New Hampshire allows both religious and medical exemptions for vaccinations. The state’s vaccination rates are over 90 percent and above average in the nation,
the Concord Monitor reported.
For medical exemptions,
the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said "the parent or legal guardian of the child must acquire written documentation from a licensed physician or authorized health care provider that certifies that immunization against a particular disease may be detrimental to the child's health. The exemption shall exist only for the length of time, in the opinion of the physician; such immunization would be detrimental to the child. An exemption from immunization for one disease shall not affect other required immunizations."
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To be granted a religious exemption, a parent or legal guardian must sign a notarized statement indicating the religious objection.
If a contagious disease outbreak occurs, those students who have not been immunized cannot attend school during that time.
Some have expressed concerns that the religious exemption is too lax and could be used to avoid vaccinations for philosophical reasons, the Concord Monitor reported.
The number of New Hampshire students registering for religious exemptions was 1.7 percent in the 2013-14 school year, up from 1.5 percent the previous year, according to the newspaper. Private schools saw a greater rate of religions exemptions, amounting to 8.7 percent of kindergarteners and 6.2 percent of seventh-graders.
All states in the nation require vaccinations for students, and all grant exceptions for medical reasons,
the National Conference of State Legislatures said. Most states also grant religious exemptions, and 20 states offer philosophical exemptions.
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