A survey by the Vermont Health Department shows that about 87 percent of students going into kindergarten have had a full round of vaccines, which is the same as last year.
Health officials say the survey also shows that about 5.5 percent of kindergarten students did not get at least one of the shots because of a philosophical exemption, which is the second highest rate in the country.
The issue has been controversial in Vermont. In the past legislative session, a bill passed the House that would have made it harder for parents to have their children exempt from Vermont's mandatory immunization law based on either medical, religious and philosophical reasons.
But the Senate rejected the legislation after a group of parents raised concerns about the health effects of immunizations.
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