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Community Corner

Moms Talk: The New State Vaccine Ruling

Really, it's not that big of a deal.

As most of you know, fellow Mamma and Governor Christine Gregoire recently and additional signature to exempt public-school bound children from required vaccinations. I realize most of you know this because Facebook, BabyCenter.com and Mothering.com have been buzzing about it, too.

Turns out our little area of the country has a pretty high rate of exemptions for children entering the public school system. The goal, according to the King County Public Health website is to close “a loophole in state policy, which many felt made it easy for parents to exempt their child from school immunization requirements based only on convenience.”

I’m not sure who these “many” people are who think our parenting decisions are so “easy”…doctors? Teachers? Politicians? Other parents? I’m pretty sure parents who choose to not or selectively vaccinate are not basing their choices on some loophole in state policy or to take advantage of some convenience. Amazon Fresh, that’s a convenience. Choosing to do the research and make a life-long health decision for your child is, however, not.  

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For the record, my son is fully, completely and utterly vaccinated. We follow the schedule outlined by our pediatrician and also get family flu shots every year. In fact, should it be possible for my son to get the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, I’d opt to get it for him. As someone who has waged a battle against cervical cancer, something that could easily have been prevented with vaccination, I would do so to protect my son and his future partner’s health. So, with my side of the pendulum utterly outlined, here’s my advice for those of you on the counter-swing.

It’s just a different signature. So, chances are your child has a medical provider. Whether it’s a nurse practitioner or a naturopath or a traditional pediatrician, your child has likely seen one of these folks and they are likely the folks you’ve discussed vaccinations with. All you need to do is get them to sign the form that comes out in late July. Sadly, if you complain about it too much the health department may indeed think you just signed that old exemption due to the “convenience factor” they feared.

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Outstanding questions I have are: Is the State of Washington going to PAY for the appointment to get the counseling? I don’t think parents should have to. Is there any regulation to confirm the informational counseling actually happened? Will there be a pop quiz for parents on the first day of school? Will the confidentiality of the records be preserved or will these kiddos be “outed” if there is an outbreak. No one seems to have an answer to these questions yet.

Vaccinated Mommas really don’t care what you do with your kids. I know parents on both sides and in the middle. Personally, I’ve caught some flack for my insistence on jacking my son up on every vaccine possible…but I’ve gotten the same flack about my . And really, we vaccine protocol followers don’t have a problem with you parents that don’t follow our schedule. I guess it could come down to a fight when there is an outbreak and the exempted children are excluded from school. But hey, I doubt I’d be sending my kiddo to school if there was measles or whooping cough going around.

If you don’t do it, you gotta own it. Did you refuse the Chicken Pox vaccine? Then own it. Know the risks of contracting the pox later in life. Or seek a Pox Party. And know what Whooping Cough looks like. Know that it has killed babies and is easily transmitted amongst different age groups. I’ve been called the Captain of the Green Booger Police. I’ve asked parents to leave Tot Spot for having children with symptoms clearly posted at the door (including a very confused dad who stated, “But they are too sick for me to take to preschool!”) in order to protect the fresh-from-the-oven babies that frequent our spot.

In all, this new legislation is not the big of a deal. It’s one extra step. Sure, it’s a pain and not well thought out, but really, what else do you expect when government gets involved in our parenting choices.

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