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Lax vaccination laws lead to more infectious disease
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States with strict vaccine exemption policies have lower incidence of vaccine preventable disease, whereas states with lax vaccination policies have higher incidence of disease, according to the findings in Health Affairs.
“States that had the most effective portfolio of policies had lower incidences of pertussis,” W. David Bradford, PhD, and Anne Mandich, a PhD candidate, of the University of Georgia, wrote. “Vaccine exemption policy is thus an important part of a comprehensive plan for reducing preventable diseases.”
W. David Bradford
The researchers gathered vaccine exemption policy data and vaccine exemption participation data regarding vaccinations of children entering kindergarten from the CDC’s 2002-2012 annual school assessment reports. This data was compared with medical data collected from the Area Health Resources Files database to compare each state’s vaccination policy with its rate of vaccine preventable disease.
Study researchers found 18 states to have the most effective vaccine exemption policies, whereas nine states had the least effective policies. When researchers compared the rates of Bordetella pertussis in these states they found that the states with the most effective vaccination policies had 37.74 fewer cases of B. pertussis per 100,000 residents.
Laws that required health departments to review and approve applications for nonmedical exemptions were found to have a significant effect on lowering exemption rates. However, laws that simply required a standard application for medical exemption decreased the amount of nonmedical exemptions, but substantially increased the amount of medical exemptions.
States also reduced exemptions by 1.2% through the implementation of policies that allowed exemption from specific vaccine types. Policies that punished noncompliance with civil or criminal action also reduced exemption rates by 0.7%.
The researchers said these results indicate a significant association between specific types of vaccination exemption policies and rates of infection.
Figure 1. States By Quartile Of Exemption Law Effectiveness Index, 2012
Source: Health Affairs.
“As vaccination exemption rates fall well below the levels required for herd immunity in many areas, our findings suggest that states with weaker overall exemption standards may wish to reconsider those vaccine laws and policies.” Bradford and Mandich wrote. – by David Costill
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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