NO SHOTS, NO SCHOOL----NOT REALLY.

[ThinkTwice08]

No Shots, No School, Not Really.

By Dawn Richardson, NVIC Director of Advocacy

It is back to school time and, once again, there is an epidemic of misinformation about school vaccine requirements. 

We have received reports from around the country of schools and the media withholding information about the vaccine exemptions available to families in their state.   All one has to do is insert the phrase “no shots no school” into their favorite internet search engine to see the problem for themselves.

When a school or the media uses the expression “No Shots No School,” they not only mislead the public by omission, they place the health and safety of children, who have had previous vaccine reactions or a family history of vaccine reactions, at risk. Misinformation about requirements and exemptions can cause a child, who could have been eligible for an exemption, to be vaccinated with sometimes tragic but preventable results.

Not all children are the same; not all diseases are the same; not all vaccines are the same and not all vaccines are safe, necessary or effective for all kids. One size does not fit all. All families deserve to be told the truth about their rights so they can make voluntary, informed vaccination decisions. 

No Shots No School is NOT True

A more accurate expression would be “No Shots or No Exemption, No School”.

Recommendations for vaccine use are issued by the federal government (Centers for Disease Control) but vaccine requirements and exemptions are a matter of state law and, while they vary from state to state, all 50 states have them. It is important to know your legal rights.

• Medical Exemptions: all 50 states
• Religious Exemptions: 47 states
• Philosophical or Conscientious Belief Exemptions: 18 states

For detailed information on which vaccine exemptions are available in your state, please visit our Vaccine Laws and State Requirements web page.

We Need Your Help to Fix This Problem

1. Correct the Source - If you see a television newscast, newspaper article, hear a radio announcement or receive a notice from your child’s school containing misleading or incomplete information about vaccine requirements by failing to mention the availability of the vaccine exemptions applicable in your state, please take the two to three minutes to make a quick phone call or send a short email note politely informing them of their mistake or omission and request that they post or broadcast a correction. 

Most of the time, the news stations don’t have this information or they are just taking information directly from press releases from pro-forced vaccination medical groups or the health department, where the vaccine exemption information may have been left out intentionally.  

Sometimes, it can be helpful to explain that this is important because a child, who has already had a vaccine reaction or has a genetic susceptibility to reactions, may be eligible for a vaccine exemption but ends up being further vaccinated and harmed based on the misleading or incorrect content of their article or newscast.   

It is important to be polite and articulate and to provide accurate information. These personal exchanges can and do sometimes shape how vaccine exemption information is represented by that media outlet in the future.

2. Hold Your School District Accountable - Check your school district web site and school registration materials to see if they have exemption information prominently displayed, along with school vaccine requirements. If not, please contact your superintendant’s office and request that they promptly change their web site and printed material to reflect the current state law. You can point them to the state vaccine exemption information on our web site.

Some states, like Texas and Colorado, even have vaccine exemption disclosure requirements in state law. In these instances, a school failing to disclose vaccine exemption information in certain circumstances may be in violation of state law. 

3. Share This Information - Please share this information on email lists, social networking sites, blogs, and newsletters. Families deserve to be told the truth about their rights so they can make informed vaccination decisions. 

4. Register today for the NVIC Advocacy Portal - Achieving and protecting the right to informed consent to vaccination is more important now than ever before and we need your help to make that happen. NVIC wants to help you, our members and supporters, to organize and make a difference in your home state right where you live to protect and expand vaccine exemptions.

When you register for the NVIC Advocacy Portal, you will be placed on an email list for your state and receive action alerts when your help with a letter or phone call is needed. You will also have access to your state team page, which displays your personal legislators’ contact information automatically, and also includes action alerts, legislative bills to watch and state and local announcements.

5. Share Your Success Stories - If you have a success story of getting the media or your school district to include or correct vaccine exemption information, please let us know through the Contact Page of the NVIC Advocacy Portal. Please include links and your contact information. We’d love to compile some of these success stories and share them.  We have already heard of some great results in California and Texas!

If many people commit a few minutes at a time to become and stay involved, things can truly change for the better. 

6. Report Harassment Stories - If you have been harassed in your state for trying to exercise voluntary, informed consent to vaccination for yourself or your child, please consider sharing your experience so others know they are not alone by posting what happened on NVIC’s Cry for Vaccine Freedom Wall.

[etnavywife1025]

I was talking to my neighbor today about preventative medicine and told her not to even get me started on how much I hate vaccines. She mentioned that she didn't care for them but there was nothing she could do b/c her kids HAD to have them b/c of school. She was SO surprised when I told her that was so far from the truth!!! 

[emmy526]

Quoting etnavywife1025:

I was talking to my neighbor today about preventative medicine and told her not to even get me started on how much I hate vaccines. She mentioned that she didn't care for them but there was nothing she could do b/c her kids HAD to have them b/c of school. She was SO surprised when I told her that was so far from the truth!!! 

its the parents who are surprised, and then upon learning the truth, they would STILL go against their instincts, and "go with the flow" in regards to vaccines, because, imo, most of them are too lazy to do any research about it, or don't want  to start any drama, or its "too much of a hassle" to look into it.  I've seen parents on cafemom(not  so much this board but others,) who admit they are too lazy to do any reading about it and they just follow what the dr says.  and then they seem to think its funny because now they havent done any research, and are in panic mode because "shot" day is coming up and they couldn't be bothered to do anything to inform themselves on the issue.  

I also tend to think that those of us who can use critical thinking skills are more apt/able to comprehend the magnitude of this barbaric practice, which make us reason/question what is going on, to some degree...

[BekaBug]

thank you for sharing this link. (i linked it to my FB) im so tired of having to argue with friends and family about vax'ing and school. sadly we did start to vax dd. (family pressure) dh was against it from day one. but she isnt "up to date" and ds is vax free. i feel horrible for even starting to put that crap in her system. my mil still tells me i will have no one to blame but myself when my kids die bc theyre not vax'ed. it hurts. and sucks not having any support.

[RADmomma]

I am so glad that I live where I live. If we choose to send DD to public school someday, we have the philosophical exemption. I plan to homeschool but this exemption seems to be the easiest to file.

[kailu1835]

My son's school did not provide me a waiver, just an immunization form without the waiver attached.  I had to go print one out from the internet.  Unfortunately, I have to redo it because of the new law, but my naturopathic pediatrician had waivers, and she signed it for me.

[mclaurin612]

my mil is the same way i just nod my head and smile while inside i really just want to smack her. she is an rn an thinks she knows best

Quoting BekaBug:

thank you for sharing this link. (i linked it to my FB) im so tired of having to argue with friends and family about vax'ing and school. sadly we did start to vax dd. (family pressure) dh was against it from day one. but she isnt "up to date" and ds is vax free. i feel horrible for even starting to put that crap in her system. my mil still tells me i will have no one to blame but myself when my kids die bc theyre not vax'ed. it hurts. and sucks not having any support.

[EmmasMummy11]

I am seriously convinced the media gets some sort of kick back for this. All I've heard on the news is "kids will get turned away if not up to date!" "get them immunized before school starts or get turned away!" bull! I took my exemption and they said "alrighty" and that was it.

[Jeep05]

Our DD is currently in 5th grade. Over the summer we got an automated phone call from Wake County Public Schools (WCPS) that stated WCPS is required to talk about the HPV vaccine and directed us to their website on line. When I dropped her off at school today I asked about whether I needed to update our religious exemption annually. I also inquired about whether they would transfer the exemption to her middle school next year or if I needed to fill out a new one. I was informed that it would be transferred but that there may be a problem because 6th graders are required to receive DTaP vaccines. So I went to the website here's the link http://www.wcpss.net/parent-tips/health/tdap.html Notice how #7 mentions exemptions but then #8 discusses appointment cards. The big issue for us is that we have had an exemption in place since she was 4 yrs. old. My understanding is that in some states if you file an exemption but then get vaccinated you can no longer file an exemption. So what happens if its forced on a child against a parents will? It really infuriates me that as parents we have to worry about our childs (childrens) safety when they go to school (some schools now vaccinate) or a doctors office. Anyway I thought I would share this info. with you all in hopes to get some assurance, support, and stress relief. Unfortunately, I have learned the hard way to keep our beliefs to ourselves as others appear to look at you like you are crazy or keep their kids away from yours. Funny how that works because often I feel like I should keep my kid in a bubble so she doesn't catch things from vaccinated students but on the other hand I want her to live a happy healthy normal life and socialization is part of that. Thanks for letting me vent.

[kailu1835]

My son has his tetanus shot and that's it.  However, when I signed his waiver, I just said that he didn't have anything, that way there wasn't anything for them to dispute about my waiver.  They don't ask for the pediatrician's name or anything, so there really isn't any way for them to check up on him.  If they vaccinate your child against your will, it is battery and you can sue.

Quoting Jeep05:

Our DD is currently in 5th grade. Over the summer we got an automated phone call from Wake County Public Schools (WCPS) that stated WCPS is required to talk about the HPV vaccine and directed us to their website on line. When I dropped her off at school today I asked about whether I needed to update our religious exemption annually. I also inquired about whether they would transfer the exemption to her middle school next year or if I needed to fill out a new one. I was informed that it would be transferred but that there may be a problem because 6th graders are required to receive DTaP vaccines. So I went to the website here's the link http://www.wcpss.net/parent-tips/health/tdap.html Notice how #7 mentions exemptions but then #8 discusses appointment cards. The big issue for us is that we have had an exemption in place since she was 4 yrs. old. My understanding is that in some states if you file an exemption but then get vaccinated you can no longer file an exemption. So what happens if its forced on a child against a parents will? It really infuriates me that as parents we have to worry about our childs (childrens) safety when they go to school (some schools now vaccinate) or a doctors office. Anyway I thought I would share this info. with you all in hopes to get some assurance, support, and stress relief. Unfortunately, I have learned the hard way to keep our beliefs to ourselves as others appear to look at you like you are crazy or keep their kids away from yours. Funny how that works because often I feel like I should keep my kid in a bubble so she doesn't catch things from vaccinated students but on the other hand I want her to live a happy healthy normal life and socialization is part of that. Thanks for letting me vent.