FDA head says federal government may take action if states don’t adjust lax vaccine exemption laws

Rachel La Corte | AP

Opponents to efforts to remove philosophical exemptions from school-vaccine requirements rally outside the Washington Capitol, in Olympia, Wash., Wednesday, Feb. 20,2019.

In Oregon, state Rep. Mitch Greenlick will propose a bill that would eliminate all non-medical exemptions for vaccines, according to the Willamette Week. Greenlick’s office did not return CNBC’s request for comment.

On Tuesday, the Iowa state Senate rejected two bills related to vaccines. One would have allowed vaccine exemptions for philosophical reasons, and another would have stopped health care providers and insurance companies from discriminating against people who refuse immunizations, the Associated Press reported.

Gottlieb called the Washington outbreak an “avoidable tragedy” on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in late January. “As vaccination rates decline, these kinds of epidemics are going to become more common,” he said.

The outbreak in Washington prompted Gov. Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency on Jan. 25.

Of the 64 cases in Washington, 63 were in Clark County, Washington. The county’s public health department reported 55 of the 63 infected were not vaccinated against measles, six cases were unverified and two cases had received one dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.

In Clark County, 45 of the 63 cases were children between the ages of 1 and 10 years old.

In 2018, there were 372 cases of measles reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control. From Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, 2019, 127 cases of measles have been confirmed in 10 states, according to the CDC.

In 47 states, parents are exempted from vaccinating their children for religious reasons, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Seventeen states, including Washington, allow philosophical exemptions from vaccines.