CT Vaccine Law Ending Religious Exemptions: What To Know

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill into law April 28 that will end the religious exemption for school immunization requirements.

Similar bills have appeared in previous legislative sessions, but this was the first time the matter got a full vote.

Here are some answers to the top questions about the new law.

What does the law do, and when does it take effect?

The law ends religious exemptions for vaccines at public and private schools, including higher education. It also requires vaccines for children attending child care centers and group and family day care homes, according to the state Office of Legislative Research.

The medical exemption will remain in place.

Students generally have to comply with the immunization schedule by Sept. 1, 2022 if they want to attend school.

What about students with a current religious exemption?

Students with a current religious exemption can be grandfathered in and keep it.

What are the CT vaccine trends in schools?

Rates vary slightly depending on the type of vaccine, but there has been a focus on the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine due to measles cases cropping up in parts of the country.

96.2 percent of kindergarten students were vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella for the 2019-2020 school year, which was a 0.1 percentage point increase from the previous school year. However, it’s still about 1 percentage point below the vaccination rate in the 2012-2013 school year.

The percentage of students with a religious exemption reached a high point of 2.5 percent in the 2018-2019 school year and dropped to 2.3 percent for the 2019-2020 school year, according to DPH.

How did each chamber vote?

The state Senate voted 22-14 in favor of the bill.

All Republican senators voted against it. They were joined by Democratic Sens. Cathy Osten of Sprague and Dennis Bradley of Bridgeport.

The state House passed the bill 90-53 with seven representatives absent.

The Senate vote drew an estimated 4,000 protesters, according to CT News Junkie.

What immunizations are required in Connecticut schools?

Connecticut law requires the following immunizations for students:

• Measles, mumps and rubella
• Polio
• Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis
• Influenza B (only mandated for children under 5)
• Hepatitis A and B
• Varicella (chicken pox)
• Influenza (preschool children)
• Pneumonia (children under 5)
• Meningitis (7th grade)