Calling any stateside mums...

[FSB]

A colleague just told me today that children in America have to have 31 vaccinations before the age of 8, which are compulsory if u want them to go to a state school and that there are lots of scary statistics about mercury in the jabs and increase in autism etc... Now I'm a but freaked out!! DD is nearly 3 and has just had the standard ones in uk (inc mmr but not the tb one in the shoulder).
Any experience in this area?!?!??? Thanks :)

depends on the state, California where I am allows you to opt out for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.

TB isn't given here and the autism link is unproven.

www.nvic.org/vaccine-laws/state-vaccine-requirements.aspx

A lot of vaccinations are required in order to enter the school system within NJ but my dd has now reached six and as far as I am aware will not be due anything until she hits adolescence.
We moved over when she was five and I think she had to have about five more courses (two doses at the most) until she was on par with the standards required.
Most parents give their kids the flu jab each year over here as well, we don't as a rule, though DS's day care did make it a condition of attendance over the winter but for dd, it was not a problem.
I rolled my eyes at things like the HepB vaccination but we did it as it was a requirement.

Sorry, tired, when she was four is when we moved over.

frida, you can file an exemption in NJ, well at least for public schools you can.

Phew - we're going to be in California... DH has just got back from a week over there and he said that he'd be very surprised if California didn't have some kind of opt out judging by how laid back and leftie they were there..!!

where are you going to be?

There was something on the local news (I'm in CA) about making it harder to opt out to get the numbers of fully vaccinated kids up starting in 2014. At the moment you just sign off on the back of the big blue form that they fill out in the school office. Very easy, for now.
Not all of CA is laid back and lefty. We are in a very religious conservative area up in the hills, the coast seems more laid back. We get a bit sick of all the religion pushing and when something good happens, it's "thank you jesus"

You might be able to file for an exemption, but it's unlikely to be granted unless you have a very good reason. You can't just claim a religious exemption, for example, it has to be backed up with evidence.

It's not just state schools that require vaccinations. Private ones, including daycare centers, do too.

It's the Land of the Free, you know :)

Mumpaula, I think even with the new measures you can still sign off, you just have to go to Dr and hear them drone on tell you the pros and cons of vaccination before signing off.

ClaireAll, most states you can just claim a religious exemption and you don't have to prove it.

it is the be thing that really does freak me out a bit tbh... We're going to be in San Carlos in silicon valley. I'm not anti jabs, and DD has had all but one of the standard ones here, but I was alarmed to learn that there were so many and that they were compulsory...

Your right hopskip I always hated the speeches at the doctors office.
In CA they can't ask you about your religion it's not allowed if you use that excuse, you have privacy rights. I never even said why I was signing off as in religious reasons or philosophical, just asked if I could sign off on the big blue form in the school office, the secretary asked why and I said cause he's not going to be having (whatever vax it was something that was sexually transmitted I think) She just said Oh, OK and handed it over. Then they have to tell you if there is an outbreak of whatever illness your child will be excluded, I said thats fine, if the elementary school had an outbreak of STD's I'd be fine keeping my kids home
They seem to get way too many shots by the time school starts. Now they are pushing Gardasil for the girls before they leave elementary, I won't be letting Dd have that one.