Time’s short for getting shots

To make sure this is the case, the schools and Baker County Health Department work together to determine which children need shots, or need their records updated.

The deadline is always the third Wednesday in February — Feb. 17 this year. The date is known as Exclusion Day, when all children who need immunizations are pulled out of school and sent home until their shots are current.

“That’s the absolute cut-off time that parents have to get documentation that their children are up-to-date,” said Stacy de Assis Matthews, school law coordinator at the Oregon Public Health Immunization Program.

There are two exemptions parents can claim for why their children aren’t immunized — religious reasons or medical reasons.

In this case, “religion” is “any system of belief, practices or ethical values,” de Assis Matthews said.

In Baker County, there are 89 students with a religious exemption, and two with medical, said Becky Sanders, nursing supervisor at the health department.

“The vast majority of parents do choose to fully immunize to protect their children and community,” de Assis Matthews said.

As for the exemptions, she said “that’s a choice that comes with responsibilities and risk. It’s something parents shouldn’t take lightly.”

She said that in the case of an outbreak, students who aren’t immunized can be sent home from school.

Also, immunizations help protect babies too young to get vaccinated, as well as those with suppressed immune systems who can’t get the shots.

In Baker County, a total of 2,417 student immunization records were reviewed, and the health department sent out 130 exclusion letters, Sanders said.

Of those 130 students, 119 need immunizations and 11 have insufficient records.

On Feb. 17, students who received exclusion letters will need to be immunized and/or have their child’s immunization record updated prior to attending school, Sanders said.

Those who need vaccinations can go to the health department on a walk-in basis.

“All students who need immunizations will be served regardless of a parent’s ability to pay — no one will be turned away,” Sanders said.

The health department is located at 3330 Pocahontas Road. The number is 541-523-8211.

Sanders said the health department works to limit the number of children who are affected on Exclusion Day by providing immunizations during school registration.

“We immunize lots of children during that time,” she said. “We also work closely with schools to help prevent excluding kids in February. School staff really do a wonderful job in helping BCHD protect kids.”

Statewide, less than 1 percent of students were excluded in 2009, de Assis Matthews said.

She encourages parents to keep their child’s records updated with the school to avoid problems on Exclusion Day.

She also wants to emphasize the importance of vaccines, and that parents shouldn’t be complacent just because diseases seem nonexistent.

“That’s a testament to the success of vaccines,” she said.

As an example, she said there were 273 cases of pertussis (whooping cough) in Oregon in 2009. And measles, which is highly contagious, can be introduced by someone visiting from another country.

She hopes the recent report by The Lancet (a British medical journal) that retracts a 1998 study linking the MMR vaccine and autism will help more parents choose to immunize their children.

“I hope that will set some parents minds at ease,” she said.