Keep non-immune kids out of school?

[ecoteat]

I'm a teacher at a school with 2 newly confirmed cases of CP. Our secretary was explaining today that there is a rule in Maine that if there is CP in a school, kids who are not immune (either by vax or prior infection) must be kept out of school for 16 days--or get the vax, in which case they will be allowed back.

I just poked around the state's website on vax, and couldn't find anything on that with a quick search. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Can that possibly be right?

[ambersrose]

My state (NM) has the same law/rule/whatever for non vaccinated kids in public schools. I do not know if it is enforced actively

[Marnica]

Most school exclude non immune children from school during an active outbreak of a VPD.... I would hardly call 2 cases an "outbreak"

[brendaziz]

I also find it funny that if u get the vax you can just walk back in- as if vaxes all work immediately upon being injected

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by ecoteat

I'm a teacher at a school with 2 newly confirmed cases of CP. Our secretary was explaining today that there is a rule in Maine that if there is CP in a school, kids who are not immune (either by vax or prior infection) must be kept out of school for 16 days--or get the vax, in which case they will be allowed back. ?

That is so in most states although those kids have a right to education and must have a teacher sent to the house. In this case they must each have their own teacher, can't be in a group or it would be considered a cp party. Even if none of those kids have cp. Crazy!

There is no way to tell with kids is in fact immune. So they go by vaccine record or previous exposure. Neither guarantee immunity.

The newly vaccinated kids are allowed back in school on the same day even though the vaccine sheds. Even more crazy!!

[ecoteat]

I had no idea this was common practice. My friend, who is a nurse, was just over for dinner and we talked about it. I am just dumbfounded--it took a lot of will-power to not completely derail our staff meeting today!

[runes]

Vaccination is not proof of immunity.


Is this the state of science and medicine in this day and age? Where are all of the immunologists and epidemiologists and why are they not correcting this crap misinformation that becomes crap policy?

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by kidspiration

Where are all of the immunologists and epidemiologists and why are they not correcting this crap misinformation that becomes crap policy?

Employed by big pHARMa and afraid to say anything lest they lose their lucrative position and get black balled.

[traycanadian]

Originally Posted by ecoteat

I'm a teacher at a school with 2 newly confirmed cases of CP. Our secretary was explaining today that there is a rule in Maine that if there is CP in a school, kids who are not immune (either by vax or prior infection) must be kept out of school for 16 days--or get the vax, in which case they will be allowed back.

I just poked around the state's website on vax, and couldn't find anything on that with a quick search. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Can that possibly be right?

Yes, that is true in my state, there is legislation regarding this. I got 3 phone calls from the Health Dept. yesterday because my ds has CP right now. In the course of our ridiculous conversations I also found out that in order for my son not to be sent home during future outbreaks in which HD takes over and demands immunization, etc., I require a doctor's note stating that he's had CP. My word and the fact that it is in my son's school health records is not good enough. Quite a joke.

[mysticmomma]

There is a "homebound or home and hospital" program that the kids would be put into. They would not be having a teacher physically come to their home.

[ecoteat]

This policy could be a serious hardship for a school like mine. There are a few kids who haven't been vaxed, but the only ones who haven't had CP are in preschool, so I doubt the parents in question will be too concerned about missing some school (they are both SAHMs). But if the middle school kid (who has had CP) had to stay home and have educational services, there are no programs available in this rural area; the school would presumably have to pay for a tutor for 3 weeks. That is a sizable chunk of a tiny school's tiny budget. How unfair to the schools! Sounds like they get punished for the choices of non-vaxing parents in this situation. Absurd. Especially when you hear of 300+ kid outbreaks in which 98% actually were vaxed! A lot of good that did.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by ecoteat

This policy could be a serious hardship for a school like mine. There are a few kids who haven't been vaxed, but the only ones who haven't had CP are in preschool, so I doubt the parents in question will be too concerned about missing some school (they are both SAHMs). But if the middle school kid (who has had CP) had to stay home and have educational services, there are no programs available in this rural area; the school would presumably have to pay for a tutor for 3 weeks. That is a sizable chunk of a tiny school's tiny budget. How unfair to the schools! Sounds like they get punished for the choices of non-vaxing parents in this situation. Absurd. Especially when you hear of 300+ kid outbreaks in which 98% actually were vaxed! A lot of good that did.

There is a lot of discretion where this is concerned. I doubt it would happen that way in your district.

[Ophelia]

Originally Posted by brendaziz

I also find it funny that if u get the vax you can just walk back in- as if vaxes all work immediately upon being injected

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking. Sigh.

There is no way to tell with kids is in fact immune. So they go by vaccine record or previous exposure. Neither guarantee immunity.

I agree. Vaccinated kids still obviously can catch and spread the virus. People have been exposed to the virus and been asymptomatic, so they can be immune without even really knowing it.