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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/children-661886-school-year.html
OPINION
Mandatory vaccines bad for California, U.S.
May 17, 2015 Updated May 15, 2015 3:45 p.m.
BY BOB SEARS / Contributing writer
Two bills threaten our freedom to make health care decisions. In California, Senate Bill 277 mandates that all children be fully vaccinated in order to attend public school, private school or day care. Unprecedented opposition has risen up against it as parents statewide stand up for their rights.
Now, a federal bill has just been submitted to match it: H.R. 2232 will require states to have mandatory vaccine laws for public school attendance in order to receive federal grant money for preventive health services. It’s essentially a financial threat by the federal government for all states to get their citizens in line.
As an Orange County pediatrician, I give vaccines in my office every day. I’ll be one of the first to acknowledge how important they are. But when we take a closer look at what these drastic changes really mean, wiser minds will realize they are bad choices for our state and our nation. These bills rob us of religious and personal freedom, remove parental control over their children’s medical treatments and unfairly target low-income and single-parent families.
If these bills were simply a declaration of whether vaccines are good or bad, I’d be voting yes, along with the rest of the Legislature. Yet they have nothing to do with whether vaccines are right or wrong.
In truth, they seek to establish fear and prejudice against a new subset of our population by wrongly answering the following questions: With some families raising their children without vaccines or choosing to partially vaccinate, can these children safely coexist with other children? Can all children safely congregate regardless of their medical, religious or personal beliefs? Is there really a subset of children who pose a danger to those around them?
I believe the answers are: yes, yes and a resounding no! Yet those who propose these bills selectively use scientific arguments to suggest that all children must be vaccinated for the good of all other children. Let’s take a wider look at all the science that proves mandatory vaccination is unnecessary and will do very little to reduce school-born diseases:
There’s also a financial cost. Last year, 225,000 California schoolchildren opted out of one or more vaccines. For every such child forced into homeschooling under this bill, about $10,000 a year would be lost to a day-care, a public school or a private school. A parent must quit a job to stay home, losing income that would produce about $5,000 in state taxes and $20,000 in federal taxes. Do the math: That’s billions every year.
Single-parent and low-income families that have different medical or religious beliefs are unfairly targeted because homeschooling is not an option for them. And now the federal government is threatening to withhold health care grant money if states don’t pass such laws.
<>
Bob Sears is a pediatrician.
OPINION
Mandatory vaccines bad for California, U.S.
May 17, 2015 Updated May 15, 2015 3:45 p.m.
BY BOB SEARS / Contributing writer
Two bills threaten our freedom to make health care decisions. In California, Senate Bill 277 mandates that all children be fully vaccinated in order to attend public school, private school or day care. Unprecedented opposition has risen up against it as parents statewide stand up for their rights.
Now, a federal bill has just been submitted to match it: H.R. 2232 will require states to have mandatory vaccine laws for public school attendance in order to receive federal grant money for preventive health services. It’s essentially a financial threat by the federal government for all states to get their citizens in line.
As an Orange County pediatrician, I give vaccines in my office every day. I’ll be one of the first to acknowledge how important they are. But when we take a closer look at what these drastic changes really mean, wiser minds will realize they are bad choices for our state and our nation. These bills rob us of religious and personal freedom, remove parental control over their children’s medical treatments and unfairly target low-income and single-parent families.
If these bills were simply a declaration of whether vaccines are good or bad, I’d be voting yes, along with the rest of the Legislature. Yet they have nothing to do with whether vaccines are right or wrong.
In truth, they seek to establish fear and prejudice against a new subset of our population by wrongly answering the following questions: With some families raising their children without vaccines or choosing to partially vaccinate, can these children safely coexist with other children? Can all children safely congregate regardless of their medical, religious or personal beliefs? Is there really a subset of children who pose a danger to those around them?
I believe the answers are: yes, yes and a resounding no! Yet those who propose these bills selectively use scientific arguments to suggest that all children must be vaccinated for the good of all other children. Let’s take a wider look at all the science that proves mandatory vaccination is unnecessary and will do very little to reduce school-born diseases:
Measles. Only 18 percent of those caught up in the recent California outbreak were school age, and only a fraction caught the disease or passed it to others while in school. The outbreak would have occurred in much the same manner even if SB277 was in effect, and the minimal spread to the rest of the nation was quickly contained.
Whooping cough. According to the Centers for Disease Control website, under whooping cough FAQs, unvaccinated children are not responsible for the outbreaks; rather, waning immunity because the vaccine wears off quickly is the primary factor. Therefore, this disease will continue to occur in and out of schools regardless of any laws.
Flu. This past year’s flu vaccine was declared about 20 percent effective. Even in a good year, it’s about 50 percent effective, at best, among children. The flu will continue to occur in schools every year, with or without either of these bills.
There’s also a financial cost. Last year, 225,000 California schoolchildren opted out of one or more vaccines. For every such child forced into homeschooling under this bill, about $10,000 a year would be lost to a day-care, a public school or a private school. A parent must quit a job to stay home, losing income that would produce about $5,000 in state taxes and $20,000 in federal taxes. Do the math: That’s billions every year.
Single-parent and low-income families that have different medical or religious beliefs are unfairly targeted because homeschooling is not an option for them. And now the federal government is threatening to withhold health care grant money if states don’t pass such laws.
<>
Bob Sears is a pediatrician.
SURVEY: http://file.scirp.org/html/22932.html
18 replies
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https://www.aclunc.org/news/aclu-statement-sb-277-california-vaccination-bill
ACLU Statement: SB 277, California Vaccination Bill
For Immediate Release : April 28, 2015
The ACLU is neutral on SB 277, the California bill regarding vaccinations. We expressed concerns in an April 2, 2015 letter to the Senate committees on Health, Education and Judiciary regarding the bill as originally drafted.
Statement of Kevin Baker, Legislative Director for the ACLU of California
ACLU Statement: SB 277, California Vaccination Bill
For Immediate Release : April 28, 2015
The ACLU is neutral on SB 277, the California bill regarding vaccinations. We expressed concerns in an April 2, 2015 letter to the Senate committees on Health, Education and Judiciary regarding the bill as originally drafted.
Statement of Kevin Baker, Legislative Director for the ACLU of California
Safe schools are important, and immunization is a valuable protection against outbreaks of infectious diseases. At the same time, we need to proceed with great caution on any proposed law that deprives kids of their fundamental right to education by banning them from classrooms.
Virtually all California schools already enjoy good immunization rates that offer full protection against outbreaks. In districts where the immunization rates are reportedly lower, the lower rate may result from multiple factors besides parental objection to vaccines.
In some cases, children are not vaccinated against every covered disease because parents lack knowledge, have poor access to health care, face transportation problems, or other barriers. In other cases kids are actually vaccinated, but the school has not maintained appropriate records or has not transmitted those records to the proper agency. In still other cases, parents have made an intentional decision not to vaccinate their children. In all cases, California has a constitutional duty to ensure that the child is provided with a quality education.
By sharing our concerns, we hope that California’s Legislators will carefully consider the competing interests of public education and public health, and find a solution that protects both.
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[/center]http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vaccines-522445-one-vaccine.html
Vaccinations should be individualized
Aug. 22, 2013 Updated 5:22 p.m.
Dr. Thomas Lin is a father of three, and an Irvine pediatrician who practices holistic medicine.
COURTESY OF THOMAS LIN
...Having been a physician who has implemented both the traditional and alternative vaccination schedules, I would like to share my experience as well as opinion on this vaccine controversy.
I have been a pediatrician 14 years. The beginning half of my practice experience included the traditional and aggressive administration of vaccines. The latter half of my practice, due to personal afflictions of having a son with autism, has been more holistic, gearing toward an alternative vaccination schedule of one vaccine at a time and selective protection of only the more devastating illnesses.
The data from these two different practices have been very revealing. In the latter half of my practice I have seen a dramatic decline in the number of referrals to regional center for developmental delays, speech problems and autism, as well as decline in asthma and allergies.
I can only deduce that being selective and judicious in administration of vaccines has contributed to this better outcome.
Vaccinations are necessary for individual health as well as public safety against spread of disease. However, I believe the administration of vaccines plays a pivotal role in lessening complications of developmental delays, allergies and asthma.
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Vaccinations should be individualized
Aug. 22, 2013 Updated 5:22 p.m.
Dr. Thomas Lin is a father of three, and an Irvine pediatrician who practices holistic medicine.
COURTESY OF THOMAS LIN
...Having been a physician who has implemented both the traditional and alternative vaccination schedules, I would like to share my experience as well as opinion on this vaccine controversy.
I have been a pediatrician 14 years. The beginning half of my practice experience included the traditional and aggressive administration of vaccines. The latter half of my practice, due to personal afflictions of having a son with autism, has been more holistic, gearing toward an alternative vaccination schedule of one vaccine at a time and selective protection of only the more devastating illnesses.
The data from these two different practices have been very revealing. In the latter half of my practice I have seen a dramatic decline in the number of referrals to regional center for developmental delays, speech problems and autism, as well as decline in asthma and allergies.
I can only deduce that being selective and judicious in administration of vaccines has contributed to this better outcome.
Vaccinations are necessary for individual health as well as public safety against spread of disease. However, I believe the administration of vaccines plays a pivotal role in lessening complications of developmental delays, allergies and asthma.
<>
RELATED: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141073387#post34
POST 34. Dr. Gregory A. Poland at Mayo Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
http://peninsulapress.com/2015/04/07/teachers-vaccination/
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BY SABRINA ELFARRA / APRIL 7, 2015
Teachers not included in mandatory vaccination efforts[/center]
Student vaccination rates and immunization records have been in the news for months, but important data is missing from the statistics: that of teachers and administrators who are around children five days a week.
A measles outbreak at Vista Murrieta High School in Riverside County, Calif., required the state to review student immunization records. Although the documentation with students’ vaccine information was easy to find, that of their teachers and the school’s staff was not.
“The staff was required to provide proof that they had either had measles or were immunized,” said Karen Parris, a representative for Vista Murrieta High School.
Because some of the staff is older, their records were not easily available. The California Department of Public Health worked with the school and said those born before 1957 were considered to have immunity from measles because of its prevalence in past decades.
California schools have no laws requiring teachers to provide immunization history.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there are legislation changes soon for what is required for teachers after these measles outbreaks,” said Renee Lang, the communications director for the National Association of State Boards of Education. “But no legislation has been written or proposed just yet.”
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[center]
BY SABRINA ELFARRA / APRIL 7, 2015
Teachers not included in mandatory vaccination efforts[/center]
Student vaccination rates and immunization records have been in the news for months, but important data is missing from the statistics: that of teachers and administrators who are around children five days a week.
A measles outbreak at Vista Murrieta High School in Riverside County, Calif., required the state to review student immunization records. Although the documentation with students’ vaccine information was easy to find, that of their teachers and the school’s staff was not.
“The staff was required to provide proof that they had either had measles or were immunized,” said Karen Parris, a representative for Vista Murrieta High School.
Because some of the staff is older, their records were not easily available. The California Department of Public Health worked with the school and said those born before 1957 were considered to have immunity from measles because of its prevalence in past decades.
California schools have no laws requiring teachers to provide immunization history.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there are legislation changes soon for what is required for teachers after these measles outbreaks,” said Renee Lang, the communications director for the National Association of State Boards of Education. “But no legislation has been written or proposed just yet.”
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Also from Twitter: http://www.vaccinatecalifornia.org/california_democrats_pass_resolution_supporting_removing_pbes
