Exemptions Rise, Whooping Cough Spreads
A recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that whooping cough is spreading due to the rise of vaccine exemptions that school aged children are allowed to obtain.
The study examined non-medical exemptions and found that in states that allowed personal-belief exemptions, the exemption rate increased by 6% per year from 1991 to 2004, while states that granted exemptions “easily” the rate rose by 5% per year for the same time period. No statistically significant change was seen for states that offered only the religious belief exemption or had a medium to difficult exemption process. All results were associated with an increase of the whooping cough.
DC, MD, and VA all grant only medical exemptions and religious exemptions.
Resource: Journal of American Medical Association