Supporters and opponents of more stringent vaccination requirements for young people in New Brunswick will get a chance to air their opinions next week.
Three days of presentations are scheduled before a legislature committee examining a bill that would make vaccinations mandatory for children in daycares and schools unless they have a medical exemption.
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The new rules, to take effect Sept. 1, 2021, were introduced by the province’s Tory government in June amid a measles outbreak in southern New Brunswick that produced 12 confirmed cases.
The proposed amendments to the Education Act and Public Health Act would mean children must either show proof of immunization or a doctor’s letter exempting them from vaccination.
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Groups including the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association have thrown their support behind the move.
However, the group Vaccine Choice Canada, which is critical of vaccines, calls it a civil rights issue that may require civil disobedience to show opposition.