Column: Possible abuse of religious vaccine exemption makes me sick

Students not receiving their vaccinations for the upcoming school year put Hawaii at risk for a viral outbreak. A significant contributor to this problem is the increased number of religious vaccination exemptions (see Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 11). Hawaii immunization reports show the rates of this exemption have risen over the years. This suggests that people are abusing the religious exemption and that it should be removed.

I was born and raised in Hawaii, and currently attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Despite being away from home, I still follow what is going on in the islands. Because I care, I worry about the well-being of Hawaii citizens, particularly the keiki.

State law requires all students to be fully vaccinated before attending school. Families can enroll their child in school without fully vaccinating them if they have religious concerns. The religious exemption is intended for those who hold a sincere religious belief that conflicts with vaccination.

Unfortunately, there is good reason to believe that people are taking advantage of the religious exemption. Hawaii has gone from nearly no religious exemptions, to roughly 3% within the past few years. While this percentage might seem small, the impact is enormous. Throughout the islands, religious exemption rates at various institutions range from zero to 52.7%. If this trend continues, the number of unvaccinated students will grow.

According to the Hawaii Department of Health, more than half of Haleakala Waldorf School submitted religious vaccination exemptions for the upcoming school year. I find it difficult to believe that all of these religious exemptions are genuine. Instead, parents who do not want to vaccinate their children could be using the religious exemption as a refuge — some parents might not being truthful because they believe the law is unfair.

Another possibility is that parents are not technically lying, but they are reinterpreting their beliefs to justify asking for a religious exemption. Humans are fundamentally motivated to maintain cognitive consistency — they want to align their behavior and beliefs to avoid being duplicitous. It seems likely that people are interpreting their beliefs about religion or about vaccinations to rationalize asking for a religious exemption.

Therefore, some parents might be finding ways to develop religious beliefs that conflict with vaccinations so that they feel justified in using the exemption. Whether a particular belief is “religious” is to some degree subjective. This allows people who wish to do so to find a way to construe their anti-vaccination beliefs as inconsistent with religious beliefs.

Because it seems that people are taking insincere advantage of the religious exemption, the exemption should be abolished. Requiring schoolchildren to be fully vaccinated is a sensible public health decision. Schools are one of the easiest places for disease to spread. Vaccination helps preserve the health of all students, teachers and school employees, and keeps state medical costs down.

The religious exemption is no longer effective and should be removed from state law. It looks like the religious exemption for vaccinations is being abused, and it is putting all children at risk.