JACKSON, Miss.—Mississippi no longer has the highest rate of childhood vaccinations in the country, falling from first to third place between 2023 and 2024 after a federal judge ruled that the state must allow religious exemptions for childhood vaccinations.
Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney announced the decline during a press conference in the Mississippi Capitol Building on Tuesday.
Before the 2023 decision, Mississippi was one of six states that did not allow religious exemptions for childhood vaccines. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Judge Sul Ozerden’s order said that the Mississippi State Department of Health “will be enjoined from enforcing (Mississippi’s compulsory vaccination law) unless they provide an option for individuals to request a religious exemption from the vaccine requirement.” Republican President George W. Bush appointed Ozerden to the court in 2007.
Mississippi’s mandatory childhood vaccinations include immunization for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis; for polio; for hepatitis B; for measles, mumps and rubella; and for chickenpox. But because of Ozerden’s 2023 ruling, parents can now submit a form to have their children exempted on the basis of religious beliefs.
@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 99px;}}@media ( min-width: 320px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 99px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 90px;}}
In 2024, 97.5% of Mississippi schoolchildren were vaccinated, which is still above the national average of 91%. But it’s down from 99.3% in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off an anti-vaccine fervor.
“I am concerned about vaccinations. We have fallen below the national average for vaccines for children at age 24 months,” Edney said at the press conference. “We do catch back up with our school-aged children. We have, as you know, led the nation for a long time because of our very strong public health law in Mississippi for vaccines for our school-aged children.”
Mississippi No Longer The Unhealthiest State
During the press conference, Dr. Edney presented the Mississippi State Department of Health’s and the Mississippi State Medical Association’s “2024 Public Health Report Card.” He said he was proud to report that Mississippi was seeing improving health outcomes despite the downward trend of vaccine rates.
Mississippi is
Read original article by clicking here.