Lawmakers are also considering an amendment that would bar families from claiming a religious exemption to a future COVID-19 vaccine.
CT’s Religious Exemption from Mandatory School Vaccinations
Connecticut will no longer allow religious exemptions from mandatory school vaccinations starting Sept. 1, 2022.
In 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly moved to repeal religious exemptions from mandatory school vaccinations. Children in pre-kindergarten, day care or those new to the school system will no longer be able to claim the exemption starting Sept. 1, 2022. Children who are already in kindergarten through 12th grade can remain exempt for the remainder of their academic careers.
The law has prompted challenges in court and is emerging as an issue in the 2022 statewide elections.
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Lawmakers advanced a bill barring new religious exemptions to vaccines. Here’s what it would do.
As thousands of angry parents protested Monday, lawmakers advanced a bill eliminating the religious exemption to vaccines.
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Hundreds turn out to testify on plan to repeal CT’s religious vaccine exemption
Lawmakers pledged to include feedback from Wednesday’s public hearing in later versions of the bill.
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Proposal to eliminate religious exemption would bar unvaccinated children from school next fall
The bill is expected to be controversial, but lawmakers say they must act to prevent a public health crisis.
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Catholic leaders endorse vaccines, but stop short of backing repeal of religious exemption
A week before the start of the legislative session, Catholic leaders said the use of vaccines is “not immoral according to church guidance.”
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Lawmakers set hearing on proposal to repeal state’s religious vaccine exemption
Lawmakers are wasting no time seeking public input on a proposal to erase Connecticut’s religious exemption from mandatory vaccinations. They have scheduled a public hearing on the plan for Feb. 19 – just two weeks into the legislative session. A draft of the bill is expected to be released next week.
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Lawmakers debate ‘grandfathering’ unvaccinated children in effort to repeal religious exemption
To give the bill a better chance of passing, proponents are exploring ways to make it less contentious, including allowing some unvaccinated students to stay in school.
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Health officials say Connecticut child has contracted measles
State Health Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell said Friday that the child was not infectious while at school.
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Data show spike in number of CT schools that have lost herd immunity to measles
The data released by the state also shows the number of students claiming the religious exemption from vaccination shot up by 25% last school year.
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School-by-school vaccine data vital to moms of kids with compromised immune systems
The state is expected to release school-by-school vaccination data today. For moms like Rachel McCann and Lindsay David, that information is vitally important.
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What is Connecticut’s religious exemption from vaccines? Here are five things to know about the controversial provision
Democratic legislators ignited controversy by suggesting the state repeal its religious exemption to mandatory vaccinations.
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Conservative lawmakers, activists oppose repeal of state’s religious exemption to vaccines
Proponents of the state’s religious exemption to mandatory immunizations on Thursday asked Gov. Ned Lamont and Health Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell to rescind their support for a repeal of the controversial provision.
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DPH commissioner finds her voice on immunizations
Gov. Ned Lamont promised Monday to take the lead on the repeal of religious exemptions for school-age vaccinations.
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Lamont, health commissioner will support repeal of state’s religious vaccine exemption
Their support follows the release of data showing a recent 25% spike in the number of students claiming the exemption.
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Lawyer for Bristol couple fights to keep school vaccination data private
The couple’s lawyer argued that school-level immunization data would be used as “a scare tactic to try to bully people into vaccinating.”