Mary Bernatas

HB 1022 seeks to simplify exemptions to the point of making them a "rubber stamp" for anyone who wishes to bypass community safety standards. Basing public health policy on fringe, uneducated beliefs rather than peer-reviewed scientific evidence is deeply irresponsible. We have the luxury of debating these "choices" only because vaccines have been so effective at eradicating the very diseases that once devastated NH families. It would be a tragedy of the highest order to allow the re-emergence of these illnesses simply because we have forgotten the lessons of history. We should not wait for a preventable outbreak to occur before acknowledging that science is not a matter of opinion. I urge the committee to protect our schools and our most vulnerable citizens by voting Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL) on HB 1022. Respectfully, Mary Bernatas