(Image Source: Babble  )

BY AMY WILLMOTT

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

It seems more parents are giving school shots the flick.

A recent study has shown more US parents are seeking exemptions, and skipping their children’s required vaccinations. Phoenix’s KSAZ reports.

“A new report shows that in eight states, more than 1 out of every 20 kindergartners are getting the shots they need to to attend school. That’s because parents, instead, try to get exemptions. Health officials are growing more worried that there could be outbreaks of disease that were once thought to be all but wiped out.”

The AP conducted the study and reports the rules for exemptions from vaccines vary from state to state, as do the reasoning of parents. It is no longer just religious and medical reasons that parents are using to opt out of vaccinations.  PBS's Frontline reports.

“Reasons behind the personal belief exemptions include fears about vaccine side effects (many worry about connections between vaccines and autism though a recent National Academy of Sciences report found no link between the two) to wanting to be able to decide exactly which vaccines are given to their child.”

Spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Alana Levine tells ABC news about fearful parents who don’t fully understand vaccinations.

“What do we know right now for parents to sort of quell those fears and stamp those down?”

“There’s been an overwhelming growing body of scientific evidence that shows that there’s no link between vaccinations and autism. I think there’s been a lot of misinformation on the Internet, through the media that’s put a lot of fear into parents as you said.”

By the time children are 6 they likely would have been injected more than 20 times. This is something a lot of parents say they are hesitant to do, including mother of four and parenting book author Jennifer Margulis. The Daily Mail quotes Margulis for her perspective.

“‘Many of the vaccines are unnecessary and public health officials don't honestly know what the effect of giving so many vaccines to such small children really are...'”

While some may argue there are still  a significant number of kids who do get their required shots, a writer for The Atlantic Wire says there’s still a risk for everyone else.

“While vaccination rates are still high for most of the country, the larger problem is that exemptions tend to be clustered in certain communities... Once an outbreak happens, even kids who received shots are vulnerable since vaccines require a ‘herd immunity’ to be totally effective.”