguard to protect religious beliefs.”

The religious exemption, along with the medical exemption, has been on the books ever since.

A transcript of the Senate vote authorizing mandatory vaccinations for children attending Connecticut’s schools.

How does it work?

Families can fill out a form or write a letter to their child’s school nurse or principal saying they are refraining from vaccination based on religious beliefs. Parents must do this before a child enters Kindergarten and again before 7th grade, when some additional immunizations are required.

School nurses then report the overall number of students who claim religious or medical exemptions to the state Department of Public Health, which collects school-by-school data.

How many people claim the religious exemption?

In the 2017-18 school year, the most recent data available, 1,255 students in Connecticut claimed the religious exemption. The state tracks data among the Kindergarten and 7th grade classes.

Officials at Connecticut’s public health department are planning to release updated figures – from the 2018-19 school year – on Monday.

What’s the problem?

Over time, the number of children claiming the religious exemption has steadily increased. In the 2003-04 school year, the first in which the state made public the number of religious exemptions, 316 students claimed it. Fourteen years later, nearly four times as many children refrained on those grounds.

In August, Connecticut health officials said the number of students who refrained from getting the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine jumped by 25 percent from 2017-18 to 2018-19 – the largest single-year increase since they began collecting the data. The state has not yet released overall figures for 2018-19.

Lawmakers have also pointed to the national measles outbreak this year as a reason to push for a repeal of the exemption.

Mark Pazniokas

Coleman-Mitchell said “children going to school are entitled to learn in a healthy environment safe from disease.”

What’s being done?

Legislators, including several Democratic House and Senate leaders, have called for the erasure of the state’s religious exemption. Lamont and Coleman-Mitchell said they also support a repeal. The lawmakers have vowed to introduce a bill during the upcoming legislative session seeking to wipe out the exemption. The measure will be subject to public hearings.

The proposed legislation would not force children to be immunized, but it would bar unvaccinated kids from enrolling in Connecticut’s public and private schools. Officials cited concern for children with compromised immune systems who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

Legislators from the Connecticut’s conservative caucus are opposed to the rollback. Republican leaders have not said whether they will support the effort.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenna Carlesso is CT Mirror’s Health Reporter, focusing on health access, affordability, quality, equity and disparities, social determinants of health, health system planning, infrastructure, processes, information systems, and other health policy. Before joining CT Mirror Jenna was a reporter at The Hartford Courant for 10 years, where she consistently won statewide and regional awards. Jenna has a Master of Science degree in Interactive Media from Quinnipiac University and a Bachelor or Arts degree in Journalism from Grand Valley State University.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Grocery store workers ‘disgusted’ with Lamont’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Grocery store workers are frustrated with Gov. Ned Lamont, who is no longer prioritizing them in the coronavirus vaccination schedule.

Breaking with national recommendations, Lamont says Connecticut’s vaccine rollout will now be prioritized by age
by Jenna Carlesso and Keith M. Phaneuf

People aged 55 to 64 will be next in line for the vaccine.

Medicare cuts payment to 774 hospitals over patient complications
by Jordan Rau | Kaiser Health News

Six Connecticut hospitals are cited in 2021.

Why we can’t make vaccine doses any faster
by Isaac Arnsdorf and Ryan Gabrielson | ProPublica

Vaccine supply chains are extremely specialized and sensitive, relying on expensive machinery, highly trained staff and finicky ingredients.

Boston Fed chief predicts strong economic recovery begins in 2nd half of 2021 if vaccine reaches enough people
by Keith M. Phaneuf

A strong economic rebound also depends on states helping those hit hardest by COVID-19, a federal reserve official said.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Better rail service will boost Naugatuck Valley economy
by Kara Rochelle

For residents of the Naugatuck Valley, whether you ride the train or not, increased rail service will directly and positively affect your life. Increased and reliable rail service means increases in property values.

Opinion Why a Connecticut family foundation is funding the national movement for Black lives
by William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. Board and Staff

The last several years have thrust racial injustice against Black people not only into the media spotlight, but also into our emerging public consciousness about the continued consequences of our nation’s legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation.

Opinion Statewide standardized testing this Spring: To what end?
by Christopher E. Trombly

Despite many challenges, Congressional committees in both houses remain steadfast in their belief that state standardized testing should be administered this spring.  They cite the recent announcement that NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) testing will not be conducted this year as adding to this “moral imperative.” Better would be for state departments of education to use the myriad data that administrators and teachers have naturally collected since March to allocate resources that will allow for student learning to be recovered, and for historic structural inequities to be addressed at long last.

Opinion Felons and non-citizens on Connecticut juries? Not a good idea
by Steven Wilf

A move is afoot to extend the privilege of sitting on a jury to released felons and non-citizen long-term residents. According to a recent report, supported by Connecticut Chief Justice Richard Robinson, making this change would increase Black and Latinx representation. This is a laudatory goal. But it undermines the very foundations of jury participation as a key aspect of citizenship.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO