We are petitioning the Washington State Government to make vaccines mandatory for all K-12 Washington school children, except for those with specific medical conditions or those members of religious organizations which expressly disallow medical interventions. 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 Washington schools unless they have a medical condition that precludes it or are member of a church with does not allow medical interventions.
