A University of Georgia study found that lax state vaccination laws lead to decreased immunization rates and a rise in outbreaks of preventable diseases. The authors--David Bradford and Anne Mandich--also noted that exemption rates have dramatically risen in the last 10 years, attributable to religious and philosophical reasons. "States with stricter policies have lower pertussis rates, which shows that policymakers do have it within their power to further limit the spread of these diseases," Bradford said. Report