A Colorado state lawmaker wants to eliminate the exemption for parents in the state that allows children to remain unvaccinated if receiving vaccinations would intrude on the parents' personal beliefs.

The effort comes after the state was declared to have the lowest rate of vaccinated children in the country, according to The Denver Post, which noted that less than 89 percent of kindergartners in the state receiving vaccinations for illnesses such as measles, which has seen outbreaks in New York and Washington in recent months.

"To hear that we were last in the entire country was concerning, it was embarrassing," state Rep. Kyle Mullica (D), who is drafting the legislation to eliminate the exemption, told the Post.

"This is not a political issue, this is about our kids being safe," he continued.

Mullica went on to say that Colorado was one of the easiest states for obtaining a personal belief exemption for vaccinations, something that he says needs to change based on science.

"Colorado is ranked as one of the easiest places to obtain some of those personal exemptions, or non-medical exemptions, and I think that's probably played a role in where we are," Mullica says.

"I don't want to wait for that kind of thing to happen in Colorado. I want to be proactive, not reactive," he added, referring to Washington state's outbreak where more than 60 children have been infected with measles.

The bill's future is already facing steep obstacles, including the state's Gov. Jared Polis (D), who argued that forced vaccinations create mistrust of government.

"Governor Polis is concerned about how low vaccination rates negatively impact public health. He believes there are successful strategies we can use to increase vaccination rates that don’t put big government in the middle of the parent-child relationship and protect our freedom," Polis' spokeswoman told the Post.

"Governor Polis believes that forcing people to receive shots they don’t want creates mistrust of government, mistrust of vaccinations, and would ultimately backfire and hurt public health," the spokeswoman continued.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/431248-colorado-lawmaker-moving-to-eliminate-personal-belief-vaccine-exemptions