Norwin High School students to miss prom over chickenpox vaccination

WTAE Pittsburgh ^ | 05/09/2013 | Kelly Brennan

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It’s the time for senior prom, the countdown to the last day of school and for graduation. But at Norwin High School, 33 students were told they won't be able to participate in those days because they weren’t vaccinated against chickenpox, or failed to provide a vaccination record.

Norwin High School Norwin High School

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Kayla Boscia, a senior, never had the chickenpox vaccine.

“Twenty hours before the biggest dance ever and it just so happened they told me I was no longer allowed to go,” she said.

A letter from Norwin School District spells out the details, citing the Pennsylvania Department of Health as the reason for the regulations.

For the 33 students not vaccinated, there is a 21-day incubation period. That means no classes and no extracurricular activities until May 28. The district said it’s “unfortunate” that the incubation period encompasses the dates for prom (May 10) and graduation (May 24).

There are two ways the students could attend and return to school. Students and parents have the option to get a blood test, which proves immunity to the disease, or to get the vaccination before May 12.

“I went to the health clinic and got blood tests done to show they're immune to it or they've been subjected to it in some way, which takes 48 hours to four days to get those back,” said Lisa Grudowski. She’s a parent to a sophomore and a senior. The results of immunity won’t be back in time before the prom, and for personal reasons, she does not want her children vaccinated

[naturalman1975]

This problem would be solved by not having public school. Then everybody could pay to put their kids in whatever school environment suited them.

My son attended a private school - where I live (Australia), that's quite common - a third of kids attend private schools which also receive some government funding (not as much as state schools, but still significant) in acknowledgement of the fact that parents who choose such schools are taxpayers and that educating children is good for society.

I don't believe in forced vaccinations. I do believe that if you decide not to get your kids vaccinated, you may have to accept that if there is a disease outbreak in a school, your child may have to stay home for a while for their own protection and that of other children. Freedom of choice doesn't mean freedom from consequences.

[CharlesWayneCT]

But that is such a half-baked solution. Are we going to also keep them from going to a public event, or make them stay home from work, or stay out of public parks?

Schools are not unique in their ability to expose people to illness.

If a person decides not to be vaccinated, the consequence they accept is that they might get sick.

There is no “consequence” that they might get others sick. That is the consequence those other people have to accept, if they either choose not to get vaccinated, or can’t be vaccinated and don’t want to wear a mask or take special precautions to avoid being exposed.

When you tell one person that THEY have to be banished from the public square because the mere possibility that they might have been exposed to a disease makes them a threat to others, that sounds like an unreasonable imposition on liberty.

I’m OK with actual diagnosed people being quarantined, But not for preventative reasons, unless it is applied to all people.

On the other hand, I see that there is a line to be drawn somewhere, so I can’t lightly dismiss drawing that line where you suggest. I just don’t agree with it.

[Valpal1]

Quarantine is an old and well tried method of stopping outbreaks, and public health laws do indeed allow for confining you if you are contagious.

I don’t know if they’d put a guard on your house, but you could be held criminally and civilly liable for spreading the infection if you willfully disobey the quarantine order.

Remember the story of Typhoid Mary?

[Valpal1]

Also, in Oregon the informed consent forms tell you that you will be excluded from schools in the event of an outbreak if you choose not to vaccinate.

[Marie]

Both of my children are immunocompromised. I thought that it was *my* responsibility to protect them, so I homeschooled.

It never occurred to me that 2,000 other kids had to have *their* parents’ rights trampled in order to protect my fragile offspring.

[Tammy8]

Oh the craziness brings back memories. When my oldest was a Senior in HS right near the end of the year she ran a fever with very swollen glands. The ER doctor said she had MUMPS, though no case of mumps had been diagnosed in the US for many years and she had not been out of the country. The CDC got involved, the school said she could not finish the year and graduate. The reason I was given that she could not attend school was that many parents for religious reasons did not have their children vaccinated! My daughter was vaccinated and I was skeptical she had mumps. I took her to our doctor, he took lab samples (I think blood if I remember right) sent them to a lab in California and had them fax him results. Not mumps, just some garden variety illness and her glands swelled more than usual. This whole deal took a week to sort out and I ended up mad at most involved- it was nonsense.

[EternalVigilance]

Separate school and state, before it’s too late.

[naturalman1975]

As I have said, I support the right of other parents not to immunise their child. But I don’t think that right extends to not taking steps that would avoid putting other children’s lives at risk.

I also support people’s right to homeschool - but I believe my son had a right to go to school as well. As it happens, the school he attended is the most expensive private school in Australia, which he wanted to attend, because I had done so, so we also paid a great deal for that right.

I made the choices I believe were in my son’s best interests for a number of reasons. Partly because, having beaten death at the age of 12 with a non-trivial chance of a relapse in a few years, he wanted what he saw as a normal life which, to him, meant attending school with other kids. He didn’t want to be homeschooled (we did consider it), because to him, one of the worst parts of being sick had been missing out on going to school. He liked school.