Across the country the number of families choosing not to vaccinate their children had increased steadily. After the recent measles outbreak, parents started to reconsider their choices.
As a result, according to Cory Nelson, Interim Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, vaccine coverage and exemption levels for the current (2014-2015) school year shows a decrease in non-medical exemption rates in childcares and kindergartens in Arizona. In childcare settings exemption rates have decreased 0.5% this year to 3.6%; in kindergartens, exemption rates are down 0.1% to 4.6%, according to Nelson. Exemption rates in Arizona 6th grades remain at 4.7% for the 2014-2015 school year.
In Arizona parents and guardians can choose to exempt their children from required childcare and school vaccinations for personal belief or religious reasons, or if the child has a medical issue that makes vaccination dangerous. In the last decade, we’ve seen exemption rates rise, with 4.1% of childcare-attending children and 4.7% of kindergarteners and 6th graders exempt from vaccines last school year, reports Nelson.