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Medical Ethicist Weights In On Connecticut Vote To End Religious Exemptions For Vaccines

A young boy receives a MMR immunization jab at a health center in Glasgow on Sept. 3, 2007 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
A young boy receives a MMR immunization jab at a health center in Glasgow on Sept. 3, 2007 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Connecticut’s state Senate voted Tuesday night to ban religious exemptions on vaccines for school-aged children.

The new mandate will allow about 8,000 kids who already have exemptions to remain unvaccinated while requiring children enrolling for the 2022 school year to adhere to all state vaccination guidelines.

Thousands of anti-vaccine advocates, many from out of state, protested in Hartford on Tuesday. The demonstration caught the attention of New York University medical ethicist Art Caplan who wrote an op-ed urging legislators to “hold firm.”

He joins host Robin Young to discuss the medical ethics of vaccination.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.