Blumenthal blasts push to target Connecticut's school vaccine law
In Connecticut, all new students must be vaccinated, unless they have a medical exemption.
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As students head back to class, a new fight is brewing over Connecticut’s school vaccine requirement – and Sen. Richard Blumenthal is warning that it could cost the state millions of dollars in education funding.
“THEY’RE MOVING GERMS”
Jocelyn Palma’s son still has one more year before he starts school. But the Stamford mother is already planning on getting him vaccinated.
“They’re moving germs; they’re touching everything,” she said. “Everything goes straight into their mouths, so I think it’s important.”
In Connecticut, all new students must be vaccinated, unless they have a medical exemption. The state ended religious exemptions four years ago amid dropping immunization rates, leading to protests and lawsuits.
“I’m OK with some [vaccines], and some I’m absolutely not,” one parent told News 12 Connecticut in 2021. “For me, it boils down to side effects and ingredients.”
EDUCATION FUNDING AT RISK?
Now, Blumenthal is warning that the Trump administration could target Connecticut’s immunization law.
An anti-vaccine group founded by Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is urging the feds to cut funding for schools unless Connecticut and other states bring back religious exemptions, according to POLITICO.
Last week, Kennedy revived a long-dormant task force on childhood vaccine safety after the group, Children’s Health Defense, filed a lawsuit.
"By reinstating this Task Force, we are reaffirming our commitment to rigorous science, continuous improvement and the trust of American families," National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. "NIH is proud to lead this effort to advance vaccine safety and support innovation that protects children without compromise."
On Tuesday, Blumenthal sent Kennedy a letter urging him to not to “weaponize” school funding.
“Education funding should not be used as leverage for the anti-vax conspiracy movement,” he told reporters in Hartford.
CT VACCINATION RATES RISING
Since dropping religious exemptions, Connecticut’s childhood measles vaccination rate has risen to 98.3% – the highest in the nation. It comes amid an outbreak in Texas that infected more than 700 people this summer.
“Let’s say you have an immunocompromised child who’s in a classroom and can’t get the vaccine for some reason. If 95% of the other children are vaccinated, that protects those that are more vulnerable within the community,” said Dr. Manisha Juthani, Connecticut’s public health commissioner.
Palma understands some parents’ concerns about vaccines but said she still wants her son protected.
“I do see where they’re coming from, especially with the newer vaccines that you may not know what the long-term effects are on it,” she said.
