Fwd: More Families Are Shunning Inoculations

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** More Families Are Shunning Inoculations **

Mc for The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/02Rvaccine.html?ref=\

nyregionspecial2

SECOND THOUGHTS Polatsek, of Trumbull, Conn., stopped allowing

vaccinations for her children, Coby and Sophie, after Sophie was found

to have autism.

By FRAN SILVERMAN

Published: March 2, 2008

AS states move to require more vaccines for school-age children, an

increasing number of parents are saying no to some of the

inoculations. They are seeking exemptions from the state in growing

numbers,

This fall state lawmakers in New Jersey

<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessions/n\

ewjersey/index.html?inline=nyt-geo>

approved a requirement for flu and pneumonia shots for preschoolers,

and two other shots & mdash; one for meningitis, and a booster against

tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis for sixth graders. Connecticut

<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessions/c\

onnecticut/index.html?inline=nyt-geo>

health officials are considering requiring the diphtheria, pertussis

and tetanus booster, and a chicken pox and mumps booster for

school-age children and a flu and Hepatitis A shot for children

entering preschools. In January, New York started requiring a

pneumonia vaccine for preschool children in day care and the DPT

booster shot for sixth graders and is considering requiring flu shots

for preschoolers in day care.

& ldquo;With the sheer number of vaccinations recommended there is

more of a backlash, more parents with questions, & rdquo; said Mick

Bolduc, epidemiologist for the Connecticut Department of

Health & rsquo;s immunization program.

The resistance of some parents persists despite the overwhelming

consensus among scientists and health officials that vaccines are

essential for public health and that they do not cause conditions

like autism.

Last week, in fact, an advisory panel for the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention

<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/centers_for\

_disease_control_and_prevention/index.html?inline=nyt-org>

said that all children ages 6 months to 18 years should receive an

annual influenza shot. Flu has been widespread in almost all states

this year.

Currently, flu shots are recommended for children from 6 months to

about 5 years.

A pediatrician, Leo Distefano, of West Hartford, Conn., who is a

member of the state & rsquo;s chapter of the American Academy of

Pediatrics

<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/american_ac\

ademy_of_pediatrics/index.html?inline=nyt-org>,

said women were asking about vaccines before they even gave birth.

& ldquo;In almost every prenatal visit, it & rsquo;s brought up, & rdquo;

he said. & ldquo;There & rsquo;s more and more of a consumer mentality.

People are really cautious about just sticking with the routine

schedule. & rdquo;

Silvan, 37, a hospice minister and social worker from

Stamford, Conn., refused vaccines for her infant son at the hospital

shortly after she gave birth last year, out of concern for his

health. & ldquo;I & rsquo;m not trying to be extreme and say no

vaccines, & rdquo; she said. & ldquo;I appreciate that we don & rsquo;t

have polio in this country because of the vaccines. But it should be

our personal choice. & rdquo;

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut allow for medical and religious

exemptions, but the requirements for such exemptions differ in each

state. In New York, individual school districts decide on exemptions,

and how vigorously school officials question parents varies. In

Connecticut and New Jersey, residents need only fill out a form for

religious waivers. In all three states, medical exemptions require

notes from doctors.

Some parents say that either exemption can be hard to obtain

regardless of state regulations. Lawmakers in New York and New Jersey

have introduced legislation to add a & ldquo;conscientious

objector & rdquo; exemption to give parents more alternatives if they

want to opt out of vaccines for their children. Nineteen states

already have such laws.

Less than one percent of school-age children in each state have

exemptions from vaccines, but the numbers are going up. In

Connecticut, 904 preschool and school-age children had either

religious or medical exemptions in 2006, up from 845 in 2005.

In New York 3,006 students entering pre-K, kindergarten and grades

one through 12 received religious exemptions and 971 medical

exemptions, which is almost double the percent of the school-age

population with exemptions in 1999. In New Jersey in 2006, 1,474

children received waivers for religious reasons and 449 for medical,

from 242 religious and 485 medical waivers in 1990.

SOME of the resistance to vaccines comes from parents who believe

there is a link between a vaccine preservative called thimerosal and

autism despite scientific studies that have failed to show any causal

link between the two. The studies have been conducted by major health

organizations like the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug

Administration

<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/food_and_dr\

ug_administration/index.html?inline=nyt-org>,

the Institute of Medicine

<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/i/institute_o\

f_medicine/index.html?inline=nyt-org>

and the World Health Organization

<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/w/world_healt\

h_organization/index.html?inline=nyt-org>.

A study published in November by the Centers for Disease Control

showed that death rates for 13 diseases that can be prevented by

childhood vaccinations are at an all-time low in the United States,

showing the value of a regular program of vaccinations to the public

good, doctors from the center said.

& ldquo;We realize parents are going to have concerns, and rightly

so, & rdquo; Mr. Bolduc from Connecticut & rsquo;s health department

said. & ldquo;But we feel very strongly in following the national

recommended schedule. The risks from vaccines are outweighed by the

benefits. & rdquo;

Nevertheless, some parents say they want to make their own decisions

for their children.

Polatsek, of Trumbull, Conn., stopped allowing vaccinations for

both her children after autism was diagnosed in her daughter, Sophie,

at age 4. Ms. Polatsek said she was always uncomfortable with the

inoculations and had insisted the pediatrician spread out the shots.

She said she wasn & rsquo;t aware when her children were infants that

she could seek a religious or medical waiver.

& ldquo;They give you sheets at the pediatrician & rsquo;s office about

the vaccines, but they don & rsquo;t tell you that you can choose not

to vaccinate, & rdquo; Ms. Polatsek said. & ldquo;I had to learn through

other people about the exemptions. & rdquo;

Rita M. Palma, of Bayport, N.Y., sought a religious exemption from

vaccines for her three sons but was turned down after a hearing with

school officials. She said she had become increasingly uncomfortable

with the vaccines the boys were getting.

& ldquo;About two years ago I hit a wall with it, & rdquo; she said.

& ldquo;I said I was going to listen to my inner voice. The whole

vaccination process is based on fear of getting diseases but I would

rather put my faith in God to heal diseases. & rdquo;

After submitting a written request for a religious waiver, she was

questioned at a two-hour hearing by the lawyer for the

Bayport-Bluepoint School District and turned down last February by

the school board. The New York Civil Liberties Union

<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/new_york_ci\

vil_liberties_union/index.html?inline=nyt-org>

is now pursuing her case.

& ldquo;It is unbelievably traumatic to have your religious

convictions questioned, & rdquo; Mrs. Palma said. & ldquo;For schools to

be in the religious sincerity business is just outrageous. & rdquo;

Sue , co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed

Choice in Vaccination, said parents often face a variety of

roadblocks when seeking vaccine exemptions in the state.

& ldquo;We see schools decline letters, or tell parents that clergy

must write letters, & rdquo; she said. & ldquo;Parents are being

harassed and being asked to do things above and beyond the

law. & rdquo;

Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, a Republican from Bergen County,

who introduced a conscientious exemption bill for vaccines, said

parents shouldn & rsquo;t have the burden of proving a religious or

medical reason to refuse vaccines.

& ldquo;This is America; you don & rsquo;t force it on everybody, & rdquo;

Ms. Vandervalk said.

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