Student vaccine exemption rates in Arizona

Arizona had one of the highest vaccine exemption rates for kindergartners in the country last year, well above the national median and lower than only three other states. Nearly 7% of kindergarteners in Arizona were granted exemptions.

Will Humble, Executive Director of the Arizona Public Health Association, discussed how the exemption program works and touched on the vaccination rates in the state and nationwide.

This is a nationwide trend, and it’s not just being seen in Arizona, according to Humble. Fewer parents are choosing to vaccinate to their children. In some states like Arizona, there are personal exemptions in schools which means children can attend school without being vaccinated.

One of the reasons why this is so prevalent in Arizona is because the system is permissive when it comes to exempting kids from school requirements. Parents have to go to a school’s website and initial a form to exempt their child.

While many may think this is a political issue, it isn’t, Humble said. Generally “Red” states such as West Virginia and Mississippi do not have personal exemptions.

Humble stated there’s a bigger factor in place for why vaccination rates are lowering.

“It’s getting harder and harder for parents to get their kids vaccinated because so many doctors are no longer providing vaccines, and fewer of them are participating in what’s called the ‘Vaccines for Children’ program. This is mostly because they were over-regulated by the state health department for a number of years and faced the prospect and actually faced restitution fines for vaccine wastage,” Humble said.

It’s important to make getting vaccines convenient in order for vaccination rates to improve, according to Humble.