Let's restore trust in childhood vaccines

In the United States, health mandates traditionally have been tempered by the need to allow people to make personal choices.

Thus, parents retain the right to exempt their children from laws that require them to undergo certain vaccinations before attending public schools. In Utah, they may do so for three reasons: medical necessity (that is, conditions that would put the student at risk of severe reactions), and either personal or religious beliefs.

The last two are particularly easy to claim. People claiming religious exemptions don’t need to show proof of membership in any denomination or provide any other evidence. That is as it should be. The freedom to exercise religious beliefs is a fundamental right guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

For decades these exemp