As longtime owners of a child care center in Maine, we applaud the Maine legislators, physicians, nurses and others responsible for putting Public Law 154 on the books. This law states that all children who enroll in schools in Maine must be immunized. The only exception for a child not to be immunized is for a medical reason, not a philosophical or religious one.

At our child care center, we have children who range in age from 6 weeks to 13 years old. We have infants at our center who are too young to be vaccinated and are vulnerable to diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chickenpox, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Public Law 154 protects our most vulnerable children and society at large.

Please pay attention to and protect our most vulnerable little ones as well as those people who are immunocompromised and/or cannot be immunized for medical reasons. Maine’s vaccine opt-out rate is one of the worst in the nation, and the spread of communicable diseases is on the rise. This has led to outbreaks of whooping cough in child care centers and schools in Maine. It makes us all at risk to serious outbreaks of infectious disease.

Vote with us to protect Maine children and to protect public health in Maine. Vote “no” on Question 1 on March 3.

Laurie Grant and Peggy Littlefield

co-owners, Ocean House Child Development Center

Cape Elizabeth

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