chicken pox- NY making me vax my child

[dee.ny]

In order for my daughter to start pre-K, the state says she has to have the varicella vax. the school nurse says she must be 1) vaccinated , or 2) medically exempt-we don't qualify, or 3) we a need religious exemption. i feel the chicken pox is such a mild chilhood illness and don't want to vaccinate for it, yet feel as if i don't have a choice. Has anyone on long island gone thru this? i've consulted an attorney who makes it sound as if i'm going to have a hard time . Any advice/story would be appreciated.

[polka123]

fill out a religious exemption

[dee.ny]

a "blanket" religious exemption??? for all vaccines going forward ? and if i do vaccinate after getting this, what happens? can they find out

[CCChanel]

Stop vaxing. Get a religious exemption.

[julieann199930]

The cp vax will eventually be 2 doses for school entry vs 1. TDaP has already been mandated for 6th graders this year.

In NY, you have to exempt all vaccines, not selective.

If you don't want the CP vax, you have no choice but to file a religious exemption. Don't go thru a lawyer to write it for you..it'll be an automatic deny. Other parents going that route have found themselves up crap creek without a paddle.. There is nothing a lawyer can do for you but waste your time and money.

The area of NYC has had a vaccine registry for years..it's now throughout the state. Yes, they could look up the vaccine status. I believe it's still within your right to OPT-OUT of the registry though.

[Plummeting]

Originally Posted by dee.ny

a "blanket" religious exemption??? for all vaccines going forward ? and if i do vaccinate after getting this, what happens? can they find out

Nothing happens. You don't tell them. They can't find out unless you tell them. In NY, you are not legally allowed to claim that you are religiously opposed only to certain vaccines or vaccine ingredients. You have to claim that you are religiously opposed to the practice of immunization. You have to be against the whole shebang. Your letter needs to state something along the lines of, "We are religiously opposed to the practice of immunization, because we believe the human body and immune system are perfectly designed by the creator. To alter the immune system by immunizing against disease shows a lack of faith in the creator." Or say it is a sin to believe that man can improve upon God's creation or whatever. Do not use my wording! I was just kind of throwing something out there. I don't live in NY and NY is one of the few states where they can question the validity of your beliefs. Look up NY exemption info here and talk to other moms who've gotten a NY exemption. Come up with your wording based on what you learn, as I would want to be sure that whatever wording you chose was exactly right. Good luck!

[Plummeting]

Originally Posted by julieann199930

The area of NYC has had a vaccine registry for years..it's now throughout the state. Yes, they could look up the vaccine status. I believe it's still within your right to OPT-OUT of the registry though.

It doesn't matter. They are legally prohibited from using that information against parents who choose to exercise their right to a religious exemption. They can't do a damn thing about what they see in that registry. They are only allowed to officially "know" what you tell them. You can opt out of the registry, but you don't need to opt out in order to get an exemption and still selectively vaccinate. They simply can't use the registry against you. It's not legal.

Of course, it's still a good idea to opt out, in case they ever change that....

[dee.ny]

Thank you so much for the help. Any long island stories out there? also will she ever get these mild childhood diseases w/ everyone else being vaxed?

[longislandmom]

I know many of us on LI are waiting for the pox. I have not heard of cases in the last 4 yrs. Some moms have driven upstate or to CT for a pox party unsuccessfully. We have a thread titled Long Island Mamas. You can gets lots of info there specific to exemptions and drs. on LI.

[Proverbs31]

Yeah, the only CP around here was about 2 years ago at one of the local colleges.

[dee.ny]

approved!!!!!
Julieann199930, lemongrass, thanks soo much!

[julieann199930]