Arizona schoolchildren have been skipping required vaccinations at an increasing rate, which puts the state at risk for measles outbreaks like the ones happening in
Texas and
New Mexico. Cases of measles, a highly contagious and potentially fatal virus, have climbed to 124 in Texas, health officials in that state said Tuesday. On Wednesday, Texas officials announced that one of those affected, an unvaccinated school-aged child, had died. The child was one of 18 of the infected people who have been hospitalized due to the outbreak. Across the Texas border in Lea County, New Mexico, nine people have been infected with measles, the New Mexico Department of Health says. The Texas cases began in a Mennonite community in West Texas,
according to USA TODAY , and have been spreading in communities with low vaccination rates. Arizona is similarly at risk for measles because the state has several pockets of extremely low vaccination rates, including in Yavapai and Mohave counties, according to school vaccination data from the Arizona Department of Health Services for the 2023-24 school year. Data for the current school year is not yet publicly available. "We have the same threat to vaccination that those other states have. ... I think it's only a matter of time," Phoenix family physician Dr. Steven Brown said Tuesday about the possibility of a measles outbreak in Arizona. "We can prevent it, and full vaccination would prevent it completely. It is 100% preventable." Arizona law says children attending school and child care must obtain certain vaccines unless they are exempted by a doctor for medical reasons or by a parent for personal or religious reasons.
More Arizona families using 'personal belief' vaccine exemptions
In Arizona, the number of schools whose kindergarteners were protected from a measles outbreak during the 2023-24 school year
dropped by half from 10 years prior as more families have been obtaining nonmedical "personal belief" exemptions excusing their children from required childhood vaccinations, including MMR — the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Kindergarteners in just two Arizona counties during the most recent school year — Santa Cruz and Yuma — reached the threshold of 95% "herd immunity" that's required to prevent measles, according to the most recent state data. School vaccination rates for the current school year have not yet been publicly posted by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Measles can linger in the air for up to two hours, and it's so contagious that about 90% of unvaccinated individuals who are exposed will become infected, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
says. Disinformation and fear are fueling some of the vaccine hesitancy, according to advocates of vaccines, including the Arizona Academy of Family Physicians and Arizona Families for Vaccines, which hosted a vaccine advocacy day at the state Capitol on Tuesday. Some people can't get vaccinated because of medical conditions, and Arizona always allows nonmedical exemptions for schoolchildren. But those exemptions aren't increasing. Rather, it's the personal-belief exemptions that have been rising, the most recent data shows.
'I support personal choice, but it should be informed choice'
Vaccine advocates say people who are healthy need to get accurate information. Vaccines have the support of the medical community, including the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association and other major physician organizations. "I support personal choice, but it should be informed choice," said Erin Van Liew, a school psychologist in the Valley whose husband had a stem cell transplant and is now getting chemotherapy treatment for a blood cancer called multiple myeloma, which makes his immune system compromised and more susceptible to illness. Van Liew's husband, John Paul Van Liew, was diagnosed with cancer when he was 39, and the couple has two young children. "This is not about politics. It's not about Republicans or Democrats or RFK Jr. For me, this is about a personal decision that people get to make that affects my family," Van Liew said. "When they are making that decision based on bad information, that is what's the most harmful." Robert F. Kennedy Jr., recently confirmed as Health and Human Services secretary, founded an anti-vaccine organization called Children's Health Defense, which has held events in Arizona. Not everyone is aware that getting vaccinated is not only about protecting oneself or one's own family, vaccine advocates such as Van Liew say. Rather, it's also about protecting the whole community, including people with weakened immune systems like the elderly, babies too young to be vaccinated and people such as Van Liew's husband. "I think sometimes these politicians think of this side of the aisle or that side of the aisle instead of the family who now has to deal with the consequences," Van Liew said. "I don't think they think about the snowball that's going down the hill."
Glendale legislator touts freedom, personal beliefs in vaccine bills
Several bills introduced during the ongoing Arizona legislative session by state Rep. Lisa Fink, R-Glendale, could further weaken the state's vaccination rates. While Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is likely to veto any anti-vaccine bills that get legislative approval, the existence of Fink's bills may fuel sentiment against vaccines and vaccine safety, said Ashley Chambers, executive director of Arizona Families for Vaccines, which is part of the national Safe Communities Coalition. While legislators often have no medical background, they are looked upon as leaders in the community, and what they say holds weight with certain members of the public, Chambers said. Fink, who has described herself as a parental rights advocate, introduced legislation to ensure families are getting the information they need about the ability to opt out of immunizations. "The issue is current communications from schools often emphasize immunization requirements but really fail — or kind of put under the radar — to inform parents about legally established exemptions," Fink told the House Education Committee on Feb. 4. "This is about empowering parental rights. ... Parents are often unaware of their rights to exemption options under existing Arizona law." Fink told the committee her bill puts parents in control in deciding what's best for their children, though opponents of the bill say that it will only increase the rate of so-called "convenience" exemptions: parents who are not opposed to vaccination but find it easier to sign an exemption form than vaccinate their children. Also, critics say, exemption rates have been rising, so parents do already know about them. One of Fink's other bills would require universities and colleges that have immunization requirements to exempt students 18 and older from vaccines for a variety of reasons, including personal and religious beliefs. Arizona law does not address or mandate vaccine requirements for students in colleges and universities and it's up to individual institutions to set their own rules. Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona all have vaccine requirements with added requirements for students in certain professional health programs such as nursing and medical schools. Students at all three institutions may request to opt out of the requirements, though doing so could be problematic for aspiring health providers who do clinical rotations in hospitals and clinics. Brandy Giles, a registered nurse who is director of immunization education for Arizona Families for Vaccination, said students who choose to forgo vaccinations for nonmedical reasons are putting themselves and other students at risk, and that's particularly true for students doing clinical rotations who work with patients who are already ill. "It is good to question information. You should question it," she said. "But use good resources."
Republic reporter Caitlin McGlade contributed to this article .
Reach health care reporter Stephanie Innes at or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @stephanieinnes .
