Sharon Patterson, Galloway Daycare Center director at Jackson’s Galloway Methodist Church, said that they were “baffled”. It took me several minutes to realize that it could have been measles. It was. Five children from the class contracted it within days. Patterson stated this week at a Capitol press conference, “I can’t even tell you how shocked we were because it’s something you wouldn’t expect here.” Patterson claims that she reported Galloway’s cases to the day-care licensing inspector of the Mississippi Department of Health, despite the fact that the Mississippi Department of Health has not documented measles cases in the state since 1992. Galloway has a 100% vaccine compliance rate. Patterson claims this is due to Mississippi’s strong vaccine laws, which allow exemptions only when medically necessary. Although Mississippi doesn’t require children to be vaccinated, it does require that all children who want to attend school or day care must have their vaccines up-to-date. This has been a point for pride for Mississippi, which historically lags behind other States in nearly all other health indicators. Patterson was there with Give Me a Shot (an initiative of the Mississippi Immunization Task Force) which promotes statewide vaccines. Dr. Mary Currier (state health officer) said, “It’s something we do well.” “And I would hate to see us move backwards and experience a resurgence in measles, pertussis, or any other completely preventable disease,” said Dr. Mary Currier, the state health officer. But some legislators and vaccine choice advocates are working to change that. Two bills have been introduced to this legislative session that would expand the state’s medical exemption, to include one for those who believe their religious beliefs make it difficult to get vaccines. Andy Gipson (R-Braxton), House Judiciary Chair, conducted a hearing on House Bill 1505, which was his sponsor. Double referred to the House Judiciary B & Education committees, this bill. Gipson, who is the chairman of Judiciary B could vote on the bill as soon as Thursday morning. Gipson, who introduced the first of over a dozen speakers, said that “It’s a intersection of medical, legal, and even fundamental rights” in the state. “… This issue has been on the legislative agenda for at least seven years. This is an issue that we continue to face.” Although bills supporting vaccine choice (or the ability for parents and their children to opt out from the state’s vaccination requirements due to personal convictions) have been introduced in Mississippi every year since 2013, the idea of linking religious beliefs to these objections is relatively new in the state. It is not a nationwide policy. 47 states allow parents to opt out of vaccinations for their children based on their religious beliefs. West Virginia, California, and Mississippi are the only exceptions. Many speakers at Wednesday’s hearing pointed out the irony of Mississippi not offering a religious exemption, despite being one of the most religiously-oriented states in the nation. Del Bigtree, a producer of anti-vaccine documentaries, said that Mississippi was one of three states in the nation that “stands in defiance God’s laws.” Brown v. Stone, a 1979 Mississippi State Supreme Court ruling, is the reason Mississippi is among these three states. Mississippi had a law allowing religious exemptions at the time. However, it was very narrow and allowed exemptions for religions that “relied upon spiritual means of healing” rather than modern medicine. However, the court’s decision wiped it out entirely. The court stated in its opinion that the right to freely practice religion does not allow the freedom to expose the child or the community to communicable diseases or to ill health. Currier’s “herd immunity” concept was highlighted in this law. It is the idea that vaccines can only be effective if vaccination rates are high in a given community (ideally 95 percent). This is because vaccines are not 100% effective all the time. Many people are not fully vaccinated. People with chronic conditions and infants whose immune systems aren’t fully developed can also be affected. Patterson said that this was the case with Galloway’s measles outbreak. Because the rubella, measles and mumps shots are not usually given to children under 18 months of age, they weren’t vaccinated for measles. The case involved a sibling who was older than the infant that had been infected. She had gone to church with a child who wasn’t vaccinated and had measles. Patterson believes that the infant contracted measles from Patterson’s family night at camp. There are always going to health risks. Patterson stated that this is part of living in a community we accept. “But we have the responsibility to protect our most vulnerable citizens,” Patterson said. Although Mississippi’s religious exemption from vaccines has been largely ignored for over 40 years, recent successes with “religious freedom legislation” have allowed the state to move forward. 2016 saw Gov. House Bill 1523 was signed by Phil Bryant in 2016. This law allows people to refuse certain services to transgender Mississippians, gays, and lesbians based on their religious beliefs. The law was initially rejected by a federal court as discriminatory and unconstitutional. However, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed that decision last summer, ruling that plaintiffs had no standing to challenge it because it hadn’t yet been implemented. The Supreme Court upheld that ruling two weeks later. Gipson stated that although the issues surrounding vaccine choice are different, “it’s still the same principle.” House Bill 1523 states that a person cannot be forced to follow a religious belief by the government. This applies only in a patient context, Gipson added. Nearly a dozen of the nearly dozen speakers Wednesday stated that they have strong religious convictions that prevent them from vaccinating children. Many spoke out against vaccines, citing that they were created from fetal tissue. Sherry Smith, a nurse and Christian, said that she could not support the vaccines because they were created using fetal tissue. Two fetuses from pregnancies in Sweden that were terminated involuntarily in the 1960s were used in several vaccines. Many feel this has created a moral grey area in the matter, as the person who is vaccinated is directly benefiting from the aborted fetus. However, the Catholic Church is unambiguous in its support of vaccines. The legitimate concern about vaccine origins outweighs any risk to public health if one does not vaccinate. This is particularly important for parents who have a moral responsibility to protect their children’s health and the lives of those around them,” states the National Catholic Bioethics Center. In 2005, the Vatican issued a similar statement. Many people have been opposed to vaccinations for years because they are concerned about their safety. This point of view is covered by exemptions from personal convictions that patients and their parents can apply to. This has proved difficult to sell in many states. Only 20 states currently offer an exemption for personal beliefs, while 47 offer a religious exemption. Since 2013, 13 Mississippi bills have granted a personal conviction exemption from the vaccine requirement. None of these bills have made it past the committee. In recent years, scientists have tried to discredit studies linking vaccines with increased diagnoses of autism, autoimmune diseases, and allergies in children. Every nationally recognized health agency, including the Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the World Health Organization has supported vaccines as an essential part of public health. Currier stated that vaccines have been thoroughly studied and the link between vaccines and autism has been proven to be incontestable. People who have had their vaccinations are no more likely than those who have not. Almost all the people who spoke Wednesday about their religious beliefs against vaccines had serious health concerns. Many parents shared their personal experiences of witnessing the terrible consequences of vaccinations for their children. Smith claimed that her daughter developed asthma after receiving a routine series of vaccines. Her condition continued to worsen with each subsequent round. Judy Brasher, a Holcomb retired nurse, stated that her grandson became autistic after receiving multiple vaccines in one day. Gipson also stated that his interest in Mississippi’s vaccine regulations being relaxed stemmed from a “life-threatening” vaccine reaction he suffered as a child. It was mentioned in both an email sent to senators and members of the House on Jan. 12, as well as Wednesday’s hearing. Gipson stated Wednesday that “I nearly died” at first 18 months old and then five years of age. He later stated that there were many unknowns about vaccine safety for both him and other Mississippians who sought a religious exemption. Gipson stated that he believes this is a major reason parents are interested in the legislation. Gipson stated, “I believe it has a good chance, no pun intended.” To support this work, you can make a regular donation to the Spring Member Drive today. This will allow us to continue important work such as this one. Our reporters give a human face to policy’s impact on everyday Mississippians by listening more closely and understanding their communities. To ensure that our work is aligned with the priorities and needs of Mississippians, we are listening to you. Click the button below to let us know what you think. Republish this Story You can freely republish our articles online or in print under a Creative Commons licence. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Mississippi Today, Larrison Campbell
January 25, 2018, Larrison Campbell, a Greenville native, reports on politics with a focus on public health. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, and a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Although I am not a doctor, I have been to other countries where vaccines aren’t required. This law is extremely dangerous and has no basis in science or medicine. 47 states. Did you see that? This isn’t an extreme idea. It is a common practice in the rest of the country, as it has been since before vaccine mandates were even introduced. Mississippi’s newborn must have 21 doses by six months of age to be eligible for daycare. If a mother opts out of any of these vaccines or wants to delay or spread them out, she must quit her job and move to one of the many free states. Each other state in the south has a religious or personal belief exemption. It is a dangerous position to assume that all people who want religious freedom, which was the foundation of this country, are trying to eliminate all vaccines.