Via CBC News: New Brunswick moves toward mandatory immunization for students. Excerpt:
The New Brunswick government introduced legislative amendments Friday that would make medical exemptions the only acceptable reason for children in public schools and licensed early learning and child care centres not to be immunized.
Under the proposed changes, starting Sept. 21, 2021, all existing and new students would have to either provide proof they're immunized against various diseases, such as measles and whooping cough, or provide a medical exemption form signed by a health-care professional.
If they don't, they won't be allowed in and will have to go to private school or be home-schooled instead, said Dominic Cardy, minister of education and early childhood development.
"It's about protecting our kids, accepting science and evidence, and that's the reason why we're making these changes," he said.
The amendments to the Education Act and the Public Health Act come amid a measles outbreak in the Saint John health region, where 12 cases of the highly contagious respiratory disease have been confirmed, and a whooping cough outbreak in the Fredericton health region, with 28 cases now confirmed.
"Right now, there's a very broad exemption that allows for basically anyone who just says they don't wish to have their children vaccinated," said Cardy.
But there are some children who can't be vaccinated for health reasons, such as being immunocompromised, he said.
The amendments would remove all non-medical exemptions and help protect those vulnerable children through so-called herd immunity, or community immunity, by ensuring at least 95 per cent of students are vaccinated.
The government also plans to look into making immunization mandatory for teachers, bus drivers and other staff, said Cardy, but that will require discussions with unions.
