Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 193, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Page: 9 of 26
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From Page 1A
Measles outbreak spreads across US
“The overwhelming
majority of the
public... support
having more of their
children protected
through
vaccinations than
less. ”
— Dr. Rahul Gupta,
West Virginia’s
state health officer
Measles cases through the years
Vaccines
Although measles infects mostly unvaccinated persons many
parents have filed for exemptions to vaccination requirements
for religious or philosophical reasons in several states.
An estimated 644 cases were reported last year, a record
high from 956 cases in1994.
1,000
role models for other states”
said Dr. Mark Schleiss, a pedia-
trician and vaccine researcher
at the University of Minnesota.
A recent measles outbreak
that has sickened more than
100 people has brought atten-
tion to policies in 48 states that
allow parents to opt out of vac-
cinating their children because
of their religious beliefs or per-
sonal beliefs, or both.
In Texas, the state health de-
partment reports more than
38,000 students were exempt-
ed from required vaccinations
in the 2013-14 school year.
Denton ISD said last week
that out of the district’s 27,000
students, about 500 have sub-
mitted “a conscientious vacci-
nation exemption” for at least
one vaccine. The district re-
quires that the families of chil-
dren opting out of immuniza-
tions present a certificate or
statement indicating that it’s
being done for medical reasons
or reasons of conscience, in-
cluding religious beliefs.
In West Virginia and Missis-
sippi the rules are firm: Barring
a significant medical reason,
kids who haven’t been vaccinat-
ed can’t attend school — public
or private.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, West Vir-
ginia’s state health officer, said
the limit on exemptions is the
reason his state has been spared
from any measles outbreaks for
decades. And the policy has
been relatively uncontroversial.
“The overwhelming majori-
ty of the public ... support hav-
ing more of their children pro-
tected through vaccinations
than less,” he said.
Some parents in West Vir-
ginia are perplexed that people
wouldn’t vaccinate their kids.
“I don’t think it’s a big deal,”
said Paula Beasley, whose
daughter attends fifth grade in
Cross Lanes, West Virginia.
“Everyone needs to. It’s all for
the greater good.”
Mississippi lawmakers are
considering a proposal to let
doctors grant medical exemp-
tions that would allow children
to skip or delay a vaccination.
Currently, only the state De-
partment of Health can grant
an exemption. Though all 135
requested exemptions were
granted for this school year, a
group called Mississippi Par-
ents for Vaccine Rights said the
department has ignored its
concerns that the state requires
too many immunizations too
early in life. The activists’ de-
mand for a philosophical ex-
emption was stripped from the
bill last week.
Tracey Liles of Grenada,
Mississippi, who has a 13-year-
old daughter and a 3-year-old
son, is among those pushing for
the change because she thinks
the health department has been
too stingy in granting medical
exemptions. Liles said her
Jan. 1-30, 2015
102 cases
Grants religious exemptions
from school immunization
Also includes personal
belief exemptions
800
Was’-K
600
Ole.
Mlnr
S.D.
400
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Calif.
Pd.
Net
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Sov.
200
IE
Utah
0
Arti
’94
’98
’02
’06
’10
14
daughter is frilly vaccinated but
ran a high fever and slept for
two days after a round of vacci-
nations about 10 years ago. Her
daughter, who is now in eighth
grade, had to get a state-man-
dated booster shot for diphthe-
ria, tetanus and pertussis before
entering seventh grade.
“Obviously, I wasn’t going to
pull her out of school, being a
cheerleader and everything. So,
we did it,” Liles said. “Basically, I
feel like I was forced to do it, but
I didn’t have a choice.”
Dr. Mary Currier, the state
health officer in Mississippi, has
urged legislators not to weaken
the immunization require-
ments, particularly with mea-
sles spreading in other states.
Mississippi enacted a strong
vaccination law in the 1970s. In
1979, the Mississippi Supreme
Court blocked a father’s request
not to vaccinate his son because
of religious beliefs.
The protection of students
“against the horrors of crippling
and death resulting from polio-
myelitis or smallpox or from
one of the other diseases against
which means of immunization
are known and have long been
practiced successfully, demand
that children who have not been
immunized should be excluded
from the school community un-
til immunization has been ac-
complished,” the court wrote.
Republican Dean Kirby,
chairman of the Mississippi
Senate Public Health Commit-
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
AP
“Without this mandate, we’d
be in the 60 to 70 percent vacci-
nate rate and not 90 percent,”
he said.
Emily Wagster Pettus report-
ed from Jackson, Mississippi,
AP writer Jonathan Mattise
contributed from Charleston,
Fel:
ir
visional
ilth d>
nenti
tee, said that when proposals to
create a philosophical exemp-
tion arose in recent years, he re-
ceived calls mostly from one
side
those wanting the
change. With the measles out-
break this year, Kirby said he’s
now hearing from parents who
want to keep the law as it is.
“They don’t want their chil-
dren going to school with peo-
ple who have not had the shots,”
Kirby said.
West Virginia’s school vacci-
nation law has its roots in the
1880s and has been repeatedly
changed. But the trend toward
expanding exemptions never
gained traction.
Last week, a proposed reli-
gious exemption was removed
from consideration without de-
bate in the legislature.
Dr. Ron Stollings, a state
senator, said lawmakers may
tweak which state officials can
grant medical exemptions, but
public safety demands exemp-
tions be kept to a minimum.
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Parks, Scott K. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 193, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 11, 2015, newspaper, February 11, 2015; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1124666/m1/9/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .