Editorial: Vaccination refusal endangers all of us
California is the "epicenter of vaccine refusal" in the United States, Dr. Blaise Congeni of Akron Children's Hospital in Ohio told ABC News last year.
That became an issue with last year's whooping cough epidemic – with 9,143 reported cases, the most in 50 years. Lawmakers acted appropriately, passing a law requiring all seventh- to 12th-graders to get vaccinated starting this school year.
The Bee has reported, however, that some districts, such as Folsom Cordova Unified, were defying the law by allowing unvaccinated students to come to school. Others, such as Natomas Unified, were allowing unvaccinated students to get separate instruction in the gym.
The Legislature needs to revisit the law to ensure that districts that do not enforce the law suffer consequences. Allowing large numbers of students to attend school without being vaccinated puts the community at risk.
This isn't just about whooping cough. It also is about other serious or potentially fatal diseases – smallpox, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and meningitis.
An important issue is that California has a very loose "personal belief exemption," an opt-out for parents that need not be based on religion or medical necessity. Legislators ought to revisit that law, too.
Overall, the "opt-out" rate is about 2 percent, not a big problem. When a large enough percentage of the population is vaccinated, that protects everybody – including newborns, people with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and others who cannot be vaccinated. When a small number of parents refuse vaccination, their children are protected as "free riders."
But when a large percentage is intentionally unvaccinated, that puts the larger community at risk – undermining "community immunity." A review of California Department of Public Health data shows that we have clusters of schools in that category. That's a concern.
Of 280 schools in Sacramento County serving kindergartners, 46 had exemption rates greater than 5 percent last year.
Eight schools had opt-out rates of 20 percent or greater: Golden Valley Charter School of Orangevale and Visions in Education of Carmichael at 57 percent, Sacramento Waldorf at 50 percent, Community Outreach Academy of McClellan at 35 percent, Alice Birney Waldorf at 32 percent, California Montessori Project and Camellia Waldorf at 21 percent and Folsom Community Charter at 20 percent.
The public and public health professionals should raise the vaccination issue at these hot spots with principals and PTAs. When parents at these schools make a choice for their child not to get vaccines, they're also making a choice to put others at risk.
The bottom line: Kids need to get their vaccinations to protect us all.