New Child Vaccination Legislation Introduced by State Representatives in Pgh

Two Democratic state representatives are introducing legislation that they say would promote child immunizations in Pennsylvania. Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Pittsburgh, said his bill would require families to have annual meetings with a doctor if they want a non-medical exemption for vaccinations. Under current law, a parent needs to sign a form once for religious or philosophical exemption. Frankel said the purpose of the yearly doctor’s visits would be to inform families about the health risks of opting out, and the potential for children to be excluded from school and quarantined if an outbreak occurs. Under legislation proposed by Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, school districts would have to publish on their websites the number of vaccinated and non-vaccinated students who are enrolled each year. Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna County, said posting the numbers online would make that information accessible to parents while maintaining confidentiality to protect students’ privacy.