Anyone here in PA/Allegheny County

[Guest guest]

We received some disturbing news from A-Champ that may concern you.

It seems that the Allegheny County Health Department has decided (on

it's own) to require additional vaccinations for school

children. If you've received an announcement from your child's

school, please contact Colleen at mcstrom @ aol .com

Please read the message below from A-Champ representative Colleen

McStrom:

The following announcement concerns all parents who reside in

Allegheny county or whose children attend school in Allegheny

county.

The Allegheny Health Department has initiated their own process and

have added the following vaccines for all children as a requirement

for school.

A second Mumps vaccine

A second dose of Varicella (chicken pox)

and for children grades 7 through 12:

Tdap vaccine

mcv4 (meningitis)

These new county wide regulations are to take effect by August of

2008. ALL children who attend school in Allegheny county must be

immunized with these new vaccines by August of 2008. Your child can

enter school at the beginning of the school year as long as they have

at least 1 of each required vaccine and must complete all immunization

requirements within 8 months.

Religious and medical exemptions can still be used by parents.

However, what has occurred here is very frightening in that the

county has trumped state law and bypassed the legislative process.

The PA State Department of Health has submitted a proposal to add

these vaccines to the state legislature. They did this in 2006. The

state has not passed this legislation, however, the State Department

of health anticipates that is will pass by the end of this year.

The Allegheny County Health Department Director, Dr. Bruce Dixon, a

political appointee as are his board members, has taken the

immunization laws into his own hands. All he needed was the approval

of the health board, also under the same department that he oversees,

to put these regulations in place. There was no legislative process,

no debate, discussion or medical testimony. There was also no public

input. He simply presented his proposed regulation to his board and

they immediately passed it.

Many of the health board's members do not have medical

backgrounds.

There is no recourse or accountability on the parts of the director

or his board members. They cannot be voted out of office and do not

have to answer to the public. No other county is affected by these

regulations, however, this action will encourage other counties to do

the same if Allegheny gets away with this.

States have been mandating vaccines for a century. The laws were

placed in the state legislative process because outbreaks of disease

can affect states differently. The states are the only laws ever

enacted in history to require specific immunizations for school

children. Hearings are held, public input is heard and legislators

are accountable to the public.

This action by the Allegheny county Health Department is frightening

because counties all over the United States will begin to do the same

thing. When health officials decide they want a vaccine added for

school entry, they will no longer need the state's approval or

legislative process to gain what they want. They will simply make up

their own regulations.

The Allegheny County Health Department sent a letter to all schools

in the county on November 28, 2007 to inform them of the new

regulations. School districts are currently sending out letters to

parents and

posting the new regulations on their web sites. However, to date,

the county health department has not yet announced the changes on

their own web site.

The PA State Department of Health has stated that the county has the

legal right to add their own immunization requirements and have said

that Philadelphia did the same thing a couple years ago with the

Varicella vaccine. The action by Philadelphia is what led to

Allegheny County's actions.

We, at A-Champ, are organizing a coalition of parents who are

concerned about the county's actions to override state laws. We

are consulting with attorneys and are actively checking to see if the

actions taken by the county are, in fact, legal.

For more information and to join us in a parental coalition to fight

the county's actions, please contact me at Mcstrom@...

I am the A-Champ district leader for PA district 18 in Allegheny

county.

I am also including some links to local school districts and their

current announcements. One, Moon Township, has mistakenly assumed the

new regulations are state required.

Colleen Strom

A-Champ PA District Leader - District 18

Allegheny county board of health meeting minutes in which the

measure

was passed - page 4 of the document

http://www.achd.net/board/pubs/pdf/090507mnt.pdf

Allegheny Health Department Web site where no public announcement

has

been made, nothing is mentioned in the news or news archives. The

listed immunization requirements are still listed as the state

requirements.

http://www.achd.net/

Moon area school district

http://www.masd.k12.pa.us/

Letter to parents by Moon Township mistakenly stating it is a

& ldquo;NEW

IMMUNIZATION REGULATION & rdquo; required by state law.

http://www.masd.k12.pa.us/Contest_Entries/student2/masd/Nurses/new%20immunizaito

n%20requirements%20[/urlTEXT]http://www.masd.k12.pa.us/Contest_Entries/student2/\

masd/Nurses/new%20immunizaiton%20requirements%20[/LINK](4).pdf

South Fayette school district home page announcement

http://www.southfayette.org/

South Fayette & rsquo;s specific announcement

http://www.southfayette.org/pupilservices/nursing/immunizations.htm

PA Dept. of Health School Law Report for 2007/2008

TDaP and MCV Requirements:

& ldquo;Tdap and MCV are not yet required for entry into 7th

grade. & rdquo;

http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/FAQ_for_2007-6.pdf