Trends in Religious Exemptions to Vaccination in the United States

As vaccine hesitancy increases in many parts of the country, several states have passed legislation to eliminate personal belief or religious exemptions (i.e., nonmedical exemptions) in an effort to increase vaccination rates and decrease risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (NEJM JW Pediatr Adolesc Med 2019 Jul 10 [e-pub] and JAMA 2019; 322:49).

Currently, 45 states allow for religious exemption to vaccination, and 15 allow for personal or philosophical belief exemption, while all states allow for medical exemptions.

To examine recent trends in exemption rates, researchers analyzed CDC data on state-reported vaccination status of kindergartners in the 2011–2012 through 2017–2018 school years. They also examined religious exempt…