Alaska State Health Department
The TRUTH, not fear, about required school immunizations
I know I haven’t written in over a week and I probably shouldn’t come out with an entry that is a little cranky, but as we gear up for the start of school I find myself increasingly annoyed with the volume of ads being generated by our state health department and local school districts about whether or not your child will be allowed to attend school next week if they do not have their (chickenpox) vaccine. That is simply untrue. What bugs me the most is that no one seems to think it important to tell parents they do have the option of filing a religious or medical exemption for chickenpox or any other vaccine. You can request this paperwork from your school nurse or your local health agency or you can find it online at in the Alaska School and Child Care Facility Immunization Manual in Appendix C. I must admit that it took me a while to find these forms on the State’s website…they seem to have them buried.
I understand the push to have children vaccinated, although I will never understand the pressure to vaccinate against diseases that are treatable. To me that is vaccinating for the sake of convenience and not public health. I am sure there are those who disagree and I understand their position…I just don’t think they are right. I believe that parents should have access to all available information in order to make informed decisions about their children’s health. That means ads should not be running that tell parents that their children will be barred from school next week if they do not have their shots. That is nothing more than a cheap scare tactic and it is insulting.
I hope all of my readers will make informed decisions about vaccines and their children’s healthcare. I do not expect everyone to agree with the choices that I make. My intention is only to provide additional important information on this topic. What I would hate is for one single parent in Alaska or anywhere to race out and get shots for their children because they are afraid. Shame on federal, state and local officials who subscribe to the risk communication strategy of fear!! And, it makes you wonder why such a hardline approach? Maybe they are afraid of informed parents asking tough questions about the efficacy and safety of all these vaccines they are pushing on our children. I say, keep asking questions, demanding answers and making federal and state health officials uncomfortable. After all, we are the ones who will have to live with the consequences of our decisions, not them.
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National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC)
