Vaccinations. Just the mention of the word sends people into debates. Do they cause Autism? Do they actually prevent disease? Are they harming our children? As the mother of 3 children, let me just say up front that my kids are vaccinated. This week I saw this blog post on Facebook, in favor of vaccinations. I also saw a response against vaccinations. You can click on links to read both sides.
Here in North Carolina, if your children aren't vaccinated, they can not attend public schools. There is no opt out. My middle daughter, Olivia, attended Kindergarten and part of 1st grade in Huntersville, NC. Then we moved to Omaha, NE, where she attended 1st grade, 2nd grade, and part of 3rd grade. With each school entry we presented her shot record. Last month we moved from Omaha back to Huntersville, NC. I got a call from the school nurse, who told me that Olivia's shot record was not up to date. The nurse stated that she needed an additional dose of Hep B vaccine, or she would be kicked out of school. What? She has attended 2 different schools and no one has mentioned this before now.
Hep B is given to infants. Apparently when Olivia was an infant, the doctor's office administered her Hep B shot one month too early. Because it was administered one month too early, apparently she doesn't have immunity. My daughter has had 27 immunizations in her lifetime. Now I have to subject her to another one? This just seems crazy and unfair. I asked the nurse if we could just opt out of this vaccine. The answer was no, you can't. If she doesn't get this extra Hep B shot, she will not be able to attend school. I know my daughter, and she will freak out when she has to get this shot. At five feet tall and 100 pounds, I'm sure that it will take several grown ups to hold her still.
Meanwhile, people in California can just opt out of every vaccine for their child? Short of moving west of homeschooling my child, I have no choice, and that sucks.
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