Rochester lawmakers lead bills to rework Minnesota vaccine exemptions

perhamfocus.com · Feb 20, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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ST. PAUL — A bill led by a Rochester lawmaker aims to tighten exemptions for the combined measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine.Currently, Minnesota law requires that children who enroll in child care and preschool receive certain immunizations, including the MMR vaccine, typically delivered in two doses between 16 months of age and kindergarten. Parents can also seek medical and non-medical exemptions from some or all of these vaccines. Introduced late in the Minnesota Legislature's 2025 session, SF 3439/HF 3239 would only allow medical exemptions for the MMR vaccine."There are sometimes cases where it doesn't make medical sense for a certain kiddo to get that vaccine, and that is best determined by a physician," said state Sen. Liz Boldon, DFL-Rochester, chief author of the Senate bill. "But it would remove the conscientious objection for this."The focus on the MMR shot, in particular, comes as a measles outbreak in South Carolina has reached almost 1,000 confirmed cases. Last year, the U.S. recorded 2,280 measles cases, its most in a single year since 1991. In 2024, an outbreak in Minnesota sickened 52 people, mostly in Hennepin County. "We rely on something called herd immunity in order to protect kids from those highly transmittable diseases," said Dr. Kaitlin McLean, a Minneapolis-based internal medicine resident physician. "For measles, specifically, we hope to have vaccination rates at about 95%."Currently, about 79% of Minnesota 6-year-olds have been immunized against measles, said McLean, who is also a member of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics's immunization work group."In my short career here in Minnesota, I have already seen cases of measles," McLean said. "This is a disease that we have, in the United States, considered eradicated, previously."Measles is a particularly contagious disease; the virus can remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected person has left, per the World Health Organization. Symptoms of the disease include cough, watery eyes, runny nose and a rash. While most measles cases don't require hospital-level care, the disease can cause complications such as brain swelling and pneumonia. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued new childhood vaccine guidance that deprioritized certain shots. It did continue to recommend the MMR vaccination for all children.With a nearly evenly split state Legislature, Boldon said "time will tell" if this bill will become law."Anything that passes into law this year has to bipartisan, by definition," Boldon said.Another vaccine-related bill, which has yet to be introduced, would require that parents speak with a health care provider before they can receive an exemption for their child."It would just say that you had to have your physician do some education and sign off on the fact that you got that education," said bill author state Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester."It really is ensuring that people are having those conversations with medical experts," added Boldon, "those trusted providers as they're making decisions about vaccines and immunizations."