A bill that would repeal non-medical vaccine exemptions for Hawaiʻi students received about 1,300 pages of written testimony.
The controversial House Bill 1118 passed through the House Committee on Health on Friday with the two Republican members voting "no."
“ I don't believe this is about whether vaccines are effective or not. It boils down to a fundamental, constitutional right that every American citizen has in this country, and that is to practice the tenets of their belief. And this bill … takes away their right to exercise their religion,” Republican Rep. Diamond Garcia said.
Garcia’s comments echoed the concerns of the bill’s opponents — mostly parents who argued that their religious beliefs exempt them and their children from vaccine requirements.
The use of fetal cells from elective abortions in vaccine and medical research has drawn criticism from those who oppose abortion, a viewpoint often based on religious teachings.
Vaccine hesitation also stems from public mistrust in the government and pharmaceutical industry regarding the effectiveness and safety of vaccines. The state Department of Health and other health experts say misinformation has played a role.
Health officials say there’s a growing number of Hawaiʻi students who are not up-to-date on their vaccines: During the 2023-2024 school year, 21% of students had exemptions for vaccinations, were missing shots or didn’t have their records. That was a 25% increase over the previous school year.
About 36,000 public school students statewide were missing one or more vaccinations during the last school year, the department said.
Meanwhile, there have been more cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, the DOH said, and an increased risk of a measles outbreak.
DOH Director Dr. Kenneth Fink said that measles was effectively eliminated in 2000, but lower vaccination rates across the country have led to more than 300 cases nationwide over the last two years.
“ We have had a travel-related case of measles in Hawaiʻi. We were lucky. Luck is not a good public health strategy,” he told lawmakers.
Fink said higher vaccination rates help bolster herd immunity, which is when a highly vaccinated population protects those unvaccinated. But if rates fall, so does herd immunity.
Dr. Maya Maxym, with the Hawaiʻi chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the impact of vaccines has been taken for granted.
“I think, respectfully, that perhaps part of the reason that there is so much fear about vaccines is because we have forgotten what vaccines really do for us,” Maxym said.
Vaccines have effectively eradicated or significantly reduced the number of cases of measles and other targeted diseases, including smallpox, malaria and polio.
Maxym said wide vaccine use is especially helpful for those who can’t get vaccinated for medical reasons.
“Fragile children, children with cancer and other kids cannot receive vaccines or cannot mount a robust immune response to them, so we need to protect those folks with herd immunity. They all have freedom to participate in society, and I believe in freedom. And we, as pediatricians, believe that vaccinating as many children as it's safe to do is part of that freedom,” she said.
