To: Phil Barnhart (OR-11) and Lee Beyer (OR-6)
Make Vaccines Mandatory to Attend Oregon Schools
We are petitioning the Oregon State Government to make vaccines mandatory for all K-12 Oregon school children, except for those with specific medical conditions. We would also require all Oregon K-12 schools to publish the current percentage vaccinated rate of all enrolled students. This would eliminate "Personal Belief Exemptions," which are used to opt out of vaccines for non-medical reasons.
Why is this important?
Public health officials have tied the rise in pertussis and measles to the lowering of the vaccination rate. If this trend continues, the immunity of the entire population is threatened (known as ‘herd immunity’). Dangerous communicable diseases will spread further, and will also affect people who have been vaccinated—those with weakened immune systems, the very young, the very old, and the like. This petition seeks to address falling vaccination rates by requiring all children to be vaccinated in order to attend Oregon schools unless they have a medical condition that precludes it.