Governor Ned Lamont is pushing back on his own Department of Public Health’s recent decision to withhold further data on school vaccination rates.
Officials from the governor’s office announced Wednesday that the state will release data on specific school-by-school vaccination rates and exemptions.
This contradicts what DPH Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell told the Connecticut Mirror earlier this week -- she said the department did not plan to release any more reports on the school level.
DPH for the first time released a detailed report in May on childhood vaccination rates and medical or religious exemptions for every school in Connecticut.
That was in response to nationwide outbreaks of measles. But, in announcing that there would be no further release, Coleman-Mitchell told the Mirror that the state has had only a small number of measles cases and that overall immunization rates remain high.
Lamont’s office said it will release statewide data on herd immunity and religious exemptions this week; and will release more school-by-school data after it's verified for accuracy.
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