Area schools see little opposition to childhood vaccines

Nationally, there may be debate over the value of vaccines, but Cape Girardeau school officials insist the vast majority of students in the school district are vaccinated.

However, no numbers were provided Tuesday by school officials in the Cape Girardeau or Jackson school districts.

Four-year-old numbers provided by the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center indicated more than 95% of students in the Cape Girardeau public schools were vaccinated.

Missouri law requires students to be immunized from various childhood diseases unless parents provide a signed exemption form citing religious or medical reasons why their children are not vaccinated.

The required immunizations, which typically require multiple doses, include diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTap) vaccine; poliovirus (IPV) vaccine; measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine; hepatitis B vaccine; and varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Medical exemptions are allowed if a parent or guardian provides a statement signed by a physician.

Mandy Keys, assistant superintendent of special services, said the district, like other schools, follows the regulations spelled out by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

“As it stands, if we don’t have vaccinations on file or exemption cards, then your student doesn’t start school,” she said.

That requirement is for all students, from preschool to high school, Keys said.

If a student comes down with measles or another disease he or she will be barred from attending school while they are contagious, Keys said.

While she offered no statistics, Keys said most students in the school system are vaccinated.

But Keys said she has spoken to parents who “feel strongly that it is the right thing to do” to not have their children vaccinated.

Nationwide, some parents have voiced concern vaccines could pose serious health risks to their children, a view many public health experts contend is unwarranted.

A Missouri lawmaker has proposed a measure that would ban discrimination against unvaccinated children even as other states look to increase immunization amid disease outbreaks.

New York City declared a health emergency Tuesday over a measles outbreak and ordered vaccinations for people who may have been exposed to the virus, The Associated Press reported.

But while anti-vaccination views are strong in some areas of the nation, that appears not to be the case locally.

According to a 2015 community health assessment of kindergarten and eighth-grade students, the latest available on the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center website, only nine Cape Girardeau School District students were not vaccinated. All but two were for religious reasons.

The assessment also included data provided by the Nell Holcomb and Oak Ridge school districts. Jackson and Delta school districts did not provide any data, the report stated.

Out of 327 kindergarteners in the Cape Girardeau School District, two students were not vaccinated for medical reasons and six for religious reasons.

In Nell Holcomb, out of 34 kindergarten students, only one was not vaccinated, and that was for a medical reason.

In Oak Ridge, out of 26 students, two students were unvaccinated. In both cases, it was for religious reasons, according to the report.

Among eighth-graders, only one Cape Girardeau student among 289 students was listed as not vaccinated, and that was for religious reasons.

Among 21 Nell Holcomb eighth-graders, only two had not had the vaccinations. One was for religious reasons and the other exemption was for medical reasons.

All of Oak Ridge’s 30 students in eighth grade were vaccinated, according to the study.

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center director Jane Wernsman said her agency administers vaccines to children and adults.

She said parents often have concerns about whether vaccines would put their children at risk.

“We probably have experienced parents asking more questions the last few years about vaccinations,” Wernsman said.

She said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified vaccinations as one of the major public-health achievements.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said on its website vaccines are safe and effective in preventing serious disease.

The agency said choosing not to immunize a child greatly increases the risk of getting serious diseases such as measles, mumps and chickenpox. Such diseases can cause severe complications, including heart failure, difficulty breathing and swallowing, brain damage and deafness, the state agency said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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