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More parents opting out of vaccines for children

Statewide percentage of those not getting shots is up slightly.

Jeremiah Lynn, 9 months, is about to get a vaccine from Heather
Reisinger, LPN, Nov. 30 at the Rocking Horse Center. More parents are choosing not to give their children vaccines.

Bill Lackey/Staff Photo Jeremiah Lynn, 9 months, is about to get a vaccine from Heather Reisinger, LPN, Nov. 30 at the Rocking Horse Center. More parents are choosing not to give their children vaccines.

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By Matt Sanctis, Staff Writer 10:22 PM Friday, December 2, 2011

URBANA — Most local school and health officials aren’t seeing much of an increase in the number of children who don’t get vaccinations, even if the percentage of those students statewide has increased slightly since the 2006-2007 school year.

But local officials said the slight increase is likely the result of misinformation parents receive on the Internet or television.

Gayle Harris, nursing supervisor at the Clark County Combined Health District said instead, parents should consult their physician or review reputable websites such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“In my mind, it’s almost like playing roulette with your health care,” Harris said of parents who opt out of or delay immunizations for their children.

According to information gathered by the Associated Press, 1.8 percent of Ohio kindergarten students had exemptions that allowed them to opt out of one or more mandated vaccinations. The rate was slightly higher than the 1.09 percent in the 2006-2007 school year, but still low compared to several other states.

Information from The Associated Press showed vaccine exemptions rose in more than half the states, and those with the highest exemption rates were often in the West and Upper Midwest. Alaska, for example, had an exemption rate of almost 9 percent while Colorado’s rate was 7 percent.

Dr. Jim Duffee, a pediatrician and chief medical officer with the Rocking Horse Community Health Center, has seen firsthand the damage that diseases such as polio or pertussis, known as whooping cough, can cause.

“If you’ve ever seen a child cough to death as I have, that’s not something that’s tolerable,” Duffee said.

Duffee noted that many of the areas with high exemption rates, such Boulder, Colo., are also suburban areas with a fairly well-educated population. Because of misinformation, autism and other medical problems became associated with vaccinations in the minds of some parents, Duffee said. However, numerous studies have debunked that theory.

“Every reputable research organization in the U.S. has discounted the association between vaccinations and autism,” Duffee said.

In other cases, because they have never seen polio or some other diseases in their lifetimes, some parents are under the impression that the vaccines are no longer necessary, although that is not the case, Duffee said.

Lynn DiLoreto, a licensed school nurse for Urbana City Schools, said more than 99 percent of students in the district have been immunized. But if fewer parents immunize their children early on, district officials will begin to see fewer students with the proper vaccinations a few years down the road.

Like other local health officials, DiLoreto said the district will respect a parent’s wishes. But if the immunization rate drops too low, the risk of an outbreak increases for all students, even those who have received the proper shots.

“We have to look at the safety of the entire community, not just the individual,” DiLoreto said.

Rules for legal exemptions vary between states, but Ohio allows exemptions for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.

Kim Fish, communication consultant for the Springfield City School District, said the majority of students in the district are up to date on their immunizations. The more common issue in the district, she said, is keeping students up to date with their shots.

Ohio wants children entering the seventh grade to have received the Tdap vaccine, which prevents whooping cough and tetanus. But Fish said there are often a number of students who are behind on those shots, which requires some time to get them up to date.

Local school districts have separate policies on what to do in the case of an outbreak for students who have received exemptions.

In Mechanicsburg, Superintendent Dan Kaffenbarger said there are some students with exemptions, but the district has not seen a noticeable increase. Like many districts, officials in Mechanicsburg can deny students with exemptions admission to school in the case of an outbreak.

DiLoreto, a nurse from Urbana City Schools, said it’s not always easy to decide what should be considered an outbreak.

“It’s a fine line when you get into that situation,” she said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355.

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