The state of the antivaccine movement in the United States: A focused examination of nonmedical exemptions in states and counties

摘要

According to the 2015 National Immunization Survey, only 72.2% of children aged 19 to 35months in the United States were fully vaccinated as per guidelines from the Advisory Committeeon Immunization Practices [1]. Due to parental concerns about vaccine safety and efficacy,many families choose to opt out their children from vaccinations required for schoolentry by obtaining nonmedical exemptions (NMEs) based on religious or philosophical beliefs.In 2016, 18 states permitted NMEs due to philosophical beliefs [2]. A detailed analysis ofNMEs within each of the 18 states reveals that several counties, including those with large metropolitanareas, are at high risk for vaccine-preventable pediatric infection epidemics.