This year alone, more than 1,000 people contracted measles and several dozen have been hospitalized. This is the worst episode in 27 years. Fortunately, to date, no one has died. In response, New York State ended the religious exemption clause for vaccine requirements. California, Mississippi, and West Virginia already have similar laws in place.
I am an ordained Christian minister who serves an urban congregation. As a deeply religious Christian, I am sensitive to government encroachment of religious liberty. However, I am also a primary care physician who believes deeply in the life-saving power of vaccines. As a physician, I have been at the bedside of patients who have died from routinely preventable diseases. As I balance my religious commitments with care for my patients, I believe that the life-saving power of vaccines trumps religious freedom.
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