vaccinations

Vote On Maine Vaccination Law Will Take Place Presidential Primary Day

By • Oct 17, 2019

State election officials say a people's veto effort to repeal Maine's new vaccination law has qualified for the ballot, and that the vote that will take place on presidential primary day, March 3, 2020. Mainers for Health and Parental Rights is trying to repeal the law that requires all students attending Maine schools to be vaccinated unless medically exempt.

Group Seeking To Overturn Maine's New Vaccine Law Submits Petitions

By • Sep 18, 2019
Mal Leary / Maine Public

The activist group Mainers for Health and Parental Rights has submitted some 78,000 signatures certified by local registrars to suspend the state’s new vaccine law until the voters have their say on the issue next spring. Supporters of the law are vowing a fight to keep it.

Maine Group Wants Three Controversial Issues To Be Up To The Voters

By • Jun 21, 2019

Legislation allowing public financing of abortions for poor Mainers, a measure that would allow what supporters call “death with dignity” and the repeal of exemptions to vaccine requirements could all go to the voters for their decision.

Bill To Eliminate Religious And Philisophical Exemptions From Maine Vaccine Requirements Becomes Law

By • May 24, 2019

Gov. Janet Mills has signed into law a bill that eliminates religious and philosophical exemptions from the state’s vaccination requirements.

Ellsworth Hospital Will Hold Public Forum On Vaccines And Offer Free Vaccinations

By • May 20, 2019

Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital in Ellsworth is holding a public forum on vaccines Tuesday evening.

In Reversal, Maine Senate Drops Religious Exemptions From Vaccination Bill

By • May 15, 2019
Seth Wenig / Associated Press file

A bill establishing one of the more aggressive vaccination laws in the country is now one step closer to reaching Democratic Gov. Janet Mills after a vote in the Maine Senate on Tuesday.

Maine Senate Narrowly Votes To Retain Religious Exemptions For Vaccinations

By • May 2, 2019
Marina Villeneuve / AP Photo

A bill that would eliminate most non-medical exemptions to the state’s vaccination requirements for Maine school children hit a snag Thursday.

The Maine Senate narrowly voted to retain exemptions for religious reasons. The House has rejected restoring religious exemptions, so the measure will have to undergo additional votes before it goes to the desk of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.

Maine Could End Non-Medical Opt-Outs For Vaccinations

By • Apr 10, 2019
Toby Talbot / AP Photo

The Legislature's Education Committee has endorsed a bill that would eliminate all non-medical exemptions for vaccinations required to attend Maine schools. The Committee voted 8-5 along party lines to approve the bill, which has emerged as a political flashpoint during an otherwise low-key legislative session.

Maine Vaccination Rates Reach New Low

By • Apr 5, 2019
Flickr Creative Commons

Vaccination rates in Maine continue to drop, according to an annual school immunization report released Friday by the state's Center for Disease Control (CDC).

Hundreds Turn Out For Hearing On Maine Bill To Tighten Vaccination Exemption Requirements

By • Mar 14, 2019
Alex Acquisto / BDN

A bill that would eliminate philosophical and religious exemptions for vaccines drew hundreds to the Maine State House Wednesday.

Bill Would End Non-Medical Vaccine Exemptions In Maine

By • Jan 18, 2019

AUGUSTA, Maine - Lawmakers in Maine will consider a bill designed to end non-medical exemptions from childhood vaccinations this year.

Maine Vaccination Opt-Out Rates Rose Last Year

By • May 24, 2018

Maine health officials say vaccination opt-out rates for the state's kindergarteners increased during the 2017-2018 school year.

According to a report released this week by the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, 5 percent of kindergarteners were opted out by their parents this year for philosophic of religious reasons. The Portland Herald Press reports Maine's rate last school year was more than twice the national average of 1.8 percent.

The History of Vaccinations

By Jennifer Rooks • Aug 9, 2017
https://www.flickr.com/photos/justthefactsbaby/

In order to provide context for the ongoing debate over vaccinations, we learn about how vaccinations came about and how effective they have been over time, around the world and here in Maine.

Guests:  Dr. Laura Blaisdell—health services researcher and pediatrician affiliated with Maine Medical Center

Karie Youngdahl—Director, Public Health Initiatives, Digital Content Strategist, The History of Vaccines, The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

More Maine Parents Declining to Vaccinate Children

By • Jul 17, 2017

AUGUSTA, Maine - New data from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that more children are entering kindergarten without vaccinations for diseases like measles, chicken pox and whooping cough.
 
The Portland Press Herald reports that the number of parents opting their children out of immunizations for nonmedical reasons rose from 4 percent to 4.8 percent.
 

Maine CDC Director Supports Toughening State's Vaccine Laws

By • Oct 14, 2015

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine's top health official says he supports legislation that would make it more difficult for parents to opt out of immunizations required to attend school.

Kenneth Albert, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Portland Press Herald  on Tuesday he supports an "informed consent'' bill similar to one Gov. Paul LePage vetoed.

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