AmyLynne Aiken

HB358 would pose a threat to the public health of Granite State children and school staff, most imminently. It is a reasonable requirement for families to complete a religious exemption should they choose not to vaccinate their children. It is important for public health officials and healthcare providers to be able to identify who may be in danger of infection should a contagious outbreak occur, and isolate those people from infecting other populations (vulnerable or not). Most recently, we are seeing a measles outbreak in Texas where the vast majority of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated children, including 1 child who succumbed to measles - absolutely devastating. Measles (mumps and rubella) has been largely controlled due to the MMR vaccine and its effectiveness; other highly infectious diseases like Tuberculosis, Diptheria, Hepatitus, HPV, Melaria, Mumps, and Rabies (to name a few [World Health Organization, 2025] have also been largely controlled by effective vaccines. The general public is safer because of those vaccines, but people still have a right to choose. The current requirement of a formal religious exemption being filed doesn't infringe on anyone's right and choice to remain unvaccinated, but it does provide a level of information to public health officials should an outbreak occur. The current bill would negatively impact the public at large and would not provide any added benefit to anyone, including families who are choose not to vaccinate. I strongly urge you to vote NO on this proposed bill.