Today's Soapbox, Jamie talks about one of the most misunderstood issues in public health: vaccine exemptions. With vaccination rates slipping below herd-immunity thresholds in several states, and outbreaks making a comeback, we break down what religious, medical, and philosophical exemptions actually mean, and why the “religious objection” argument doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.

Despite rising claims of faith-based exemptions, major religious authorities across the world, including the Vatican, leading Jewish organizations, Islamic juristic bodies, and the Dalai Lama, all support vaccination as a moral responsibility that protects life and community. So where is the resistance coming from?

Jamie goes deeper, sharing her own early-2000s brush with vaccine skepticism, the impact of misinformation, and what she learned as a CDC public health nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also look at how state laws shape vaccination rates and how nurses end up stuck in the middle of a highly politicized debate.

Most importantly: how do we talk about vaccines in ways that actually reach people? How do we respond to concerns without pushing families further away? And what happens when national leaders use their platforms to undermine trust in science?

Join the conversation on our Substack: Nursingthenation.substack.com