Will WIC require vaccines?

[ilovebabies]

With my husband's cut in hours and our 5th child due any day, we now officially qualify for WIC. We're still on the fence about whether we even want it since so far we're handling our change of income pretty well. We've always lived frugally.

My question though is that I've heard that you have to take your children in for checkups through them. The Ped. we currently have is non-vax friendly and we don't vax at all. If WIC will require us to vax in order to be enrolled in the program then that will answer our question as to whether we would even consider enrolling.

Anyone know?

[Amylcd]

You do not have to vax to get wic.

[Simplicity]

Immunization records and/or an infant/child’s immunization status are in no way tied to the receipt of WIC benefits.

From the WIC website.

[vintagetroll]

they ask that you bring in the records, but I don't vax and they said okay whatever. I am not sure why they even want you to bring them in, they didn't need a religious voucher or anything. So no, you don't need to, and the worst is that they might make you do the voucher.

you will have to go to the ped for height/weight checks and iron tests. a pain but no biggie.

[ilovebabies]

Okay, thanks! That was only what I had heard but I don't know how reliable the source is. Didn't think to check the website.

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

at our office, it is at a health dept. they like to "offer" you the vaxes if your child isn't current on them. all you have to do is refuse, and say tha tyour ped handles your child's vaccinations.

also in our office, they do the iron check, height check, weight check, and they used to do a lead test too.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by ilovebabies

Okay, thanks! That was only what I had heard but I don't know how reliable the source is. Didn't think to check the website.

I couldn't find it myself; LongIsland posted it back in the day and I've been spreading it around when I can.

[mysticmomma]

To Whom It May Concern:

My family’s religious beliefs prohibit us from using many modern medical tests such as blood tests, immunizations, x-rays, and most other invasive medical procedures. As such, we will be unable to provide you with an immunization record or iron level for our visits.


I am aware that according to WIC federal guidelines we may not qualify for WIC if our other medical and dietary factors are normal.


“Bloodwork Exemptions

Certain participants may be granted an exemption from the bloodwork requirement:

• Individuals whose religious beliefs prohibit the taking of blood (i.e., Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists, etc.)

• Applicants with chronic medical conditions such as hemophilia or AIDS, if their doctor documents that they are getting medical care, requests that you not do
additional blood tests, and provides bloodwork information periodically.

These cases must be documented and dealt with as follows:

• Explain to the applicant/participant the purpose of bloodwork and its use as a reason for certification. Let them know that they may not qualify for WIC if other medical and dietary factors are normal, since Hct,Hgb/FEP results will not be available. Document in the chart that you have provided this information.

• Document the reason for the absence of bloodwork in the participant chart.

• Assess anthropometric, dietary and medical information for nutritional risk
and conduct all other steps appropriate for certification”

Codes 99/99.9 – Allowable reasons for waiving bloodwork include the following and must be documented in the client’s chart:
1. Infant is 6 months and blood work is waived to comply with CDC guidelines.
2. Applicants whose religious beliefs shall not allow them to have blood drawn.
3. Applicants with “life long” medical conditions such as hemophilia.
4. Applicants with a treatable skin disease or with a serious skin condition.

[mysticmomma]

They consider the vax records "ID" for the kids.

[caro113]

I was really concerned with this, as I was on WIC during my pregnancy. But we also don't have a doctor for DD and I wasn't about the give the state any head start on information about my baby. Although I was able to get away with not having a doc for myself for the pregnancy. I just told them initially that my insurance had dropped me so I hadn't found anyone new yet (which was true) and then when I went back and they asked, I just said yes. So I guess they wouldn't care too much about the vax but I wasn't sure so I went off it. By the time DD was born, DP had gotten a better job so we weren't qualifying anymore anyhow.
Good Luck!!

[NewMama2007]

We don't require it - we ask for the record at every visit, simply because the state says we need to have the records on file.

DD isn't vaxed, and I work there!

[Emmeline II]

The federal government says that parents do not have to submit a vaccination record.

Because immunization rates of low-income children continue to lag behind those of more affluent children, a White House Executive Memorandum was issued in December 2000 directing WIC to screen the immunization records of all infants and children under the age of two at WIC certification visits.

Parents are encouraged [not required] to bring their infant/child’s immunization record to WIC appointments so that WIC staff can review the record as part of the WIC certification process. WIC provides a referral to immunization services, ideally to the child’s usual source of medical care.
Immunization records and/or an infant/child’s immunization status are in no way tied to the receipt of WIC benefits.

[Da WIC Lady]

Originally Posted by mysticmomma

They consider the vax records "ID" for the kids.

You can also bring social security cards, medicaid or other insurance cards, or a birth certificate. Vax records are the most portable form of medical record, which is in itself a form of identification. So you could use your child's medical chart from the doctor's office or birth chart from the midwife if you had a homebirth just as well as a vax record. A birth certificate and SS card should be more than enough. They can't accept vax records as the sole means of identification for children because of the people that refuse them for religious reasons. If they harass you about it, ask for a written list of acceptable identification and a complaint form.

The social security office gave us grief when applying for a card for my stepson because the vax record was in his old name, not the new one. His last name got changed in the divorce and custody agreement and they had us running back and forth for several weeks to get all of the "correct" documentation together so we could change his name with them. They wanted a vaccine record or other medical record, a school record such as a report card, a birth certificate, and the court papers changing the name. It was a mess and the birth certificate still hasn't been changed because that's a whole other ball of wax where nobody seems to know what they're doing.