Vaccines remain one of the most effective public health tools ever developed, protecting children and communities from dangerous and potentially deadly diseases. Yet obtaining an exemption from Pennsylvania's school immunization requirements is easier than complying with the requirements themselves.

Under current law, families must provide documentation showing their children have received required immunizations or qualify for a medical exemption. Parents seeking a religious exemption, however, need only sign a form once, regardless of changing health risks, emerging disease outbreaks, or the availability of new vaccines.

This imbalance has become increasingly concerning as childhood vaccination rates continue to decline across Pennsylvania. An investigation by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette found that immunization rates have fallen for six consecutive years in schools across the Commonwealth, leaving many classrooms below the threshold necessary to prevent the spread of infectious disease. State officials have reported that thousands of students are attending school without either the required vaccinations or legally recognized exemptions.

The consequences are already becoming apparent. Pennsylvania is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in more than three decades, with dozens of cases reported this year, primarily among unvaccinated school-age children. Health officials have also warned of rising cases of whooping cough and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

Our bill would require parents seeking a vaccine requirement exemption to receive annual counseling from a health care provider regarding:

• The risks posed by vaccine-preventable diseases to their child and the broader community;
• Current outbreaks and public health threats affecting Pennsylvania children;
• The potential for school exclusion, quarantine, or other public health measures during disease outbreaks; and
• The benefits and risks associated with recommended childhood immunizations.

The legislation would not eliminate Pennsylvania's existing religious exemptions. Rather, it would ensure that parents revisit this important decision regularly and do so with current, evidence-based medical information.

As outbreaks of measles and other preventable diseases continue to emerge, we have a responsibility to ensure that parents understand both the individual and community consequences of declining immunization rates. Decisions affecting children's health should be informed by current facts, not assumptions made years earlier.

We hope you will join us in supporting this legislation.