Debate over vaccine requirements forges strange alliance

DENVER --

When it comes to vaccinations, some states' approaches have been more successful than others. Although Missouri is below the national average for vaccination rates, the state has fared better than others in the face of a recent measles outbreak.

The debate over whether parents should be required to get their children vaccinated against measles has created strange alliances, putting some liberal parents on the same side as Republican conservatives.

While the two parties are not cleanly divided on the issue -- various individual Democrats and Republicans stand on either side -- in the nation's state legislatures, it is increasingly the GOP that resists efforts to stiffen requirements on vaccinating children.

In Maine, Republicans are objecting to an effort to make it harder to avoid vaccinating children. Last year in Colorado, it was largely Republicans who squashed an effort to make it harder for mothers and fathers to choose not to inoculate their children.

"This boils down to, does the government force everyone to conform or do we empower everyone to make decisions on their own?" said Colorado state Sen. Kevin Lundberg, a Republican who did not fully vaccinate his children and led the fight against last year's bill.

This year, Colorado Republicans introduced a bill stating that parents have the right to make all medical decisions for their children, legislation that was cheered by vaccination opponents Thursday at a hearing.

Missouri law requires that all students be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella or obtain a waiver from the Department of Health and Senior Services on medical or religious grounds before attending school. Shena Whitaker, assistant director at Little Hopper Daycare Center in Cape Girardeau said that since Missouri law allows for some children not to be vaccinated, their policy is tailored accordingly.

"They either have to have [proof of exemption from the Department of Health and Senior Services], or they have to have their shot records," she explained.

But the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show not all children are being immunized before attending school.

Missouri is one of 17 states where immunization rates are below 90 percent for people age 19 to 35 months. At 89.8 percent, Missouri is tied with Oklahoma as the nation's thirty-fifth-most vaccinated state.

American skepticism toward vaccinations dates back at least to the Revolutionary War, when George Washington was initially reluctant to inoculate his troops against smallpox.

"There is a long history to the fight against vaccination, and it does seem to break down along liberal versus conservative lines," said Kent Schwirian, a sociology professor at Ohio State University. He surveyed people during a 2009 swine flu scare, asking whether they would get vaccinated, and found that conservatives who distrusted government were less likely to support inoculation.

The government recommends that all children get the measles vaccine, receiving the first dose when they are about 1 and a second dose between the ages of 4 and 6. States have made vaccination a requirement for attending school.

Whitaker explained that her facility hasn't seen any of the problems with measles that have been cropping up elsewhere, but it is something they monitor closely.

"We keep a really close eye on that," she said. "I think we only have one or two out of 74 children enrolled."

Twenty states allow for personal-belief exemptions and 48 allow for religious exemptions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A Pew poll found Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to oppose vaccine mandates. In legislatures, the issue has not been purely partisan, with some Democrats joining Republicans to fight vaccine requirements and some members of the GOP pushing to increase vaccinations. But for Whitaker and her co-workers, their stance is clear.

"We highly recommend that parents get their children vaccinated," she said. "It's a lot safer for the children."

Southeast Missourian reporter Tyler Graef contributed to this report.