Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jul 3;14(7):1610-1617.
doi: 10.1080/21645515.2018.1423929. Epub 2018 Feb 15.

Legal approaches to promoting parental compliance with childhood immunization recommendations

Lois A Weithorn  1 , Dorit Rubinstein Reiss  1
Affiliations
Review

Legal approaches to promoting parental compliance with childhood immunization recommendations

Lois A Weithorn et al. Hum Vaccin Immunother. .

Abstract

Rates of vaccine-preventable diseases have increased in the United States in recent years, largely due to parental refusals of recommended childhood immunizations. Empirical studies have demonstrated a relationship between nonvaccination rates and permissive state vaccine exemption policies, indicating that legal reforms may promote higher immunization rates. This article reviews relevant data and considers the legal landscape. It analyzes federal and state Constitutional law, concluding that religious and personal belief exemptions to school-entry vaccine mandates are not constitutionally required. It identifies public health, bioethical, and policy considerations relevant to the choice among legal approaches employed by states to promote parental compliance. The article describes a range of legal tools that may help promote parental cooperation with immunization recommendations.

Keywords: childhood immunizations; constitutional law; legal policies; vaccination requirements; vaccine exemption policies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Hinman AR, Orenstein WA, Bloch AB, Bart KJ, Eddins DL, Amler RW, Kirby CD. Impact of measles in the United States. Rev Infect Dis. 1983;5:439–44. doi:10.1093/clinids/5.3.439 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Roush SW, Murphy TV, Vaccine-Preventable Disease Table Working Group . Historical comparisons of morbidity and mortality for vaccine-preventable disease in the United States. JAMA. 2007;298(18):2155–63. doi:10.1001/jama.298.18.2155 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Measles data and statistics. 2016. April 27 [accessed 2017September14]. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/downloads/measlesdataandstatsslideset.pdf
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Measles cases and outbreaks. 2017. February 13 [accessed 2017September14]. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Measles cases in the United States reach 20-year high. 2014. May 29 [accessed 2017September14]. http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0529-measles.html

LinkOut - more resources