During the worst measles outbreak in many decades, New York has passed a law that ended religious exemptions to vaccinations for kids in public schools.
It's unfortunate that while humanity is supposed to move forward, many people seem to doubt science and, you know, facts, by believing in crazy things, such as the whole joke about Earth being flat. Sadly, this craziness has expanded on people who are against vaccination. This is, of course, not only crazy. It's dangerous. However, New York found a clever way to deal with that.
Parents were given two weeks after the start of school to provide vaccination records, or their children wouldn’t be kicked out. As this grace period nears its end, many parents start to fight back, furious that the law is actually being upheld.
To be clear, the children can return to school if their parents vaccinate them. State health officials said that 26,217 unvaccinated New York kids in public schools, private schools, parochial schools, daycare centers, and prekindergarten programs obtained religious exemptions during the 2017–2018 school year.
The measles outbreak, which prompted the new law, is easing. Mayor Bill de Blasio previously declared an end to the measles outbreak in its epicenter, New York City. Since October 2018, there’ve been 654 measles cases in the city and 414 in other parts of the state, where transmission has also slowed. As the CDC reports, children are most at risk of measles. One out of every twenty children infected with measles will contract pneumonia, while one in 1,000 will die from the virus. Other complications include swelling of the brain (which can lead to deafness or disabilities).
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