New York has ended religious exemptions for vaccines amid struggling with the worst measles outbreaks it has seen in decades.
The bill, which requires all children attending school to receive required vaccinations and bans the use of nonmedical exemptions, was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo as soon as it passed in the Senate and Assembly.
The law is effective immediately. Currently, unvaccinated students have up to 30 days to show that they have started receiving the required immunizations.
California, Maine, West Virginia, and Mississippi have already outlawed the use of nonmedical exemptions for immunizations.
More than 1,000 cases of measles have been diagnosed this year, but 854 cases of those have been recorded in New York. The outbreaks are centered around the Orthodox Jewish population in New York City, and in Rockland County where anti-vaccine groups have been successful in spreading misinformation.
Health officials have declared the outbreaks as a crisis that is risking the safety of the public. Measles is highly contagious and potentially life-threatening for infants, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems, like cancer patients.
