Washington lawmakers advance vaccine bill as measles cases climb

Washington health officials have now confirmed 65 cases in an ongoing measles outbreak in Clark County. There have also been five confirmed cases in other parts of the state associated with the Clark County outbreak, which began earlier this year. Most of those cases were in children who hadn’t been vaccinated. Late last week, the state Senate’s health committee voted 7-to-4 to advance a measure that would take away the option for parents to claim personal or philosophical exemptions for a child’s school vaccinations. A House committee has already approved a measure that would only ban philosophical exemptions for the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.