This year, Texas has been the center of the nation's largest measles outbreak for over 20 years. This has been the center of the biggest measles outbreak for over 20 years, as more than 700 people have become ill in the state, sending dozens to hospitals, and the deaths of two unvaccinated children.
But even if the outbreak slows, the bill approved by state lawmakers and sent to Republican Greg Abbott would make it very easy for parents to register their children in schools without standard vaccinations for illnesses such as measles, pertussis, polio, and hepatitis B.
Supporters say the bill already streamlines the legal exemption process that allows families to avoid vaccines for reasons of conscience, religious beliefs or medical reasons. Instead of contacting your state health officials and waiting for them to arrive by mail, you will be able to download the necessary forms from the website.
The bill will not change which vaccines are needed. However, critics say easing the exemption process opens the door to further outbreaks with potentially fatal consequences.
“If this bill becomes law, Texas is likely to see more illness, more deaths and higher medical costs for families and businesses,” Rekha Lakshmanan, chief strategy officer for the Texas-based nonprofit vaccination project, told state senators before the bill wins final approval.
“The outbreak (in Texas) is no coincidence: a coal mine canary screaming at the top of the lungs,” she said.
The exemption bill, like other bills passed by the Texas Home regarding the removal of lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers and organ transplantation immunization restrictions, is a snapshot of efforts to question vaccine or rollback requirements across dozens of conservative states.
At the national level, this wave has been supported by the Covid-19 pandemic and the still-dependent pushback from the embrace of Trump administration Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Latest federal data shows that vaccination rates in kindergartens have been falling since the pandemic. This was 92.7% in the 2023-24th grade compared to 95% before Covid-19, with the highest percentage of children with exemptions rising ever. And last week, a federal government report on the country's health and wellness “to bring America back to health again” questioned the need for school kindergarten vaccine mandate.
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The National Association of Immunization Managers, an organisation of group and local vaccination officers, tracked 600 vaccine-related bills nationwide in 2025, with the majority not considered pro-vaccines, said Brent Ewig, the group's chief policy officer.
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“We've spiked into vaccine-related bills during the pandemic. It's been tapering over the past few years. Recent actions at the federal level have made us spikes again.”
Texas paralyzes measles outbreak and vaccine requirements
Measles has been thought to have been excluded from the United States since 2000. The Texas outbreak began in the Mennonite community in West Texas, which resisted the vaccine and was distrustful of government interventions in late January, and the highly contagious virus quickly jumped to other places with low vaccination rates.
Like many states, Texas is demanding that children get the vaccine to protect against 11 illnesses, attending public and private schools and childcare centers. The state's vaccination rate for grades 2023-24 ranged from 93.78% for chicken and 95.78% for hepatitis B.
However, parents can obtain exemptions for religious or personal reasons. Or if your doctor determines that it is unsafe due to your medical condition.
Texas' exemption rates have risen for nearly 20 years, with dramatic spikes over the past five years. According to the Texas Department of Health Services, the agency received exemption requests for nearly 153,000 students in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, double the 77,000 required in 2019 from 136,000 the previous year.
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The vaccine exemption bill will allow parents to easily obtain the forms they need by allowing them to download to their computers or smartphones. Current systems where parents ask state health officials to mail paper copies to their homes can sometimes take weeks. The form must still be notarized before the school is submitted to and students are registered.
Advocates say the changes will help parents get caught up in the bureaucratic process and get their children to register with schools earlier.
“The bill is not about whether a vaccine is good or bad, but about government efficiency and keeping children in schools,” said Jackie Schlegal, founder of the Texans for Medical Freedom, advocating for freedom of vaccines.
Critics argue that by simplifying the exemption form process, it is too easy for unvaccinated children to enter school, putting the health of other children and their families at risk.
“For many years, Texas has been a delicate balance between parental rights, public health and safety,” Lakshmanan said. “This bill is more than just a form. It can support parents without putting other families at risk.”
Still waiting for the Senate vote is a bill that allows the vaccine to injure people if they are suing a vaccine that is promoting in Texas. The bill is being opposed by the Texas Manufacturers Association.
The author of the bill is First State Rep. Shelley Luther, a first-term state lawmaker who was temporarily jailed in 2020 for opening a Dallas Salon in violation of the governor's emergency order during the pandemic. Abbott quickly weakened enforcement of coronavirus safeguards, and the court ordered her to be released.
& Copy 2025 Canada Report