Latest news with #exemptions
Washington Post
31-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
US childhood vaccination rates fall again as exemptions set another record
NEW YORK — U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates inched down again last year and the share of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to federal data posted Thursday. The fraction of kids exempted from vaccine requirements rose to 4.1%, up from 3.7% the year before. It's the third record-breaking year in a row for the exemption rate, and the vast majority are parents withholding shots for nonmedical reasons.
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Aussie parents falsely claiming to be Aboriginal in an attempt to bypass strict vaccination requirements
Some parents are falsely claiming to be Aboriginal in an attempt to bypass strict vaccination requirements for children attending childcare and preschool. Under federal guidelines, parents must provide an immunisation history showing that their child is either fully vaccinated, on a recognised catch-up schedule for jabs, or has a valid medical exemption. The NSW Health Department has ruled that parents who object to vaccinating their children can no longer enrol their kids in childcare unless they qualify for an exemption. Exemptions are only granted if the child is immunocompromised, holds a health care card, or identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Some anti-vaccination groups advise and encourage others to falsely claim their children are Indigenous in order to circumvent compulsory vaccination. 'People have a right to be part of society and any loophole you can find then use it,' said one mother. 'When loopholes are all you have when you are discriminated against, then what else do you have to give your child a chance?' Mothers in these groups have claimed it is easy to falsely declare Indigenous status, because no cultural or genealogical proof is required. 'Aboriginal definitely gets you through, you won't have any trouble. I know ppl (sic) who have ticked tht (sic) box though aren't and had no trouble,' said another. 'We will claim Aboriginal heritage if push comes to shove,' said one mum who claimed compulsory COVID vaccinations 'woke her up'. But not all those opposed to vaccination mandates were comfortable with misrepresenting their race. 'You're either Aboriginal or you're not,' one mum posted. 'It's a pretty low blow to claim Aboriginality to get into kindy if you don't/haven't recognised it previously. 'If your family is not indigenous and you are only looking to identify for your own personal benefits then that is awful. The exemption for Aboriginal people is there for a reason - not for people to use and abuse when they need an out.' But some said the government had forced them into such a position, labelling the current No Jab No Play laws as a form of coercion or blackmail. 'Any mandatory vaccination is a low blow in my government is in the wrong' said one. The Daily Mail has taken screenshots of mothers discussing claiming their child is Indigenous to get out of strict jab rules The Daily Mail has taken screenshots of mothers discussing claiming their child is Indigenous to get out of strict jab rules Indigenous social researcher Suzanne Ingram said the number of people falsely self-identifying as Aboriginal was now on a scale that had not been seen before, as they sought access to benefits and set-asides in education, employment and other areas. The 2021 Census found that 812,728 people (3.2 per cent of the population) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, an increase of more than 25 per cent since 2016. The Indigenous population increased by the greatest amount in Brisbane, New South Wales central and north coast, and Sydney. 'Self-identification is a significant problem and is spoken about as identity fraud,' she said. 'The current system, if you can call it that, not only allows self-identification, it rewards it with jobs, scholarships, career trajectory, not to mention noble social media credibility.' Ingram said self-identification had become accepted throughout all strata of Australian society and was adopted bureaucratic policy, particularly in the education sector. 'For example, swarms of box-tickers through the university gate are there on an Indigenous entry scheme where the systemic requirement is simply that they provide a stat dec,' she said. 'Any dispute, if and when one arises, is dealt with through legals which turns Aboriginal identity into a legal conundrum.' Ingram said Aboriginal people had systems to recognise who was in their kinship networks. 'This is a problem that has been decades in the is quite a bit that needs to be done to fix it,' Ingram said. 'Hoiking the numbers up creates what I call the Big Top Effect which hides critical health conditions for Aboriginal people in poorer socioeconomic conditions and especially access to supports for health treatments and prevention.' A NSW Health spokesperson confirmed that a child whose parents identified as Aboriginal could be enrolled in daycare regardless of their vaccination status. The department failed to answer questions by this masthead on how many requests had been received over the past five years by a parent seeking a daycare or pre-school vaccination exemption because their child was Indigenous. This publication also sought information on whether anyone had been caught falsely claiming Indigenous heritage and what verification, if any, was required when a parent identified their child as Indigenous. We also asked what impact the misuse of this exemption had on indigenous specific health programs and funding allocations. The department failed to answer any of the questions posed.
Reuters
29-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: White House considers plan to clear record backlog of small refinery biofuel waivers
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - The White House is weighing a plan to clear a record backlog of requests from small refineries for exemptions from U.S. biofuel laws, which could include approving many current applications and requesting industry input to deal with older ones, according to three sources familiar with the plans. The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard requires refiners to blend biofuels like corn-based ethanol into the nation's fuel supply or buy renewable fuel credits, known as RINs, from those who do. Small refiners can petition the Environmental Protection Agency to receive an exemption if they can show financial hardship. There are more than 160 outstanding requests for exemptions that represent potentially billions of dollars worth of tradeable credits. A decision from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to clear the backlog would have consequences for the oil and agricultural industries, and impact the price of commodities from gasoline and renewable diesel to soybeans and corn, along with the companies that produce them. In the past, widespread exemptions have sent credit prices lower, along with prices for soybeans and ethanol. The White House is considering granting many of the 19 requests for exemptions from 2024, and issuing a rule seeking input on how to deal with the others, some of which date back to 2016, the sources said. The Trump administration sees approving some requests and delaying others as less of a shock to the multi-billion-dollar credit market than deciding on all of them at once, the sources said. The White House would also likely force larger refiners TO make up for the exempted gallons in a process known as reallocation, but the details are still being worked out, the sources said. No final decision on a path forward has been made, the sources said, and details could change as industries step up engagement with the administration. The White House declined to comment. Molly Vaseliou, an EPA spokesperson, said there have been multiple reports about how the administration plans to tackle the exemptions, with different conclusions. She said news reports were "rumors" from people trying to influence the biofuel credit market. She did not confirm or deny the details reported by Reuters. Decisions on small refinery exemptions are made in a collaborative effort by the U.S. Department of Energy and the EPA, but the White House's Energy Dominance Council - along with White House aide Stephen Miller - has taken a lead role this time around, underscoring its importance, the sources told Reuters. During the first Trump administration, the EPA significantly increased the number of exemptions approved, driving down the price of the renewable fuel credits and angering the Farm Belt, which said the exemptions hurt a program that drove investment in the Midwest. The administration of former President Joe Biden was critical of the exemptions and let the applications linger without any decisions, resulting in the buildup. The RFS gives refiners who need to buy credits to comply with the program roughly two years to submit them to the EPA, complicating the administration's efforts to resolve outstanding credits from 2016 until 2022 that are effectively worthless.
