SD Legislature: To Vaccinate or Not

South Dakota lawmakers are weighing a proposal to do away with vaccination requirements for students. House Majority Leader Lee Qualm, a Republican from Platte, introduced a bill that would stop schools and colleges from requiring vaccinations for students to enter school.

In a report from Dakota News Now, one Sioux Falls doctor says there could be consequences. "If nationwide vaccination rates go down and down and down, we're going to see more and more of these cases like measles and infectious organisms come back and wreak havoc on our communities,” said Dr. Mark List of Avera.

The state currently allows vaccination exemptions for students who have weakened immune systems or who have religious objections.

The bill would also raise the punishment for schools and physicians that “compel” someone to get a vaccination from a Class 2 misdemeanor to a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Source: Dakota News Now, Associated Press