Article written by Vivek Khan, 7th grade
On June 13th 2019, just a few months prior to the Coronavirus outbreak (that would go on to change the course of the world significantly), the religious exemption to the requirement that children be vaccinated against diseases to attend either public, private or parochial school (for students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade) was removed. The removal of this exemption meant that children attending public, private or parochial school could no longer be exempt from being given vaccines for illnesses such as measles. With that exemption now null and void, a bill to shield the MEDICAL exemption from facing the same fate as the religious exemption has been put forward by New York State Senator Monica Martinez (D-Suffolk County).This bill, formally named (S7168), aims to protect the medical exemption from vaccine mandates by restoring the clear intention of the letter of law. As well as make sure that the medical judgement of a child’s physician prevails ensuring that their decision will not be overridden by school or public health authorities. It is important to note that New York has the lowest rate of medical exemptions of any state with roughly 1 in 1000 students recieving it according to the CDC. S7168 would take school administrators and the NYS and NYC departments of health out of the decision making process placing it wholly under the control of the attending physician. As this article is written, this bill is still active meaning a decision on the bill’s fate has not yet been made, with that in mind we at Empire Post urge anyone living in New York to contact their local State Senator and ask them to vote in favor of bill S7168.
