I’ve been doing a slow burn about this and I just can’t keep it in any longer. Last night I got yet another voice message from the school district about the requirement for kids in 7th – 12th grades to be immunized against Whooping Cough and get the TDaP (Diphteria, Tetanus, and Pertussis) vaccine. The message stated that the immunization is required and that students will not be allowed to attend school without it.
This is not true.
Before I explain that let me state that I am not anti-vaccine. I am against the way they are currently administered. I am against dictating to parents that they have their kids immunized without educating them about all options and alternatives. I am against implying that there are no options and alternatives by only providing partial information (My mother would call this a lie of omission – still a lie).
I would also like to say that I do not lay the blame for Matthew’s Autism on vaccines. I do believe that they may be one of the variables that collided to cause it. Matthew was born early and suffered respiratory distress. I suspect there are some family members who may have been on the Autism spectrum somewhere. I also think that the vaccines may have been a trigger. When I watch early videos of Matthew he clearly digresses and he did receive vaccines during that period of time. He had an ear infection when he received that vaccine, too. Makes me wonder.
I explain all of this so that you have an understanding of why I feel so strongly about the “requirement” that students get the TDaP vaccine.
Here are my concerns:
1. The claim is that there is a Whooping Cough epidemic. So why are they using the TDaP vaccine that includes Tetanus and Diphtheria?
2. Matthew hasn’t had so much as a cold in years. He has not been exposed to Whooping Cough. If he is exposed then I will keep him quarantined until the incubation period has passed and he has medical clearance to return. This is a requirement of the school and I have no problem with it, it is common sense.
3. The law states that parents may choose to not have their kids vaccinated based on personal beliefs or they may get a statement from a doctor stating that the vaccine is not safe due to medical circumstances. But they don’t tell you this in any of the information they send home, give in phone calls, in the news or anywhere. You really have dig to find it.
And this last point is my biggest concern. I listened to the message last night very carefully. At no point was it mentioned that a waiver was available. It stated clearly that students without the TDaP vaccine would not be allowed to attend school. There is a bigger issue here than a Whooping Cough epidemic and required vaccines.
Here is a link explaining the Personal Beliefs exemption and a link to the waiver form (for personal beliefs or a Doctor’s exemption).
Agree or disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can either leave a comment or send me an email via the Contact page.
About Sandra
I completely agree with every point you make. Also, I would like for you to know that I called County Health and told them I was unhappy because they clearly stated that the vaccine is required and at no time in the message, did they mention the exemption form. They said they had run out of time on the message. I know of a parent who signed the waiver and is being harassed to still get the shots. She has been called to the school office on 3 occasions and is being brow beaten over her choice not to vaccinate her jr. high school and high school age children.That is right here in Santa Maria. We have a choice and I want all parents to know it. Unlike your experience, my child’s regressive autism did appear after getting 8 vaccines in one day at 17 months. He also had a 3 day screaming event after a round of 7 vaccines at 4 months old. I believe in a tipping point, and I also believe that after every vaccine there had been an adverse reaction. Lethargic and sleeping for days, mild fever, swelling at the site of injection. I am a believer that my child’s brain injury is a direct result of an assault to his brain and immune system caused by vaccines. My child’s autism is a neuro-immune disorder. Until we can prove causation, there will be no cure. Because the pharmaceutical companies have so much to lose, they will never admit the vaccine/ autism connection although 74% of the studies say that mercury is a neurotoxin. Read “Age of Autism”and “Vaccine Epidemic” these are based on fact.
Thank You,
Candyce Estave
Hi Candyce,
Thank you for sharing this information, it’s important that we educate ourselves on these issues so that we can present factual information in these situations. I think with school officials they often don’t even think of waivers. They don’t know about vaccine side effects and, like most parents, just take vaccinations for granted.
Since the Hill House program is a part of the High School District, these Families were notified that they were required to have their children vaccinated. When I shared the information on the waiver, they presented it to the parents for their consideration.
When there are no other apparent factors (other family members with Autism, for example) and such startling symptoms associated with vaccines, it is difficult to deny causation. You might want to check out http://www.ebcala.org – Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy. They have some excellent information about the laws and the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
Thanks for sharing!
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
Thank you for your comment. I am familiar with EBCALA. I went to hear Mary Holland speak in Palo Alto for the book signing of “Vaccine Epidemic”. Unfortunately, you have only 3 years from the time of early signs of injury to file an injury claim (statute of limitations) . Unfortunately 3 years into autism, and I still had no idea about autism, brain injury. I trusted my doctor and modern medicine. It is too late for many of us. That is part of the reason why I joined the Canary Party. Mark Blaxil chairs this party. He and Dan Olmsted wrote “Age of Autism”
Candyce
Ah, good point – didn’t know about the statute of limitations. Thanks for sharing!