(Reuters) -Florida’s top leaders have pledged to cancel all of its vaccine mandates, including those that require children to get shots against diseases such as polio and measles to attend public schools. Currently, refusal to comply with the mandates can lead to restricted entry to public schools or denied services.
All 50 states and Washington, D.C., currently require certain vaccines for students to attend school.*
Many states align their vaccine requirements with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.*
U.S. versus the world
Globally, vaccine mandates vary widely in scope and enforcement. Over 100 countries have some form of national vaccine mandate.**
As of 2024, 13 European countries had at least one mandatory pediatric vaccination, with France, Hungary and Latvia requiring all but one vaccine. In contrast, 17 European countries had no mandatory vaccinations, relying only on recommendations.***
In the United Kingdom, vaccines offered through the national immunisation programme are not mandatory, according to government data.
U.S. mandates
Core vaccines mandatory for kindergarten admissions in all 50 states
Diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP), polio, measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), varicella (chickenpox), hepatitis B
Hepatitis A (HepA) vaccine mandates exist in the following states*
Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
(The mandate exists for kindergarten students in all of these states except Indiana, Ohio and Minnesota, where it is not enforced uniformly.)
Meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) vaccine mandates exist in the following states*
Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
(The vaccine is mandated at grade 6 or grade 7 across these states.)
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine mandates exist in the following states*
Rhode Island, Hawaii and Virginia have HPV vaccine mandates. Washington D.C. has a similar mandate.
(The vaccine is mandated at grade 6 or grade 7.)
Exemptions*
Vaccine exemptions are waivers that allow individuals to be excluded from mandatory vaccination requirements. Types of exemptions permitted by schools include medical, religious, and philosophical beliefs.
Over the past five years, lawmakers in 15 states have sought to curb school vaccine mandates, but only Idaho’s Medical Freedom Act passed, barring vaccine requirements. Despite this, Idaho’s Health Department still lists immunizations as mandatory and has not responded to inquiries.
Medical exemption: A licensed provider certifies that vaccination poses a health risk for the individual due to conditions like allergies or immunodeficiency.
All states provide medical exemptions.
Religious exemption: When individuals claim that a vaccination conflicts with sincerely held religious beliefs or practices. All states except California, Mississippi, West Virginia, Connecticut, New York and Maine offer this.
Philosophical exemption: When individuals claim personal, moral or ethical objections to vaccination. Permitted in 15 states, including Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
* Data from Kaiser Family Foundation, Immunize.org and state health department websites.
** Data from World Population Review and UK-based non-profit Our World in Data.
*** Data from NIH’s National Library of Medicines.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy, Christy Santhosh and Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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