Number of unvaccinated kids rising

Ohio’s exemption rate still low compared to other states.

Melissa Sanders, RN, Public Health-Dayton & Montgomery County applies a band-aid after giving a Hepatitis-A shot to Cody Vance, held by his father Dylan Monday. More parents are opting out of school shots for their kids. In eight states now, more than 1 in 20 public school kindergartners aren't getting all the vaccines required for attendance, an Associated Press analysis found. That growing trend among parents seeking vaccine exemptions has health officials worried about outbreaks of diseases that once were all but stamped out. The AP analysis found more than half of states have seen at least a slight rise in the rate of exemptions over the past five years. States with the highest exemption rates are in the West and Upper Midwest.

Staff photo by Jim Witmer Melissa Sanders, RN, Public Health-Dayton & Montgomery County applies a band-aid after giving a Hepatitis-A shot to Cody Vance, held by his father Dylan Monday. More parents are opting out of school shots for their kids. In eight states now, more than 1 in 20 public school kindergartners aren't getting all the vaccines required for attendance, an Associated Press analysis found. That growing trend among parents seeking vaccine exemptions has health officials worried about outbreaks of diseases that once were all but stamped out. The AP analysis found more than half of states have seen at least a slight rise in the rate of exemptions over the past five years. States with the highest exemption rates are in the West and Upper Midwest.

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By Larry Hulsey, Staff Writer Updated 10:17 AM Tuesday, November 29, 2011

DAYTON — The percentage of Ohio kindergartners who do not get their required vaccinations has increased slightly since the 2006-2007 school year, but is still low compared to eight other states highlighted in an Associated Press review.

During the 2010-2011 school year, 1.8 percent of Ohio kindergartners had exemptions allowing them to opt out of one or more mandated vaccinations, shots that are supposed to be completed by the time a child is 2, according to the Ohio Department of Health. The rate was 1.09% during the 2006-2007 school year.

“I think Ohioans for the most part are very reasonable,” said Tina Bickert, the department’s health planning administrator. “They weigh the benefits of vaccination against the very minimal risks.”

The Associated Press found that vaccine exemptions rose in more than half the states, and 10 states had increases over the five-year period of about 1.5 percentage points or more, a range health officials say is troubling. States with the highest exemption rates are in the West and Upper Midwest.

Alaska had the highest exemption rate in 2010-11, at nearly 9 percent. Colorado’s rate was 7 percent, Minnesota 6.5 percent, Vermont and Washington were 6 percent and Oregon, Michigan and Illinois were close behind. Mississippi was lowest, at essentially 0 percent.

The AP review focused on public school kindergartners and used figures statistically adjusted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of differences in how states track vaccination exemptions. Ohio’s data tracks both public and private school kindergartners.

The AP reports that childhood vaccination rates remain high overall, at 90 percent or better for several vaccines, including those for polio, measles, hepatitis B and chickenpox. To attend school in Ohio children must have vaccinations for all of those diseases along with diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, mumps, and rubella. But Ohio is the only state that does not require vaccinations to enter preschool or childcare, said Tessie Pollock, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health.

Ohio allows exemptions from mandated vaccinations for medical, religious or philosophical reasons. The number of states allowing philosophical exemptions rose from 15 to 20 in the last decade.

Health officials say unvaccinated children are a risk to themselves and others who can be infected by serious illnesses such as diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, hepatitis and measles, mumps and rubella. Even people who are vaccinated can be at risk of getting sick in an outbreak.

“These diseases will come back if they are not immunized,” said Jude Cohen, school nurse coordinator for Kettering City Schools “The unimmunized children really pose a danger to the population at large, particularly infants.”

While Kettering has not seen an increase in exemptions, she said one parochial school in the district has seen exemptions double every year for the past five years.

“If there is an outbreak of a disease that they are not immunized for, they can be excluded from school until the outbreak ends. And that can be months,” Cohen said.

Local and state health officials said parents choose to not vaccinate their children because they are misinformed about the health risks or have become complacent about the dangers of diseases that once cut a deadly swath through the population.

“We let them know that none of these immunizations have been linked to any of these illnesses, like autism or other illnesses,” said Lori Smyth, director of nursing for the Warren County Combined Health District. “We just urge parents to get educated before deciding against vaccination.”

She said people should use legitimate medical resources, not Internet blogs and other sources that spread falsehoods about vaccinations.

“And of course you have celebrities who think they are scientists and go on TV and say their opinions, which are not based on any fact,” said Donna Youtz, public health nurse and immunization coordinator for the Miami County General Health District.

Julie Goode, immunization program coordinator for Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County, said the Dayton area once had a very active anti-vaccine group led by a pharmacist. She said it is important for medical professionals to advocate for vaccinations to overcome the misinformation.

Goode said doctors here and elsewhere have asked parents who do not vaccinate their children to find another doctor because of the risk those unvaccinated children pose to other patients.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.