FOR RELEASE:
CONTACT: Anne Stone, Exec. Director, Oregon Pediatric Society
Tue., Jan. 16, 2013
(503) 334-1591, ext. 101
Dianne Danowski Smith, Publix Northwest, (503) 201-7019
OREGON HAS HIGHEST RATE OF
VACCINE-EXEMPTED KINDERGARTNERS
More than 100 individuals and groups are joining
the Oregon Pediatric Society to announce the introduction of Senate Bill 132
(Portland, Ore.) - In 2012, Oregon schools had the highest rate of non-medical vaccine
exemptions for students of kindergarten age. The calendar year 2012 also saw the highest
rates for pertussis (whooping cough) cases in the United States, for the past 50 years,
according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Washington and Oregon
also had higher incident rates than in previous years.
“During the past ten years, Oregon has doubled in non-medical immunization exemption
rates for children, and it’s worrisome that this high exemption rate could increase the
incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough,” says
pediatrician Jay Rosenbloom, M.D., co-chair of the Oregon Partnership to Immunize
Children. Rosenbloom is a leading voice in the Oregonians for Healthy Children coalition,
which on Monday introduced legislation aiming ultimately to curtail non-medical vaccine
exemptions in Oregon’s school-age and daycare-age children.
Senate Bill 132, if successful, will require parents
who request a non-medical exemption from
immunization requirements to either complete
an online educational video or obtain a signed
form from their health care provider, in an effort
to educate parents about the risk of opting out of
immunizations, and about vaccine-preventable
diseases and community immunity. Current law
requires children enrolled in child care and school
to submit a form verifying they have received
required vaccines. Parents who choose not to
vaccinate their children currently submit a form stating their exemption.
In 2011, Washington passed similar legislation resulting in a 25% decrease in immunization
exemptions in that state.
“It’s important to take this action now, as the rate of non-medical exemptions has doubled
here in Oregon in the past decade,” notes Anne Stone, executive director of the Oregon
Pediatric Society, which is convening the effort and gaining support to tighten the state’s
current exemption policies. Stone notes that recent research from the Oregon Immunization
Program found that in 2012 alone, Oregon had more than 800 cases of pertussis, the state’s
highest rate since the 1950s.
Added Dr. Rosenbloom, “Oregon’s kindergarten non-medical exemption rates are coming in
at nearly 6 percent, but in some schools, the exemption rate has exceeded 75 percent.
Although, most parents understand the importance of immunizing their children, the
exemption rates for non-immunized children are still increasing.”
He believes that as state and local outreach over the past several years has increased, it has
also shown that, “parents will be helped by having more reliable, accurate access to
medically-based information about immunizations and vaccine-preventable diseases.”
Several national and local groups, and providers have signed on to help support and further
the Senate Bill 132 effort. With the Oregon Pediatric Society, they include:
Moms Who Vax
Regence
Autism Science Foundation
Pediatric Associates of the Northwest P.C.
Immunization Action Coalition
Childhood Health Associates of Salem
Hillsboro Pediatric Clinic, LLC
National Meningitis Association, Inc.
Children and Family Health Foundation
Northwest Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
PKids
Oregon Nurses Association
Children’s Health Foundation
Bay Clinic
Meningitis Angels
North Bend Medical Center Pediatrics
Family Care, Inc.
Edward Jenner Society for Vaccines
Behind the Smile Dentistry for Children
Pediatric Specialists of Pendleton
Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s
Hospital
of Philadelphia.
“When I talk with parents who may choose to exempt their child from the required
immunizations, I can tell them this legislation will ensure they learn the risks to their child
and others in the community,” says Dr. Rosenbloom. He refers to the ‘community immunity’
phenomena (also called ‘herd immunity’), noting that to prevent diseases such as measles
and pertussis, 94 percent immunization rate is required in a given population to achieve
broad protection, which benefits those who cannot be immunized due to age or medical
condition.
“Immunizations are an effective way to keep our children, families and communities safe
and healthy, and they are the smartest prevention we can employ,” says Dr. Rosenbloom.
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Oregonians For Healthy Children
For more information about how to support the Oregonians for Healthy Children’s
Immunization Education Campaign, visit
http://oregonpediatricsociety.org/advocacy/oregonians-for-healthy-children/immunizationeducation-campaign/ or call the Oregon Pediatric Society at (503) 334-1591.