Area doctor favors bill ridding personal exemption for vaccines

A bill introduced in the Wisconsin legislature would get rid of the “personal exemption” option for parents or guardians not wanting to give their child vaccinations.

It comes on the heels of reports that this is the biggest outbreak of measles in the U.S. in 20 years.

An area doctor says it’s a step in the right direction but, ultimately, doesn’t go far enough by leaving another exemption.

“None of the traditional religions oppose the immunization schedule,” Dr. Raj Naik with Gundersen Health System said. “For a lot of people, the religious waiver is a backdoor to the personal exemption.”

Several communities in the country have been quarantined due to the measles outbreak, asking Naik to question what took so long for action to be taken.

“Unfortunately we get real life reminders of why these laws are in place,” Naik said. “If we aren’t vigilant, we’re going to have these outbreaks.”

Naik also dismissed the notion of intrusion on personal freedom.

“No one is trying to infringe on anyone’s personal freedoms,” he said, “but we have several laws in place that are there to protect the public in general.”