RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Some North Carolina senators worried about the revival of certain communicable diseases want to do away with North Carolina’s childhood vaccination exemption on religious grounds.
The lawmakers filed a bill Thursday that also would rework the current list of vaccination requirements for a child to attend public schools. The vaccination regimen would be aligned with what federal health officials recommend. It would not include the vaccine to protect against the cervical cancer virus called HPV.
Sen. Jeff Tarte of Mecklenburg County suggested at a news conference the religious exemption may be overused in North Carolina by people simply personally opposed to vaccinations. But he says very few religious sects are against vaccination and it’s more important to protect the greater whole against communicable diseases thought to have been eradicated.
