State law requires that children be immunized against diseases including polio, measles, mumps, pertussis and rubella. Yet Oregon has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
The Oregon Health Authority recently put out a report that suggests there’s been an increase in parents choosing to claim exemption from vaccinations based on religious or philosophical reasons.
7.5 percent of Oregon kindergartners claimed non-medical vaccine exemptions in 2018 and there’s an exemption rate of 11.6 percent, in Deschutes County, the fourth-highest in the state.
