The Mississippi Department of Health has denied 23 applications for vaccine exemptions over the last five years. However, the department told JJ that all applications submitted by Mississippi-licensed doctors were approved. The number of requests and exemptions have more than tripled in five years.
The Department of Health's medical exemption policy: In order to enroll in any public or private kindergarten, elementary or secondary school in Mississippi, a student must provide the school with a Certificate of Immunization Compliance (Form 121) or a Certificate of Medical Exemption (Form 122). The child’s pediatrician, family physician or an internist, who must be duly licensed in the state of Mississippi, may submit a letter requesting the medical exemption for their patient to the local public health District Health Officer. The exemption will be granted unless there is a local or statewide occurrence of disease which would indicate that the exemption will cause “undue risk to the community.” The exemption expiration date will be based on the circumstances for the exemption and will be for a minimum of one school year
*The denied exemption in 2015 was due to an incomplete form.
Note: There was recently an outbreak of six cases of mumps at SUNY in New York.
9 comments:
Next question. Were any exemptions signed for by an out-of-state doctor approved. Understand that all that were denied were from out-of-state; were any approved, or are only in-state allowed?
Seems like anti-vaxers are full of Baloney.
The Dept of Health will also grant partial exemptions. My son has a condition affecting his immune system that makes "live" virus vaccines contraindicated. We filed for and received an exemption without any difficulty. He still was required (and which I agree with) to receive the remaining vaccines. I would expect partial exemptions to be included in the above totals.
Some legislators need vaccinations for obvious reasons.
5:18 gives the reason 99% are exempt. If immunosuppressed either due to medications (in the event of a organ transplant recipient for example) or an organic disease state, children will be exempt from live vaccines. Also, we depend on herd immunity to protect the immunosuppressed kids from the conditions that receive live vaccines. If healthy kids were allowed exemption for no reason, conditions such as measles could exist in the community and would be devastating to a child with a suppressed immune system and unable to receive the vaccine.
I am so sick of MSDH standing by these numbers!! My children's exemptions were both denied in October 2015. It took many calls and even threat of going to my state representatives before MSDH would review it. A Mississippi doctor wrote the request and provided plenty of approved medical reasoning and documentation as to why the exemptions were needed. Parents of vaccine vulnerable children should not have to jump through hoops presented by MSDH to have something granted. If we as parents are to trust these state licensed doctors to diagnose and treat our children, then MSDH should trust their judgment without undue censorship as to who needs an exemption. Quit playing numbers games and truly protect the children who need protecting!
My children's full medical exemptions were also denied. I have a letter of proof. MSDH is full of LIES! They usually Deny them verbally so that there is no paper trail. They are smooth like that.
My children's exemptions were denied by MSDOH. It wasn't because of not having an in-state physician nor medical need. They didn't want to 'set a precedent' for other children in the state. Verbal denial.....not on paper.
I wouldn't expect a denial for a contraindication (these are listed on CDC's website)... what was the diagnosis?
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