More Washington kids get the measles vaccine, thanks to a rule change

More school kids in Washington state have been getting vaccinated against measles. That’s because, after measles outbreaks in 2019 — including a major one in the Portland/Vancouver area — legislators tightened who could opt out of the shots.

Parents can still opt their kids out of the measles vaccine for medical or religious reasons, but not because of their personal beliefs. That policy change led to roughly one more kindergartener out of every 20 getting the measles shots, according to a new study.

Clark County, where the major outbreak took place, saw an even more dramatic increase.

The study’s authors wanted to sort out why vaccination rates in Washington increased: Was it because the measles outbreaks made parents more nervous about the disease? Or was it because of the policy change?

To figure that out, the researchers looked across the border at vaccination rates in Oregon, which also suffered from the 2019 measles outbreaks but did not change its vaccination rules.