Arizona Courses on Vaccines Canceled as a Result of a Parental Reaction

But some parents, who feared that the option course will become mandatory, have complained to the Governor's Regulatory Review Board, which examines the regulations to make sure they're up to date. necessary and do not harm the public. The six-member board is appointed by Governor Doug Ducey, with a general advocate by right.

E-mails show that board members interviewed the state health department about the course after receiving public feedback on it. The state responded by canceling it.

Complaints that ended the pilot program were received by about 120 individuals and families, including 20 parents who said they did not vaccinate their children, according to the records.

"We're really sorry we did not succeed – strong forces against us," wrote Brenda Jones, head of immunization services for the Arizona Department of Health Services, in an email sent on Aug. 6 to a responsible for the Glendale School. with a notification of the cancellation of the course.

In an email addressed to two staff members of the Department of Health on August 14, Jones wrote that there had been a lot of political and anti-vaxx reactions.

"I'm not sure why supplying information is considered a negative thing," said State Representative Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, who has spent the last three sessions Legislature as Chair of the House Health Committee and contributed to the creation of the pilot project. program.

"Providing information does not prevent parents from asking for an exemption … … it's a major concern.Vaccines have saved lives for generations.We all want to live in safe and healthy communities. health."

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Loss of collective immunity

Carter organized meetings attended by doctors, nurses, school administrators, school nurses, naturopaths, and public health officials, which culminated in the creation of the education program on vaccines based on 60 to 90 minute evidence.

It was launched in 17 schools in three districts of Maricopa County during the last academic year. Most of these schools were in the Paradise Valley unified school district.

The education program was to extend to other schools of Maricopa County during this school year and to schools in Pima, Yavapai and Pinal counties during the school year. 2019-2020.

State health officials said they returned to the table of contents regarding the regulatory obligation to provide vaccine education to Arizona parents seeking a vaccine exemption.

The key message they want parents to understand is that children's vaccines are much safer than the diseases they prevent.

A measles vaccine in vial at the Maricopa County Public Health Immunization Clinic in Phoenix on Thursday, January 22, 2015. (Photo: David Wallace / The Republic)

When too many children do not get vaccinated, schools and communities lose what is called "herd immunity". Without collective immunity, the disease spreads more easily. Babies who are too young to be immunized, and adults and children with compromised immune systems – those with chronic diseases or chemotherapy for cancer, for example – are the most vulnerable to the loss of collective herd protection.

Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, Medical Director of the Department of Public Health, Department of Public Health, Maricopa County, now benefits from a collective immunity against measles.

Maricopa County reflects national trends that show that people who choose not to vaccinate their children tend to have higher and whiter incomes, she said.

"We are seeing an increase in the number of vaccine exemptions, which is worrisome, as it exposes us to an increased risk of spreading the disease, especially of epidemics that could have been prevented," said Jessica Rigler. , responsible for preparing for public health in the Arizona Department of Arizona. Health services.

"It's hard to actively offer an education and that's something we're really trying to launch."

Comments from parents

Most of the parents and people who contacted the Governor's Regulatory Review Board about the Vaccine Education Program felt that they would be forced to follow the course in order to obtain a vaccine waiver form regarding their personal beliefs. Many admitted not having seen the course, but opposed it in principle.

Most e-mails did not specify where the parents lived or where their children go to school.

Although the state has never proposed that the course be mandatory, the wording on the state health department's website has left that impression.

The comments were discussed at a council study session on July 31. Six days later, the state halted the course.

"Based on these comments, we felt that it was best to step back and really reevaluate the course design and determine whether or not we should do more assessment," said Rigler. .

More than 200 e-mail pages containing public comments on the Vaccine Education Program were obtained by The Republic of Arizona. Nearly all have criticized the additional steps associated with obtaining exemptions from vaccine requirements.

"From my experience, parents who have a personal belief against vaccines have already done countless hours of extensive research on the benefits and risks of vaccines," wrote a parent on July 26. "A one-sided video is not going to change, and as a result, it's also a waste of government resources."

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The class seems to be an attempt to "create an emotional response, creating fear and pressure to force parents to vaccinate," a group of parents wrote on July 25. "Do legislators think we are stupid?"

Several parents sent the same letter in which they were forced to watch a video in order to exercise a derogation for personal beliefs such as "inappropriate interference with parental rights as currently defined by law".

One parent had the opposite worry: she wrote that she had seen an article about it on Facebook, which is why she contacted GRRC. She vaccinated her children and worried that too many Arizonans succumbed to anti-vaccine terror and put the schoolchildren in danger.

The program aimed to prevent serious and vaccine-preventable outbreaks, Sunenshine said.

"All we wanted to do with the pilot was to say," We're not going to complicate things, we just want to make sure you have accurate information when you make that decision, "Sunenshine said.

"Many people no longer see these vaccine-preventable diseases, they feel that they are not a big problem because they have not seen them.They do not realize that we lost before the measles vaccine of the 1960s about 500 children a year (in the United States) who die from measles. "

The county health department has received news of families with medically vulnerable children in the event of loss of herd immunity, officials said. In some cases, families are afraid to send these children to school, said Sunenshine.

Almost all the schools that participated in the pilot education program wanted to participate again, and other schools wanted to try it, said Sunenshine, adding that schools answered many questions from parents that the online course dealt in a uniform and scientific way.

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"All you have to do is fill out a form"

The process began when a group of local pediatricians voiced concerns about the need for vaccine education eight or nine years ago, while self-help vaccine exemptions were increasing. in Arizona.

In 2015, the Arizona Medical Association passed a resolution calling parents or legal guardians of Arizona who do not wish to vaccinate their children to receive a board approved by the public health system which provides "scientifically accurate information on childhood diseases", including potential adverse effects and adverse effects. the risks of unvaccinated children for children who can not be vaccinated for medical reasons.

"We have spent many years working with stakeholders to develop a process that respects parental choices and provides timely, accurate and evidence-based information about the vaccine," Carter said. "I fear that unvaccinated children will put our most vulnerable children at risk of contracting diseases that we have essentially eradicated or significantly reduced."

Arizona is one of 18 states that allow parents and guardians to apply for exemptions from compulsory school vaccines for personal, moral or other reasons. Arizona has one of the most liberal personal belief policies in the country, said Sunenshine.

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"All you have to do is fill out a form.You do not need a doctor's signature," Sunenshine said. "Our laws facilitate the exemption of children from vaccination."

The American Academy of Pediatrics considers non-medical vaccine exemptions granted to school-based vaccinations "inappropriate for ethical, public health and individual reasons, and advocates their removal," says September policy statement 2016.

A California law came into effect in 2016 – a little over a year after the outbreak of a measles outbreak at Disneyland and which has spread to seven cases in Arizona – bans exemptions from personal beliefs. Californian children can still benefit from exemptions for medical reasons, provided their exemption is signed by a licensed physician. Otherwise, they are not allowed to enroll in the school.

Arizona stakeholders have decided that the California approach would not be a good option, said Jennifer Tinney, director of the Arizona Partnership for Immunization (TAPI) program.

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& # 39; We must do something & # 39;

What stakeholders wanted was to ensure that Arizona parents had access to accurate and up-to-date information when making decisions about immunization.

"The module was a very good compromise, protecting the right to choose parents, which is an important factor for some of the parents of the state," Tinney said. "But it has also helped to ensure that everyone has access to the same kind of education when making their decision."

The course included information about the diseases that each vaccine prevents and the complications that a child faces when they contract these diseases. The module was designed with scientifically proven information from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Oregon module, pediatricians and the state health department. Maricopa County translated the program into Spanish.

While most children receive vaccines, the percentage of those who have not quadrupled since 2001, according to federal health data. (Photo: FatCamera, Getty Images)

"The course ensures that parents know that their decision not to vaccinate their children also affects the community," Sunenshine said.

"It also allows them to know that if an epidemic now occurs in a school, such as a vaccine-preventable disease such as measles, the children will be kept at home for at least 21 days, until hatching will occur, erased from school. "

During the last school year, 5.9% of students in kindergarten in Maricopa County had been exempted from non-medical "personal beliefs". During the 2010-2011 school year, the county rate was 3.4%.

The county is currently working with the state to determine how the educational module could be used in a manner acceptable to schools and parents.

"We know that vaccination rates are going down and that exemptions from personal beliefs are increasing," said Sunenshine. "It seems that these two trends will continue, so we know we need to do something and we are willing to do everything we can to reduce the number of exemptions and increase vaccination rates."

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