NEW JERSEY—Worried about increasing numbers of children not being vaccinated every year—plus increasing numbers of measles cases—two state senators sponsoring a bill to eliminate religious exemptions and tighten medical exemptions for vaccines will be pushing for a vote on Jan. 9 or Jan. 13 in the last legislative session of 2019.
With two legislative sessions left in early 2020 before new legislators are sworn in, state senators will likely get one more chance to vote on eliminating religious exemptions for vaccines for children entering school in New Jersey.
Both Democratic Senate sponsors, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-37) and state Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-19) are hoping to persuade enough senators to vote to eliminate such exemptions.
Many legislators and public health officials claim that these growing religious exemptions endanger public health by exposing more unvaccinated individuals to contagious diseases—leading to outbreaks of communicable diseases—like measles—once thought to be eradicated.
On Dec. 16, the Assembly passed A-3818 to eliminate religious exemptions for vaccinations 45-24 with seven abstentions, while the Senate vote was delayed by state Senate President Steve Sweeney after a loud and lengthy protest by over 500 individuals opposed to vaccinating their children. Some senators said it was one of the most vocal and prolonged protests against any bill in a long time.
Weinberg wholeheartedly supports eliminating religious exemptions.
Should the bill pass, it would go to Gov. Phil Murphy to sign into law or reject. He has not indicated whether he would sign it.
Anti-vaccine activists, often called “anti-vaxxers” are against immunizing their children often due to non-belief in doctors, government and a belief that vaccines cause other diseases. They often assert a constitutional right not to have to vaccinate their children.
Almost all public health officials and medical doctors support childhood vaccinations, including the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Earlier this year during an outbreak of measles in Rockland County, an individual with measles was found to have exposed customers at two Hillsdale locations in February including an urgent care and Walgreens.
Currently, about 14,000 children—about 2.6 percent of students statewide—are not vaccinated due to religious exemptions, said state officials. According to health officials, the number of non-vaccinated students keeps rising every year.
Health officials warn to prevent measles from spreading among non-immunized populations it’s important that immunization rates be sustained between 93-95 percent of school children.
Bergen County’s vaccination rate averaged 94.7 percent between 2016-2018, according to DOH data.
Although measles was declared eliminated nationwide in 2000, recent measles outbreaks have alarmed health officials and the federal Centers for Disease Control.
A recent outbreak of measles in nearby Rockland County, N.Y., mostly among an Orthodox Jewish community that does not vaccinate children, reported 312 measles cases. Statewide in New York, 654 people were diagnosed with measles in 2019.
In New Jersey, 19 cases were reported statewide, but nationwide 1,276 people were diagnosed with measles in 31 states, according to CDC.
Since 2008, New Jersey law has required only that parents write a letter stating that vaccination violates their religious beliefs—without providing specifics—to exempt their son or daughter.
New York’s legislature ended a religious exemption for public school students earlier in 2019.
If the New Jersey bill does not pass, the effort to eliminate religious exemptions dies and must be taken up again in the 2020 legislative session.
Both Weinberg and Vitale said they hoped to get the bill passed in early 2020, despite chants of “Kill the Bill” and “In God We Trust” from protestors.
Some opponents said the bill violated their First Amendment rights of freedom of religion and threatened to leave New Jersey if the bill was passed.
Both Vitale and Weinberg said the Senate was one vote short of passage, which needs 21 of 40 senators to vote in favor.
“I think they are a passionate group of advocates but the science is not on their side,” said Weinberg of anti-vaccine activists.
“I don’t think they’re right and they’re hardly in the majority…we want to see this [measles] eradicated,” Weinberg told Northern Valley Press.
Weinberg said some anti-vaccine protestors were spreading lies on social media about her, making erroneous allegations about her accepting large amounts of money from “big pharma” or major pharmaceutical companies.
She said such charges were completely false and to answer untruthful charges over and over is “energy sapping” and she said the facts about vaccines’ effectiveness do not matter to anti-vaccine activists.
“You will not get through to them because they’re passionate advocates” for their cause, she said.
Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-39) previously supported opponents’ right to be wrong but also “their right to follow their own conscience.”
He said vaccine policy was not related to medical science but constitutional rights.
“I’m not going to take away people’s rights even though I would make a different decision in the place of many of these people. It’s their right to be wrong. It’s their right to follow their own conscience,” he told an online publication.
Following the decision by Senate President Steve Sweeney to postpone the vote Dec. 16, hundreds of anti-vaccine activists cheered and celebrated.
Sweeney postponed a vote when it was clear not enough votes could be mustered.
“They can cheer all they want. This bill is going to get done. This is good public policy,” said Sweeney to reporters. “There is no science to back up what these people are saying.”
At a previous Assembly hearing on the bill, hundreds of anti-vaxxers also opposed the bill before it was approved 45-25 (plus four non-votes and six abstentions) by the Assembly.
Voting against the bill on Dec. 16 were District 39 Republican state Assembly members Holly Schepisi and Robert Auth.
Democratic District 37 state Assembly members Valerie Vainieri Huttle voted in favor and Gordon Johnson was marked “not voting.”
In addition to eliminating religious exemptions, the bill only permits medical exemptions and tightens such exemptions.
The bill allows the state Department of Health to define which medical conditions would qualify for exemption, and only permits medical practitioners such as a physician, advance practice nurse or physician assistant to verify in writing that the child has a disqualifying condition.
During the outbreak of measles in early 2019—including the Hillsdale scare and a couple incidents at Newark Liberty International Airport—anyone who believed he or she was exposed to measles was advised to immediately get to a health care provider to assess their condition and immunity.
“We urge everyone to check to make sure they and their family members are up-to-date on measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine and all other age-appropriate immunizations. Getting vaccinated not only protects you, it protects others around you who are too young to get the vaccine or can’t receive it for medical reasons,” said state epidemiologist Dr. Chrstina Tan then.
“If you’re planning an international trip, the World Health Organization recommends that adults or adolescents unsure of their immune status get a dose of measles vaccine before traveling,” Tan noted.
Other vaccines required of students would help prevent diseases such as whooping cough, chickenpox and polio.
Public health officials warn vaccines are critical to prevent the spread of disease, especially among populations who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, including those undergoing cancer treatment and very young children not yet eligible to be vaccinated.