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Spotsylvania school division changes course and will accept medical exemptions for sixth-graders on vaccine Date published: 8/24/2010
By PAMELA GOULD Spotsylvania County's school nurses have been erroneously rejecting medical exemptions for the vaccine required by state law for sixth-graders who are scheduled to start school today. Nurses at the school level and the supervisor of the school division's health department had been telling parents they would not accept immunization forms signed by pediatricians who declined to give their patients the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine before age 11. But state health department officials say that was wrong. And, as of this morning, Spotsylvania school officials will accept those forms, schools spokeswoman Sara Branner said. She said school officials are continuing to investigate the matter but will honor requests for a temporary exemption in the interim and conditionally enroll the students because they want them in school. Parent Valerie Harte reported a problem when both the nurse at Freedom Middle School and the division's nurse supervisor would not accept the forms provided by her 10-year-old son's pediatrician, who declined to give the shot. The doctor cited American Medical Association guidelines to administer the vaccine to children between 11 and 12 years old. Harte reluctantly went against the pediatrician's advice and got her son the shot through the Rappahannock Area Health District on Saturday to spare him the embarrassment of being pulled from class. She said she's not the only parent who encountered the confusion. State law allows for medical exemptions and they should be honored, Alyce Finch, immunization coordinator for the health district, said yesterday. "If [doctors] put it in the form under medical exemption, the state will take it," she said. "But it's not really recommended." Finch said the biggest public health risk is from pertussis, also known as whooping cough. It can be fatal to infants and has been reported recently around the country. She said teens and adults carry it so she would like to see all school staff members get what's known as the Tdap booster as well as the sixth-graders. The health district offers students the shots for free. Whereas some pediatricians carry only the vaccine that's approved for people 11 years and older, the health district administers children a second vaccine known as Boostrix, which is approved for 10-year-olds. Yesterday, Branner said school division nurses had been operating under the assumption they had no leeway in complying with state law. Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972
There are children in the area currently with whooping cough! I personally know 2 children living in Spotsylvania county, one of which is school age, that are currently fighting whooping cough. There were mistakes made but there are reasons for the actions. Whooping cough can be a fatal illness.
not that common, but there are always those who do have problems--not an issue unless it's your child--for life
epidemic of Whooping Cough
the nurses all refused to accept doctors' exemptions from the shots--that's ignorant. the school division is responsible for training or at least informing all personnel of what the state requirements and exemptions are--so the division is also either ignorant or blatantly ignoring parents' rights and doctors' expertise to enforce a rule they have no real authority to enforce. looks like they just do what they want without the benefit of knowing any better. Your 2 sentences aren't any better-even as good
Spotsy is ignorant...your comment is ignorant. This is a complex issues that can't be summed up in 2 sentences.
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