MONTPELIER, Vt. – The Vermont teachers union is backing legislation to take away a parent’s right to refuse immunizations for their child for philosophical reasons.

The state’s child immunization law requires parents to vaccinate their children, but provides for exemptions based on medical, philosophical or religious objections.

“In Vermont, the parents of more kids per capita than just about any other state have used the (philosophical) exemption to avoid at least one mandated vaccination,” Vermont Public Radio reports. “And some public health officials say immunization rates at some schools have sunk to dangerously low levels.”

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The concerns from public health officials apparently convinced the Vermont National Education Association, the statewide teachers union, to get behind legislation sponsored by state Sen. Kevin Mullin to eliminate the philosophical exemption, according to the new site.

The union’s board voted unanimously last weekend to support Mullin’s bill at the urging of president Martha Allen, who “was starting to worry that too many schools in Vermont were dangerously close to losing community herd …. Immunity to some diseases,” union spokesman Darren Allen told VPR.

“The decision was swift and unanimous and the overarching sentiment of our board is that public safety of our children is paramount. The philosophical exemption is used at too high of a level in Vermont,” Allen said.

According to a recent Boston Globe editorial, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures show “only 91.2 percent of Vermont kindergartners and 89.9 percent of Maine kindergartners have a measles vaccination.

“Those numbers are lower than the national average, lower than any other New England state, and lower than the 94 percent vaccination rate that medical experts say may be necessary to contain measles outbreaks.”

The percentage of unvaccinated kids also seems to be higher in private schools.

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“According to the (Vermont) Health Department, in the 2013-14 school year, 102 of the 467 children entering kindergarten in Vermont private schools had not received the required two doses of (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine,” the Burlington Free Press reports.

“Of the 102 students who failed to comply with requirements, 55 percent of them cited a philosophical exemption, and 5 percent exempted for religious reasons. No students were exempt for medical reasons, but 40 percent of students were provisionally admitted, (Vermont Health Department immunization program chief Chris) Finley said.”

“In the same year, 493 children out of the 6,304 students entering kindergarten in public schools had one or no doses of the MMR vaccine. Of those 493 children, 39 percent had a philosophical exemption, 2 percent had a religious exemption and 1 percent were exempt for medical reasons. Finley said 58 percent of students were provisionally admitted.”

Regardless of the rates, Gov. Peter Shumlin has made it clear he’s not in support of revoking the philosophical exemption, because he believes the current law strike a good balance between public safety and parental rights, VPR reports.

“So I think we did a pretty good job of walking a very difficult balance between common sense – vaccinating your kids – and parents who think it’s absolutely the wrong thing to do,” Shumlin said last week, according to the news site.