Seattle Public Schools students returning from winter break were kept home Wednesday if they didn't have the state-required measles vaccination paperwork.
According to The Seattle Times, nearly 500 students in the district either did not have paperwork on file verifying their vaccination status, paperwork confirming an upcoming immunization appointment or paperwork confirming their state-allowed exemption.
Over the break, the school district sent a letterto nearly 2,300 students informing them they had to comply with a new state vaccination law prior to returning. The law was passed last year after a large measles outbreak in Washington and went into effectin July. It prohibits vaccine exemptions based on personal preference, but does allow religious and medical exemptions.
The CDC says between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2019, there were nearly 1,300 confirmed cases of measles in 31 U.S. states. The agency said it's the greatest number of cases in the country since 1992.
Seattle Public Schools is offering a free vaccination clinic to help families comply with the requirement.
