To wonder if my kids have to be vaccinated to go to school?

[Cuddler]

Hi,

My son is due to start school in September this year.Its all sorted,today he went to an induction thing and i got handed a form about which vaccinations he had/hadnt had,and just general health questions.

He hasnt been vaccinated since the ones at 16 weeks,so no mmr.My other 2 children havnt been vaxed at all.Im not asking for opinions on whether this is right as i have made a well informed choice and its something i have thought about for a long time and feel strongly about,I know theres not really a law about kids being vaxed to go to school but i just wondered if anyone knew if the school could "make a fuss" about it,or if anyone has any expereience of this.

Until a couple of months ago were going to home educate so it wasnt an issue,but obviously now hes going so just wanted to ask.

Oh well Graham, I'm not really militant about it, I just think it's foolish not to.

Rockpool - I have no idea how many of the children in dd2's class are vaccianted (funnily enough )

I assume it is the majority, because it is what the majority do.

I would have sent dd2 to the same school if I had known that there was 100% non-vaccination - why wouldn't I?

the thoguht process,a nd decision to not vaccinate dd2 ws taken due to family medical history, and dd2's own medical history. why would a different conclusion have ben reached if she were going to be surrounded by non-vaccinated children? (which she may be, for all I know). I do know, that even the ones who have been vaccinated are still spreading diseases around (see my earlier post)

"It's not just ill children but parents/grandparents too.Plenty of people battle with cancer/illness etc in private without broadcasting to the world.You're also putting babies and toddlers too young to vaccinate on the school run/at school functions at risk too.
If you don't want to vaccinate home educate-simple."

Yes, Rockpool, because as scrablet said, luckily HE children never go out or have friends or go to work or take employment in a role where they have contact with other people, do they?

(From a non-vaccinated pro-HE parent who has homeschooled in the past and would willingly HE again rather than vaccinate and who's been immuno compromised as a cancer patient while raising young, non vaccinated, school-attending children).

Teachers don't have to be vaccinated.

Thank you Yama.

Hands up who's going to be removing their child from school? Who's going to be insisting that their kid's teacher gets jabbed?

How do you think the WHO eradicated smallpox OP? Homeopathy?

oh, think my remark taken out of context, sorry.
I don't think HE is an answer to non-vac, because (I hope) HE children do get involved with society at large. Therefore society cannot be protected by herd immunity just because a DC does not go to mainstream school.
(Am sorry, tho GT that you have undergone cancer, I hope you are in recovery?)

Perception of risk is very individual.

I would imagine that some teachers who were vaccinated as children may not still be immune while other teachers who were not vaccinated may have built up natural immunity. Perhaps.

Your remark wasn't taken out of context, scrablet, it's that I obviously didn't explain myself very well. I was trying to say exactly what you have - that taking non-vaxed children out of the school system won't make any difference because those DC will still be at large in the community in all manner of ways.

And yes, I'm fine now, all in the past touch wood and thank you. :)

But not sharing the same room or table from 9am until 3.30 pm or longer.Passing somebody in the street is completely different to sharing air space all day every day.

As I said before utterly,utterly selfish.

I have a friend whose 9 month old caught measles from an unvaccinated 3 year old, he is deaf now. She, and I, find it very difficult to respect people's right to choose now.

Let's all not vaccinate GT.

And sharing a swimming pool, having an unvaxed teacher or childminder from 9am to 3.30pm or longer, being in close contact in a gym on a regular basis, eating at an unvaxed family's house weekly, three mornings a week at playgroup - they, Rockpool, are completely different to "passing someone in the street" (which is downplaying what I'm asking about and something I didn't mention because "passing in the street" would be a stupid example).

Also, I never said it wasn't selfish. If you read my post at the start of this conversation you'll see that I said that there's no argument there and many non vax parents will willingly put their hands up to that accusation.

Thought I might as well wade in with everyone else.

The best position for anyone to be in is to be unvaccinated in a community where everyone else is vaccinated. That way, they get the benefits of herd immunity without any of the risks of vaccination. Therefore you could argue that a mother who refuses to vaccinate her child when everyone else is vaccinating theirs is taking a perfectly rational decision. You might not like it, but it's still rational. It's yet another version of the prisoner's dilemma.

In answer to your question op, no your children aren't required to be vaccinated. It has been asked by the school so that in the increasingly likely event of a measles outbreak in Sussex they will know which children are at risk Of catching measles and it's potentially serious complications. They will also know that in the event of an outbreak, which kids to re-offer MMR to, which ones can't go on the school trip as they might be incubating measles (or be excluded because the trip is to a place with outbreak) and how scared shitless the parents of the kid with no immune system should be.

For clubs like Scouts-Guides-badgers-Adventure clubs they usually ask about vaccinations & perhaps will require them to participate in certain activities.

DS goes kayaking in waters that may have Weil's. That's bad enough, can't fathom risking tetanus too.

So basically you want all other children vaccinated-but not yours.

"So basically you want all other children vaccinated-but not yours. "

You're wrong actually. Read on.

It's up to you what you do, and what you put in your kid's bodies, Rockpool. As long as you don't try to dictate to me or my kids I'm quite content.

I'll tell you this. I caught chicken pox when I was recovering from cancer surgery. I was incredibly, seriously ill and at one point my life was at risk. I'm almost 100% certain, through circumstances at the time, that the person I got it from was a 4 yo little boy. I have and had no idea whether he was vaccinated at all.

What I do know is that his mother has and had no obligation to take the risk of vaccination upon her child to safeguard me. I'm not her priority and neither should I be. Her child is her priority, my children are mine.

That is your opinion,you don't speak for all cancer sufferers or those with very small children.

You and I both know you have this opinion safe in the knowledge that the vast maj of parents do the right thing and protect not just their child but yours as well.

It's totally and utterly selfish for you to take that security whilst putting others at risk.

"I'll tell you this. I caught chicken pox when I was recovering from cancer surgery. I was incredibly, seriously ill and at one point my life was at risk. I'm almost 100% certain, through circumstances at the time, that the person I got it from was a 4 yo little boy. I have and had no idea whether he was vaccinated at all. "

There is no vaccination for chicken pox.

It's great that the debate is being conduced with such a high level of knowledge

I've never completely understood the "selfish" accusation. It might be selfish to choose not to vaccinate oneself, while benefiting from the fact that others have been vaccinated. But if you're making a decision on behalf of a child, then you have to consider what's best for them, don't you? If you genuinely believe that vaccination carries a risk of harm (which some people do) then it's not selfish to do the best to protect your child.

"That is your opinion,you don't speak for all cancer sufferers or those with very small children." Of course I don't, neither did I say I was.

You and I both know you have this opinion safe in the knowledge that the vast maj of parents do the right thing and protect not just their child but yours as well. You don't know why I have this opinion at all, how can you when you don't know me? FWIW I'd have the opinion anyway just as plenty of parents did 50 years ago.

"It's totally and utterly selfish for you to take that security whilst putting others at risk." You're beginning to repeat yourself now, I referred to undeniable selfishness yesterday and pointed out that fact to you a few moments ago when you made the accusation then. What are you repeating it for? To get a denial that you can seize upon? It isn't going to happen.

I didn't realize that there was a vaccine against chicken pox. In South Australia your child benefit equivalent is stopped if you don't keep up to date with vaccines.

niminy, yes there is. It's not offered routinely on the NHS, but it exists.

Besides, niminy, the disease I contracted is irrelevant really, isn't it? I'd be saying the same had I caught measles from the child - that his mother should never feel that she must prioritise my health and welfare over that of her child.