Clock is ticking on NY deadline for student vaccinations

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Thousands of New York parents are scrambling to get their kids shots — or get them out of school.

That’s because state lawmakers recently revoked a religious exemption for mandatory school vaccinations. Lawmakers did away with the exemption in June amid the nation’s worst measles outbreak since 1992. More than 26,000 children had previously gone unvaccinated for religious reasons.

New York became the fourth state to eliminate religious and personal-belief exemptions after California, Mississippi and West Virginia. Maine will remove them in 2021. All states allow medical exemptions.

Some parents are choosing to pull their kids from school rather than comply.

More than 1,200 measles cases have been confirmed in 30 states this year. Most were linked to outbreaks in New York and New York City.