5-13-2019

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — Parents in Washington state will no longer be able to claim a personal or philosophical exemption for their children from receiving vaccines.

The new law takes effect at the end of July for the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine before children can attend a day care center or school under the measure signed Friday by Governor Inslee.

The state saw more than 70 cases of measles this year, and Inslee signed the bill at Vancouver City Hall, in the county where most of those cases were centered.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that as of the end of last week, 764 cases of measles have been confirmed in 23 states.