As measles cases in Pennsylvania spike to levels not seen in decades, state officials say they will disclose the vaccination rates in classrooms across the state in a move that will allow parents to track the safety of their children’s schools.
Starting this fall, the rates in thousands of schools — public and private — will be available online from the Department of Health, nearly a decade after the agency was urged by a state panel to make the numbers accessible and improve enforcement of the vaccine mandate.
In a joint letter signed by State Health Secretary Debra Bogen and Department of Education Secretary Carrie Rowe on Wednesday — and addressed to school leaders and nurses — the two agency leaders acknowledged that cases of measles, whooping cough, and other diseases are increasing at alarming rates in Pennsylvania and other areas of the country. The two state officials said that schools are required by law to report the rates at the end of each year.