Some U.S. states loosen vaccine rules despite measles outbreak.

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Thu, 2025-05-08 11:00 — mike kraft

States loosen vaccine rules — even as measles outbreak rages With a longtime vaccine skeptic serving as the country’s top health official, the movement is likely to make further inroads. Lauren Gardner Politico

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The outbreak, which has spread to 29 states as of May 1 and claimed three lives, hasn’t stopped some local lawmakers from considering or implementing policies that could make it even easier for parents to opt out of school vaccination requirements for their children.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law last month an unprecedented ban on vaccine mandates for schools and businesses in the state, which already boasts the highest vaccine exemption rate for kindergarteners nationally.

On his first day in office, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order permitting religious exemptions from school and day care immunization requirements — a major shift in one of the few states that had only allowed medical exemptions previously.

And lawmakers in red states like Florida, Louisiana and Texas are weighing measures that would make it more difficult for health providers to deny care — from organ transplants to pediatric well visits — to people who aren’t vaccinated.

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