US court sides with NY in fight over school vaccine rules

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Friday against a group of New York parents who sued after the state made it more difficult for children to get a medical exemption from school immunisation requirements, which were tightened after a major measles outbreak in 2019.

The 2nd United States Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by families and Children's Health Defence, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccine group.

The lawsuit challenged state rules adopted in 2019 that did away with religious exemptions for vaccines and narrowed eligibility for medical exemptions down to children with just a few rare conditions, like severe allergic reactions to a previous dose of vaccine or certain, severe immune system diseases.

The state's allowed exemptions follow guidelines from a federal advisory panel.

The families argued the regulations violated their rights because school officials could deny requests on behalf of vulnerable children even when a doctor certified a medical need for an exemption.

The appeals panel rejected that argument, writing in the decision that “the new regulations require requests to comply with evidence-based national standards for the purpose of ensuring that physicians do not recommend medical exemptions in conclusory fashion or for non-medical reasons.”

New York's longstanding vaccination rules don't include a mandate for children to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Sujata Gibson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, who hailed from a variety of school districts around the state, said she was disappointed in the decision.

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