New Hampshire law eliminating daycare vaccine requirements sparks conversation online

New Hampshire’s House passed a bill that would eliminate the requirement for proof of polio and measles vaccines for children in daycare. If the bill passes, New Hampshire would become the only U.S. state with this kind of law, although other states allow for religious exemptions to vaccine requirements. Some social media users are expressing concerns that this law will lead to further outbreaks of dangerous diseases like measles. Others are falsely blaming immigrants for measles outbreaks in the U.S. and suggesting that vaccine requirements for U.S. citizens are unfair and unnecessary.

Recommendation: These types of posts promote false claims about the origins of disease outbreaks and undermine the importance of vaccination. Ensuring that community-based organizations and other partners in New Hampshire have updated FAQs and one pagers on the importance of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and polio vaccines for children is recommended. Messaging may emphasize that daycare vaccine requirements protect the health of individual children and their communities. Experts attribute recent measles outbreaks to a decline in vaccination rates, which jeopardizes herd immunity. Recommended vaccines are safe for children and protect them from serious, preventable illnesses like polio and measles, which can cause serious complications and even death, particularly among children under age 5.