Parents Fight Back With Rising Use Of Religious Vaccine Exemptions For Their Children

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in parents opting their children out of government-mandated vaccinations through non-medical religious exemptions. This trend has been observed in states such as Maryland, where the number of kindergartners with religious exemptions rose from 0.2% in the 2002-2003 school year to 2.7% in the 2019-2020 school year. Experts attribute this rise to growing vaccine hesitancy among parents, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. The increasing number of vaccine requirements for children over the past three decades may also contribute to this trend.