Medical exemptions increased after NY ended religious vaccination exemptions
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Medical vaccination exemptions and absenteeism increased after the New York state legislature eliminated religious vaccine exemptions last year, a survey found.
The survey of public and nonpublic schools also showed that enrollment decreased after the repeal passed in June 2019.
The findings were presented during the Virtual Annual Conference on Vaccinology Research sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
“Approximately 26,000 New York state students with prior religious exemptions were expected to be affected by the repeal,” Margaret Doll, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of epidemiology at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, told Healio. “Our research examined the unintended effects of the law on various outcomes as reported by school administrators of upstate New York schools during the 2019-2020 school year.”
Doll and colleagues sent an electronic survey to upstate New York public and nonpublic school administrators on Nov. 21, 2019. According to the study, the survey was created to elicit administrator perspectives regarding the impact of the legislation on their school and listed questions related to the schools’ experiences complying with the new legislation, changes in student enrollment, absenteeism and medical vaccination exemptions associated with the new law and the legislation’s effect on school budgets for nonpublic schools charging tuition. Approximately 13% of public and 31% of nonpublic upstate New York schools participated in the survey, the researchers reported. They received 284 completed surveys.
Doll and colleagues found that among survey participants, 57% (95% CI, 50%-64%) of nonpublic schools and 38% (95% CI, 32%-44%) of public schools experienced decreases in student enrollment due to the law, with nonpublic schools 1.5 (95% CI, 1.3-1.8) times more likely to report a change in enrollment. Overall, 31% (95% CI, 27%-35%) of schools reported student absenteeism due to compliance with the law, and 17% (95% CI, 14%-20%) of schools reported increases in medical exemptions. The researchers did not detect and differences in these outcomes by school type.
“The New York state repeal of the religious vaccination exemption decreased student enrollment, increased absenteeism and increased medical vaccination exemptions among upstate New York schools included in this sample,” Doll said. “The unintended effects of the New York state repeal should be weighed in consideration with its benefits.”
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Doll M, et al. Impact of the New York State repeal of nonmedical vaccination exemptions on schools: Perspectives from a survey of school administrators. Presented at: NFID Annual Conference on Vaccinology Research; June 18-19, 2020 (virtual meeting).
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