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Measles should not affect public schools in the region given the high vaccination rates of students in local public schools.
A measles epidemic this year hit 23 states, including New York, causing the disease of 75 people during the week ending May 10, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This brings the annual total to 839 cases – the highest since 1994.
However, in every local public school district of Oneida, Herkimer and Eastern Madison, at least 95% of students – and in many cases considerably more – have been vaccinated against measles, according to data from the Department of Health. from the state of New York.
And that's sufficient, according to the department, to ensure herd immunity, that is, the percentage of people who have been vaccinated should be enough to protect those who have not been vaccinated or can not be vaccinated. not be vaccinated against the disease.
The same high rate of immunization also protects local public school students from other vaccine-preventable diseases. Only a local school has a complete vaccination rate of less than 95%. The overall city rate of Webb School is just under 94.4%.
Overall, Oneida County has a 98% vaccination rate for grades ranging from K-12, according to the Oneida County Health Department.
But vaccination rates are not always so high in non-public schools. Several religious schools in the region are below the 95% vaccination level, usually due to a relatively high number of religious exemptions.
And there are a number of small schools, many of which are not enrolled in the New York State Department of Education (and likely to Amish or Mennonite schools), with many vaccination rates. lower, of which several at 0% with a 100% religious exemption rate.
Could these schools have pockets of vulnerability that measles or another disease could exploit?
"The health department has always maintained that all medically susceptible people to be vaccinated should be," said Regina Bulman, public education coordinator of the county's Department of Health. Oneida. "We support national legislation that would eliminate all non-medical exemptions for vaccinations."
Current epidemic
The current outbreak in New York has begun within a religious community that has shown a reluctance toward vaccines, said Dr. Philip Heavner, chief of pediatrics at the Bassett Healthcare Network. . "It is reasonable to assume that if, for whatever reason, a member of one of these groups was exposed to measles and went home and was in his school and in his faith community, approximately everyone in this group was going to get measles because it's so contagious, "he said.
"That's why we are concerned when groups of people who tend not to be vaccinated learn or socialize (together)."
It's an ethical issue, he said, because a person's right to refuse a vaccine goes against the rights of others – including infants under 6 months of age – who do not can not be vaccinated for medical reasons.
"Do people have the right to expose other people to something that would otherwise be almost entirely avoidable?" He asked.
Measles is not a harmless disease, said Heavner. In about one in 1000 cases, it causes encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain.
"Measles is a much more cruel disease in adults than in children," he said. "Measles is rarely fatal, but very serious."
Religious Exemptions
New York, like most states, allows people not to vaccinate their children before sending them to school if they have "sincere and sincere religious beliefs" that are contrary to vaccination. But the recent measles outbreak has prompted some lawmakers to call for legislation that would remove this exemption.
In the current state of affairs, religious exemptions are quite rare in public schools, generally falling below 1%. Three local public schools, however, have exceptional rates of religious exemptions: 2.9% at Town of Webb School, 3.3% at Owen D. Young Central School and 4.84% at West Leyden Elementary School in the district. central Adirondack Central School District.
Owen D. Young, director of Brennan Fahey, said the Russian Orthodox Monastery in his district had led to more religious exemptions and that a handful of exemptions made a big difference in a district as well. small. The Adirondack Superintendent, Edward Niznik, said he did not know why West Leyden would have an unusually high exemption rate, but he pointed out that small numbers would make a big difference in such a small school.
Most Catholic schools have vaccination rates above the 95% threshold. But St. Patrick's School in Oneida has an overall vaccination rate of 92.9% and a religious exemption rate of 7.1%. However, few families seeking an exemption are Catholic, said Syracuse Diocesan Superintendent John Crist.
The Catholic Church definitely supports vaccination, he said.
"We encourage parents to vaccinate their children and believe that it is safer for all faith groups to vaccinate their children," he said.
Heavner said that he has many families reluctant to vaccinate in his practice. He respects their convictions, but also tries to teach them the benefits of vaccination, he said.
"We take care of many Amish families who vaccinate on the same schedule as everyone else. They have friends and neighbors who do not have any, "he said, adding that the same was true for the Russian Orthodox community.
A school listed in the Department of Health, Deerfield Amish School in Poland, has a vaccination rate of 0%, for example.
Unlike many parents today, Heavner has been around long enough to see how vaccines can eliminate disease, he said.
"If something positive emerges from this epidemic, there may be a group of people who reconsider their thoughts on it," he said. "I hope that's the case."
Contact Amy Neff Roth at 315-792-5166 or follow her on Twitter (@OD_Roth).
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