Posted on 11/14/2007 8:32:37 AM PST by my3centseuro
The parents of more than 2,300 Prince George's County students who failed to get needed vaccinations could face fines of $50 a day and up to 10 days in jail if their children do not meet the state's immunization requirements, county officials said yesterday.
The threat of legal action is a last resort after months in which Prince George's has struggled to get its 131,000 students immunized for chicken pox and hepatitis B, as mandated by the state.
More than 2,300 students have not been immunized and have been barred from attending schools, almost two months after a Sept. 20 deadline for meeting the requirement.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but it's got to get done," Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D) said at a news conference in Upper Marlboro.
"I'm willing to move forward with legal action." School officials have made calls, sent letters and conducted home visits to make arrangements for free appointments for the needed shots.
But often the students' addresses and phone numbers have been outdated, making contacting them difficult. Other students have received the vaccines but failed to get the necessary booster shots.
The school system turned to the justice system as a final option and received the backing of Circuit Judge William D. Missouri, the county's administrative judge, and Circuit Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr., who handles juvenile matters.
"This is an educational crisis," said R. Owen Johnson Jr., chairman of the school board. "This is a public health and a children's rights issue."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If I pay my school taxes, I should be entitled to send my child to government schools.
My child poses no threat to the vaccinated child, right? He’s vaccinated. He can’t get the disease from my child.
Give them drivers licenses and voter registration cards?
Not always true, my vaccinated daughter got chickenpox from an unvaccinated child. Granted it was a very mild case, but she did get it nonetheless.
You lost me when you used the word “entitled.”
Raucous round of applause! That is exactly where we're going.
That’s my point.
Vaccinated kids are at risk as well. To mandate any shot that’s not 100% effective, with a chance of side effects is bad policy.
My bad—
wrong word choice.
The shots are free too. What are the reasons for the parents not doing this? They need more information. It is pretty easy to get the shots. My kids get them yearly whatever they need. Last thing I want is for them to get sick because my wife and I did not do our job. One guy at my command was sent back to the states because he refused to give the shots to his kids. Do you think this will hurt his career??? A big possibility.
Parents can opt out of vaccinations for their children by citing religious or philosophical reasons....easy form to fill out and it gets them off your back.
Not sure if this is a state or federally-run opt-out program.
www.909shot.com.com
National vaccine information center.
It’s a site worth the time.
What legitimate excuse could parents have for not getting their child immunized?
I think it's great news.
The more oppressive and demanding the state becomes, the fewer students will attend, the more likely the public schools will wither away or even collapse. Can't ask for more than that.
Let's see. Tossing parents in jail for not getting their kids a vaccine for, respectively:
1) A disease that's virtually harmless when you get it, for which the vaccine doesn't work, long-term.
2) A disease that you can't get unless you take recreational drugs intravenously or get sodomized on a regular basis. A vaccination against HepB wouldn't be a necessary precaution for most kids.
But the important thing is that numerous local contractors depend for their income on giving vaccines and boosters against trivial or obscure diseases, and public school children represent a key market segment. So their contacts and friends on the school board and the local family court bar have no choice but to stand in solidarity with them.
It is state run and rules vary state to state.
That should be only one .com
I am perfectly happy that she only had a mild case, something the pediatrician had told me was very possible. I knew that, and still chose to have her immunized, and at that particular point in time it had nothing to do with state mandates for school.
I chose to chance her still getting a mild case, possibly at a young age, as opposed to getting them at the age of 13 as I did when such a vaccine was not available.
Thanks! I will look at it. It is not going to make me regret getting these shots for my kids is it????? Yieks!
and Lupus Nephritis and SLE and..
There is a phenomenon in microbiological immunology called “Herd Immunity”. When ‘MOST’ of a group are immunized, not all, but most, it seems to confer protection to the entire group. This is not to say the unimmunized party is specifically protected, but more relates to the probability that they will not be infected because most people will not carry the infectouos agent and they will have less exposure. That is the theory.
Just one more reason among so many to Home School. Your kids will be smarter and healthier.
In PA, you are still subjected to the District’s health and testing guidelines. . .kids have to have dr./dental exams at certain ages and you have to submit a form you had it done. Stadardized testing is also still required.
So, even if you homeschool, The State still has a few claws in your children.
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