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Some states defer schoolchildren's shots

Vaccine shortages may be ending but are forcing public health authorities to issue waivers for student immunization requirements.

By Susan J. Landers, amednews staff. Sept. 2, 2002.

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Washington -- Kids in some states were probably rejoicing at decisions made by several health departments to temporarily waive school vaccine requirements because of lingering shortages of certain vaccines.

But their physicians and health officials were not at all pleased.

"The more kids in the community who are susceptible, the more likely it is that, if a vaccine-preventable disease shows up it will ripple around a community and affect many people," warned Bruce Gellin, MD, MPH, executive director of the National Network for Immunization Information.

Among the requirements waived are those for vaccines that provide protection from some extremely infectious diseases, such as measles and whooping cough. State health officials in Indiana, for example, will allow schools to admit students whose immunizations for measles, mumps and rubella and diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis have not yet been completed.

"Certainly everyone is acutely worried," said Cody Meissner, MD, a member of the American Academy of Pediatricians' Committee on Infectious Diseases. "It is critically important that we maintain high immunization rates."

But the good news is, because there was a high level of immunization before the shortages, there haven't been any disease outbreaks, he said.

And the short duration of the deferrals means those high vaccination rates should soon return. In Indiana, for example, all students must be fully immunized by Jan. 31, 2003. Parents of children who have not had all their shots are required to obtain a form from the school or local health department that includes a written statement and a schedule for the completion of the remaining immunizations. A physician or the local health department must also approve that form. [...]