"He will have to be vaccinated eventually."

A commonly held misconception about vaccination is that if one chooses to decline vaccination of his/her infant the child will need to be vaccinated once they are school-age. This is not true. Many states, if not all, require that children must have an immunization record on file in order to enter school or daycare. However, an immunization record can consist of a statement of exemption. There are three primary exemptions to vaccination accepted throughout the United States: medical, religious, and philosophical. All 50 states offer medical exemption, 48 states offer religious exemption, and 18 states offer philosophical exemption. Religious, medical and philosophical exemptions are worded differently in each state. To use an exemption for your child it is important to know specifically what the law says in your state. For a list of exemptions by state and links to further information about claiming an exemption, visit the National Vaccine Information Center.