NYS Bill Would Remove All Non-Medical Exemptions for Childhood Vaccines

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, a Bronx Democrat, is introducing a bill that would give New York state one of the strongest immunization laws in the country. The bill would eliminate all non-medical exemptions for administering immunizations to children.

Under current law, all children are required to be immunized for polio, mumps, diphtheria, German measles, hepatitis B, Haemophilus Influenzae Type b (Hib), and chicken pox. Children can be exempted from these vaccines if their parents have a religious or philosophical objection to them, or if a licensed physician certifies that a vaccine poses health risks to the child.