More unvaccinated students are enrolling in school and advocates worry that could fuel disease outbreaks that endanger others in the community.
The number of unvaccinated children whose families claimed religious or philosophical objections has more than doubled since the 2020-21 school year, according to data compiled by the Pennsylvania Partnership for Children.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., sent a letter to state officials reiterating that parents have the right to refuse to have their children vaccinated.
But that has prompted concerns that unvaccinated children could lead to measles outbreaks.
“Families who have their children immunized, should they be concerned? Not overly. I think they’re doing their part. I think the people who should really be concerned are parents of children who are not vaccinated,” Becky Ludwick, vice president of public policy for the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, told CapitolWire on Friday.