Plan To Require Meningitis Vaccine In WI Schools Blocked: Report

WISCONSIN — An attempt to mandate vaccination in Wisconsin schools against meningitis, a rare but potentially deadly swelling of the brain typically caused by bacterial and viral infection, was blocked Thursday by state Republicans, according to a report by The Associated Press.

The plan — released by the state Department of Health Services in February — was to require meningitis vaccination for Wisconsin students starting in 7th grade with a booster by 11th grade. The plan would have also required proof from people trying to claim an exemption from the chickenpox vaccine if they were previously infected. But, overall, the DHS said the process to get an exemption for any of the vaccines would go unchanged.

See also: Meningitis Shots Added To Required Vaccine List In Wisconsin Schools

The measure was blocked by the Wisconsin Legislature's Republican-controlled rules committee, according to a report by AP. The committee voted 6-4 on party lines to block the proposal, according to the report.

The changes were proposed amid a drop in the vaccination rates in Wisconsin schools and child care centers. The DHS, which is an agency under Democrat Gov. Tony Evers, said 88.7 percent of students met the minimum immunization requirements in 2021-2022, a 3.2 percent decline over the year previous. Further, 3.3 percent of students were behind schedule for getting their shots, the health agency said.

Wisconsin Senator Chris Larson, a Democrat who represents parts of Milwaukee and Milwaukee's southern suburbs, reacted to the move by tweeting "WI Republicans continue to spit in the face of science and public health."

"Today, 6 members of an obscure committee voted to repeal the meningitis vaccine requirement for 7th graders, despite recent outbreaks in the U.S. which have killed people," Larson wrote.

The proposal would have also brought changes requiring schools to give reports of vaccine compliance and disease outbreak to state health officials.

The committee's co-chairman, Republican Sen. Steve Nass, said in a statement the group "once again, met its oversight duty relating to the improper actions taken by DHS to enact binding administrative code provisions that were arbitrary and capricious, as well as, placing undue hardships on the families of this state," according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

When the plan was released, DHS Deputy Secretary Deb Standrige said each of the vaccines is already recommended for children, noting that the update would improve their protection.

"Parents who choose to keep their children up to date on vaccinations are not only protecting their own child’s health but are making a choice that protects the people who live and work in their communities,” said Standridge in a February statement.