

Protection against disease outbreaks is improving in Marin County, reflecting a change from trends in the past decade. For the second consecutive year, fewer Marin parents requested personal belief exemptions from required school immunizations, leading to a 20 percent decline in the exemption rate for kindergartners from 2012 to 2014.

At the Marin Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Immunization Program, concerns about high rates of vaccine exemptions grew as the opt-out rates more than doubled from 3.7 percent in 2002 to its peak at 7.8 percent in 2012. In 2014, a new law required those wanting vaccine exemptions to have a conversation about immunization with a healthcare practitioner. The HHS Immunization Program surveyed parents to better understand why some don't vaccinate, supported local pediatricians in their communication with patients, and provided up-to-date information to the community. An interactive map was created with school-specific vaccination rates to help parents make informed decisions.