Newly released data show more Connecticut students are being exempted from vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella for religious reasons.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health released data that showed religious exemptions in the state climbed by 25% during the last school year. The agency says it’s the largest single year increase since it began tracking data 10 years ago.
Public Health Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell says the decrease in vaccinations raises concern.
Governor Ned Lamont has asked the Department of Public Health to release school-by-school vaccination rates, but a Bristol couple is suing to stop the state from doing so.
Kristen and Brian Festa say they’ll suffer irreparable harm if the state releases data specific to each school. They say society has attached a stigma to parents who choose not to vaccinate their children.
On Wednesday, Lamont overruled Coleman-Mitchell, who previously said she planned to release county-by-county immunization data but not the school-by-school vaccination rates.
The couple’s son attends a Meriden private school where more than 15% of students report a religious exemption from vaccinations. They filed a similar lawsuit against the Department of Public Health in June.
