Ny Times: Anti-vaccine wave sweeping America.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/02Rvaccine.html?st=cse & sq=shunning+vaccinations & scp=1March 2, 2008More Families Are Shunning InoculationsBy FRAN SILVERMANAS states move to require more vaccines for school-age children, anincreasing number of parents are saying no to some of the inoculations.They are seeking exemptions from the state in growing numbers, citingreligious reasons or saying that they believe the vaccines will do moreharm than good.This fall state lawmakers in New Jersey approved a requirement for flu andpneumonia shots for preschoolers, and two other shots — one for meningitis,and a booster against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis for sixth graders.Connecticut health officials are

considering requiring the diphtheria,pertussis and tetanus booster, and a chicken pox and mumps booster forschool-age children and a flu and Hepatitis A shot for children enteringpreschools. In January, New York started requiring a pneumonia vaccine forpreschool children in day care and the DPT booster shot for sixth gradersand is considering requiring flu shots for preschoolers in day care.“With the sheer number of vaccinations recommended there is more of abacklash, more parents with questions,†said Mick Bolduc, epidemiologistfor the Connecticut Department of Health’s immunization program.The resistance of some parents persists despite the overwhelming consensusamong scientists and health officials that vaccines are essential forpublic health and that they do not cause conditions like autism.Last week, in fact, an advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention

said that all children ages 6 months to 18 years shouldreceive an annual influenza shot. Flu has been widespread in almost allstates this year.Currently, flu shots are recommended for children from 6 months to about 5years.A pediatrician, Leo Distefano, of West Hartford, Conn., who is a member ofthe state’s chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said women wereasking about vaccines before they even gave birth. “In almost everyprenatal visit, it’s brought up,†he said. “There’s more and more of aconsumer mentality. People are really cautious about just sticking with theroutine schedule.â€Katherine Silvan, 37, a hospice minister and social worker from Stamford,Conn., refused vaccines for her infant son at the hospital shortly aftershe gave birth last year, out of concern for his health. “I’m not trying tobe extreme and say no vaccines,†she said. “I appreciate

that we don’t havepolio in this country because of the vaccines. But it should be ourpersonal choice.â€New York, New Jersey and Connecticut allow for medical and religiousexemptions, but the requirements for such exemptions differ in each state.In New York, individual school districts decide on exemptions, and howvigorously school officials question parents varies. In Connecticut and NewJersey, residents need only fill out a form for religious waivers. In allthree states, medical exemptions require notes from doctors.Some parents say that either exemption can be hard to obtain regardless ofstate regulations. Lawmakers in New York and New Jersey have introducedlegislation to add a “conscientious objector†exemption to give parentsmore 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 exemptionsfrom vaccines, but the numbers are going up. In Connecticut, 904 preschooland 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 onethrough 12 received religious exemptions and 971 medical exemptions, whichis almost double the percent of the school-age population with exemptionsin 1999. In New Jersey in 2006, 1,474 children received waivers forreligious reasons and 449 for medical, from 242 religious and 485 medicalwaivers in 1990.SOME of the resistance to vaccines comes from parents who believe there isa link between a vaccine preservative called thimerosal and autism despitescientific studies that have failed to show any causal link between thetwo. The studies have been conducted by major health organizations like theCenters for Disease Control,

the Food and Drug Administration, theInstitute of Medicine and the World Health Organization.A study published in November by the Centers for Disease Control showedthat death rates for 13 diseases that can be prevented by childhoodvaccinations are at an all-time low in the United States, showing the valueof a regular program of vaccinations to the public good, doctors from thecenter said.“We realize parents are going to have concerns, and rightly so,†Mr. Bolducfrom Connecticut’s health department said. “But we feel very strongly infollowing the national recommended schedule. The risks from vaccines areoutweighed by the benefits.â€Nevertheless, some parents say they want to make their own decisions fortheir children..Jaime Polatsek, of Trumbull, Conn., stopped allowing vaccinations for bothher children after autism was diagnosed in her daughter, Sophie, at age 4.Ms.

Polatsek said she was always uncomfortable with the inoculations andhad insisted the pediatrician spread out the shots. She said she wasn’taware when her children were infants that she could seek a religious ormedical waiver.“They give you sheets at the pediatrician’s office about the vaccines, butthey don’t tell you that you can choose not to vaccinate,†Ms. Polatseksaid. “I had to learn through other people about the exemptions.â€Rita M. Palma, of Bayport, N.Y., sought a religious exemption from vaccinesfor her three sons but was turned down after a hearing with schoolofficials. She said she had become increasingly uncomfortable with thevaccines the boys were getting.“About two years ago I hit a wall with it,†she said. “I said I was goingto listen to my inner voice. The whole vaccination process is based on fearof getting diseases but I would rather put my faith in God

to heal diseases.â€After submitting a written request for a religious waiver, she wasquestioned at a two-hour hearing by the lawyer for the Bayport-BluepointSchool District and turned down last February by the school board. The NewYork Civil Liberties Union is now pursuing her case.“It is unbelievably traumatic to have your religious convictionsquestioned,†Mrs. Palma said. “For schools to be in the religious sinceritybusiness is just outrageous.â€Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice inVaccination, said parents often face a variety of roadblocks when seekingvaccine exemptions in the state.“We see schools decline letters, or tell parents that clergy must writeletters,†she said. “Parents are being harassed and being asked to dothings above and beyond the law.â€Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, a Republican from Bergen County,

whointroduced a conscientious exemption bill for vaccines, said parentsshouldn’t have the burden of proving a religious or medical reason torefuse vaccines.“This is America; you don’t force it on everybody,†Ms. Vandervalk said.

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