As measles outbreaks continue in the Northwest and across the nation, newly revealed health records from Oregon suggest it’s surprisingly easy to opt out of required vaccinations in that state—as in several others.
In Oregon—which has the highest kindergarten vaccine exemption rate in the U.S.—about 95 percent of parents whose kids skip one or more vaccines use a print-your-own certificate to do so.
That’s according to data from the Oregon Health Authority, which shows that of more than 31,500 non-medical vaccine exemptions submitted last year, nearly 30,000 were documented by parents who watched an online education video and then printed out a do-it-yourself form.
