Scrutiny of Vaccine Exemptions Banishes Some From Schools
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
October 16, 2019

Share

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Carl and Kerri Schwartz say they have good medical reason for not vaccinating their disabled 11-year-old son, Thorn, and until recently his local public school went along with their family doctor’s advice.
That changed, the Schwartzes said, when New York state did away with religious exemptions for vaccines in the middle of a measles outbreak, and then clamped down on medical exemptions like theirs. Thorn is now barred from his school in Fairport while his parents challenge the district’s rejection of his exemption.

“It’s just so specific for that patient. If that doctor can’t tie a particular vaccination to this particular child’s body, it’s just denied. Period.” — Carl Schwartz
Thorn Schwartz has autism, a developmental disorder that affects each child differently, and his father said a new state policy is leaving little room for exceptions.
“It’s just so specific for that patient. If that doctor can’t tie a particular vaccination to this particular child’s body, it’s just denied. Period,” Carl Schwartz said.
Amid a flurry of proposals to end personal-belief exemptions for vaccines in states around the country, families like the Schwartzes and others say the restrictions that passed in New York have led to unbending scrutiny and, in some cases, decisions that overrule the guidance of family doctors and force children into home-schooling.
New York this year became the fifth state to require all students except those with valid medical reasons to be fully vaccinated, when lawmakers eliminated exemptions on religious grounds.

State Officials Said They Did Not Want a Repeat of What Happened in California

The state followed up with emergency regulations toughening requirements for medical exemptions. State officials said they did not want a repeat of what happened in California, where medical exemptions more than tripled in the three years after they became the only allowable reason for a student to be unvaccinated. California lawmakers’ efforts to rein in the numbers by giving the state greater oversight sparked expansive protests during the recent legislative session.
Another New York child who had his medical exemption rejected, Ameer Hamideh, 9, uses a wheelchair and assisted communication device because of cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder. He was in and out of the hospital for seizures after his last round of immunizations as a toddler.
The child’s neurologist, Dr. Sarah Finnegan, completed a state-required form for the Frontier Central School District recommending against additional shots because of a history of “seizure activity triggered by these immunizations.” But the district instead followed the advice of a state Health Department official who recommended against the exemption.
“The doctor who’s been in his life for nine years versus a lady in Albany that doesn’t know who he is, has never met him, just read something and said, ‘nope, we’re not accepting it,'” Ameer’s father, Ali, said.
Ameer, who is now homeschooled, has been without the physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and special education classroom placement included in his education plan.
“I can only do so much with him,” said Orooba Hamideh, his mother. “I’m not a licensed therapist. I do basic things with him, like play, but as far as therapy, I’m not equipped to do PT or OT or speech.”

 

Hundreds of New York Children Affected by the Change Are in Similar Situations

Frontier Superintendent Richard Hughes declined to discuss Ameer’s case, noting only that “school districts often seek a review and recommendation from the professionals at the New York State Department of Health, and then consider that recommendation when making determinations.”
Hundreds of New York children affected by the change are in similar situations, according to Rita Palma, who co-founded the New York chapter of the Children’s Health Defense. The organization unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the Legislature’s repeal of the religious exemption.
Data on the number of medical exemptions granted and rejected in the current school year won’t be available until next year, after mandatory district surveys are compiled, state health officials said. In 2017-18, 4,571 students in New York, .14%, were medically exempt from vaccines, according to the state Health Department.
The other states that allow only medical exemptions in addition to New York and California are West Virginia, Mississippi and Maine. The rest all have religious or philosophical exemptions. Maine in May removed non-medical exemptions after an outbreak of whooping cough and amid rising vaccine opt-out rates, but won’t implement the change until September 2021.
Mississippi also requires a form be completed by a licensed physician. It’s then reviewed by a state health official. West Virginia has never accepted anything but a medical exemption subject to approval by the state immunization officer.

Before, Doctors Weren’t Required to Detail on an Approved Form

Several other states have seen legislative proposals to eliminate personal-belief exemptions because of concerns about disease outbreaks, but they often have failed amid backlashes.

“Our interest in doing so is to prevent abuse of the process and ensure only those who have legitimate medical reasons for not getting vaccinated are still able to obtain medical exemptions.” — Health Department spokeswoman Jill Montag
After New York eliminated the religious exemptions that allowed more than 26,000 students to attend school unvaccinated, it began requiring doctors to submit a signed form to districts specifying which vaccines a student should skip, for how long and documenting how the vaccine would hurt the child. Before, doctors weren’t required to detail on an approved form why an immunization would be detrimental to the child’s health.
“Our interest in doing so is to prevent abuse of the process and ensure only those who have legitimate medical reasons for not getting vaccinated are still able to obtain medical exemptions,” Health Department spokeswoman Jill Montag said by email. The district has the final say, she said.
In Thorn’s case, the family doctor is very much pro-vaccine but recommended against additional shots for Thorn, Carl Schwartz said.
“Our son is so frail, his brain is so fragile and so unable to recover from anything that goes through it,” he said.
Mark Frenzel, principal of Thorn’s school in the Monroe One BOCES district, wrote that the district physician had determined Thorn’s case is “not consistent with guidance” for allowing medical exemptions issued by the Centers for Disease Control.

DON'T MISS

Will FUSD Trustees Look First Only at Internal Candidates in Superintendent Search?

DON'T MISS

The 49ers Have Been Docked a 2025 Fifth-Round Draft Pick for an Accounting Error

DON'T MISS

Ohtani to Begin Throwing Program Soon. Roberts Hints Dodgers Star Might Play in the Field

DON'T MISS

Brothers Say They Found Amelia Earhart’s Plane, Will Donate It to Smithsonian

DON'T MISS

These Fresno Eclipse Chasers Are Hoping For 4 Minutes of Darkened Bliss in Texas

DON'T MISS

California Isn’t on Track to Meet Its Climate Change Mandates — and a New Analysis Says It’s Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Aaron Donald Announces His Retirement After a Standout 10-Year Career With the Rams

DON'T MISS

Baseball Superstar Ohtani and His Wife Arrive in South Korea for Dodgers-Padres MLB Opener

DON'T MISS

Terrified Residents of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District Sue for Streets Free of Drugs, Tents

DON'T MISS

If You Want to See the April Eclipse, Make Sure to Protect Your Eyes

No data was found

The 49ers Have Been Docked a 2025 Fifth-Round Draft Pick for an Accounting Error

10 hours ago

Fresno Bank Sued. It Allegedly Helped Bitwise Commit Fraud.

Bitwise /

10 hours ago

How California’s Prized Solution for Methane Gas Is Backfiring on Farmers

Environment /

13 hours ago

Supreme Court Seems Favorable to Biden Administration Over Efforts to Combat Social Media Posts

13 hours ago

Putin Extends Rule in Preordained Russian Election After Harshest Crackdown Since Soviet Era

14 hours ago

Ohtani to Begin Throwing Program Soon. Roberts Hints Dodgers Star Might Play in the Field

14 hours ago

Trump: Some Migrants Are ‘Not People’, There’ll Be a ‘Bloodbath’ if I Lose

14 hours ago

Tech Lawyer and Philanthropist Nicole Shanahan Rumored as RFK Jr.’s VP Pick

News /

14 hours ago

March Madness is Here. UConn, Purdue, Houston and North Carolina Get Top Seeding in NCAA Tournament

15 hours ago

Crafts Retailer Joann Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy as Consumers Cut Back on Pandemic-Era Hobbies

15 hours ago

Records Show That Valley Children’s Leader Suntrapak’s Pay Exceeds $5 Million

■Valley Children’s paid CEO Todd Suntrapak $5.2 million in 2021. The hospital also gave him a $5 million forgivable home loan. ■The Va...
Healthcare /

9 hours ago

4 days ago

Realtor Association Settles Lawsuit on Commission Rules. Fresno Broker Fears the End of Market Transparency

4 days ago

Prosecutor Leaves Georgia Election Case Against Trump After Relationship With District Attorney

4 days ago

Rory McIlroy’s 65: 10 Birdies, 2 Tee Shots in the Water, 1 Testy Dispute

4 days ago

Aaron Donald Announces His Retirement After a Standout 10-Year Career With the Rams

4 days ago

New Book Explores the Myths, Truths and Legacy of the Macho Man

4 days ago

Baseball Superstar Ohtani and His Wife Arrive in South Korea for Dodgers-Padres MLB Opener

4 days ago

India’s New Citizenship Law Excludes Muslims. Here’s What to Know

4 days ago

US, G-7 Allies Warn Iran to Back Off Deal to Provide Russia Ballistic Missiles or Face New Sanctions

Photo of San Francisco 49ers' Arik Armstead

4 days ago

Former 49ers DT Arik Armstead Agrees to a 3-Year, $51 Million Deal with the Jaguars, AP Source Says

4 days ago

Supreme Court Rules Public Officials Can Sometimes Be Sued for Blocking Critics on Social Media

Search