3 Northeast states banned religious exemptions for vaccines. What about Massachusetts?

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When Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a law in 2019 tightening the state’s rules for vaccinating students, Northe Saunders captured the historic moment in a photo: his then 3-year-old daughter standing on the granite steps of the State House in Augusta, raising her arms in celebration.

“It’s wonderful now to think about her being involved that day when the law passed in Maine, and now sending her off to school every day,” said Saunders, now the president of American Families for Vaccines.

Just six years after Maine decided families cannot cite their religious beliefs to avoid required vaccines, the policy is already showing a dramatic effect: The state recently touted a record high immunization rate of more than 97% of schoolchildren.