Thanks, Amy, for posting the article. If I weren't working on the 17th, I would join you in Hartford. I attended the Dathan/Duff/Perone/Simms Town Hall Meeting at NCC on Jan.27th, There were a number of anti-vaxxers who were doing a pretty good job of monopolizing the Q&A. One of them, disappointingly, was a Norwalk public school teacher. Duff was the only politician who spoke unequivocally in favor of repeal of the “religious exemption.” Perone hedged and danced around the response, which was disappointing. I suspect he favors repeal, I wish he hadn't been so self-servingly wishy-washy. Dathan hedged a bit, too, never came right out with yay or nay. She gave examples of knowing one person whose child suffered blindness after contracting measles and someone else who is immuno-compromised and could be at risk without herd immunity. In response to an audience member who claimed religious objections because, according to this woman, DNA from aborted fetuses is used in some vaccines, Dathan said that she was raised in the Catholic church, and that it does not have a policy against vaccines. Simms was unequivocally in favor of continuing the religious exemption because, well, he apparently holds strong religious beliefs and I suspect has formed his position purely on the basis of his empathy with others of religious beliefs. I spoke with him after the meeting to express my disappointment that he would prioritize religious beliefs over public health, after which he confessed that he hasn’t really read the scientific data and invited me to send him some.