Last night, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill putting a stop to religious exemptions for required vaccinations.

Too many people had been using religious excuses to get their children out of getting their shots, and it was creating a public health crisis, especially in Orthodox Jewish communities.

This bill, A.2371, closed that loophole for good.

“The science is crystal clear: Vaccines are safe, effective and the best way to keep our children safe. This administration has taken aggressive action to contain the measles outbreak, but given its scale, additional steps are needed to end this public health crisis,” Governor Cuomo said. “While I understand and respect freedom of religion, our first job is to protect the public health and by signing this measure into law, we will help prevent further transmissions and stop this outbreak right in its tracks.”

It’s the right move for the entire state. The only people who shouldn’t be required to get vaccines are people who have medical reasons for it. To use God as an excuse, putting the public’s health in jeopardy, is wildly irresponsible. The government needed to take action, and the Democratically controlled state did just that.

Science won out over religion, and public health won out over a faith-based death wish.

Some people will inevitably complain about this. Those people don’t understand herd immunity or how vaccines work. No one’s religion should give him the power to harm other people — and that’s exactly what the old exemption did.

The law will go into effect immediately and families will have 30 days to show public schools that their children have received the first dose of vaccines.

(Image via Shutterstock)

