Correction: Illinois-Vaccine Exemption story
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - In a story April 12 about child vaccinations, The Associated Press, relying on incorrect information provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health, erroneously reported requirements for parents who object to having their children vaccinated on religious grounds. They must submit a "certificate of religious exemption" for children entering kindergarten, sixth grade and ninth grade, and also those who are enrolling in a new school or child care facility.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Illinois agency proposes new anti-vaccinator certificate
Illinois health officials have proposed new rules requiring parents who don't want their children to be vaccinated for religious reasons to provide a document to schools and child care facilities
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois health officials have proposed new rules requiring parents who don't want their children to be vaccinated for religious reasons to provide a document to schools and child care facilities.
The Illinois Department of Public Health's proposal comes in response to a law approved by the General Assembly last year, the Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers (http://bit.ly/1MrE1h7) reported. The law created a "certificate of religious exemption" for children whose parents oppose vaccinations.
Under current law, a child's health care provider is required to sign the certificate after reviewing with the child's parent or guardian the benefits of vaccination and the health risks that it would mitigate. The certificate must be submitted to the school before the student enters kindergarten, sixth grade or ninth grade.
The rules specify the certificates would also be submitted for children changing schools and for those in preschool or child care programs, regardless of whether they're public, private or parochial.
About 20 opponents testified against the proposal Monday at a public hearing in Springfield, calling it an attempt by the health department to override state law and violate their religious freedoms.
"I don't want it to supersede or change the law," Bloomington resident Virginia Crystal Greenwald said after testifying at the hearing. "I feel like we're being bullied and harassed."
Bloomington chiropractor William Rademacher argued that the proposal is an onerous requirement for religious objectors, and that health care providers should also be required to inform parents about the risks associated with vaccinations.
The department plans to hold another hearing Monday in Wheaton. All testimony will be considered before the department submits its final version to the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for approval.