Chicken pox outbreak

[gofish]

I'm in a surrounding school district and the state has all the school systems in the aera doing overtime to see who needs to be vaccined.

My friend is the nurse at the high school and she has 2000 kids to deal with.

Several with supperssed immune systems. This is becomeing a big deal around here.

 

http://goshennews.com/breakingnews/x1331364735/Chicken-pox-outbreak-in-Middlebury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dozens of parents in a northern Indiana school district that has seen an outbreak of chicken pox could be forced to keep their children out of school for weeks because they aren't vaccinated against the illness.

 

Officials with the Indiana State Department of Health and Elkhart County Health Department have instructed Middlebury Community Schools that unvaccinated students cannot attend school until 21 days after the last reported case of chicken pox.

 

The school system has had at least 13 cases of chicken pox since mid-November, which qualifies as an outbreak, The Elkhart Truth reported.

 

The outbreak prompted schools to offer vaccine clinics, but more than 50 students in the district still lacked vaccinations.

 

Some parents say they would rather deal with the illness than possible side effects, while others argue the vaccinations violate their religious beliefs.

 

Brian Stutzman, founder of Abundant Life Ministries, said two of his children who attend the district's schools have chicken pox now, but he doesn't think government should dictate parents' decisions.

 

"These decisions are highly important and do affect many lives," he said.

 

Caryn Howell told WSBT she would rather deal with chickenpox than worry that the vaccine could cause other health issues later in life.

 

"It's creating other issues and other ramifications both for students taking it who are getting reactions as well as adults down the road who then have other issues to deal with, like shingles," Howell said.

 

Parent Mike Boval, whose children aren't vaccinated because of the family's religious beliefs, said he is concerned that some students might miss so much school that they can't proceed to the next grade.

 

Dr. Dan Nafziger, Elkhart County's health officer, said his goal is to stop the outbreak as quickly as possible.

 

He said the health department's response is designed to have the outbreak "wrapped up before Christmas vacation is over."

 

"The time to stop it is now, not drag it out," he said.

 

Middlebury Superintendent Jim Conner said students who aren't vaccinated will miss classes and extracurricular activities but will still be expected to do homework and can exchange notes and assignments with teachers through the Internet or personal delivery.

 

The state health department requires children to be vaccinated before entering school and again before the sixth grade. Parents who don't want their children immunized for religious reasons must provide a written objection to the school each year the student is enrolled.

 

Nafziger said he respects parents' right to not vaccinate their children but that not vaccinating puts them and other children at risk.

 

The Middlebury outbreak is the second in northern Indiana in recent weeks. Union-North United School Corp. in Lakeville had at least eight cases of chickenpox at LaVille Elementary School as of Nov. 21.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.nwitimes....l#ixzz1fh2leqUa

[Andrea]

sigh, I understand the reluctance that people have to get their children vaccinated when it comes to some of the new vaccines, but for the tried and true vaccines, like Chicken Pox, Measles, etc, why do people refuse to get them for their children? I don't understand.

[mi_familia]

sigh, I understand the reluctance that people have to get their children vaccinated when it comes to some of the new vaccines, but for the tried and true vaccines, like Chicken Pox, Measles, etc, why do people refuse to get them for their children? I don't understand.

 

Because some people react to vaccinations. I am one of them.

 

From my point of view, I don't understand why people who do get vaccinated get so upset about those who don't - if your vaccination is working, you wouldn't be ill.

 

Edit: Ooops - I don't mean that to sound mean and nasty! I hope it didn't!

[Andrea]

Not nasty at all, Mi Familia! I know from my SIL's experience, how devastating an adverse reaction to a flu vaccine can be. But for things like Chicken Pox, TB, and Measles, these are diseases that should be non existent in our society, but they are making a comeback because of people refusing to get the vaccinations. For the overwhelming majority of the population, there are very little to no side affects to these shots. The odds are enormously in one's favor that there will be no adverse reactions. My daughter has had all of her vaccinations, including the HPV one (cervical cancer runs rampant in our family), and I would still choose the same today.

 

Maybe what needs to be developed is a test that determines one's sensitivity to vaccinations?

[Herbwifemama]

Out of school for weeks? Psh, I think two weeks was how long I was out for the pox.

 

It's not the unvaxed kids who are spreading this, it's the vaxed ones. The vaccine is a "live virus" which means it 'sheds." We should be keeping our unvaxed kids away from the vaxed ones. The live virus vaccine has been suspected of causing shingles in partially immune people- including children- shingles used to be an affliction of the elderly- and creating stronger strains of the virus- because the normal ones are wiped out by the vaccine. And if the vaxes supposedly work, then who cares if a kid who is carrying it comes to school?

 

Nafziger said he respects parents' right to not vaccinate their children but that not vaccinating puts them and other children at risk.

 

At risk for what? Getting chicken pox? Something that was seen as normal and unscary a short generation ago? And that confers lifetime immunity?

 

As for me, I'd like to find a kid with it, so my kids can get lifetime immunity.

 

Andrea, why should these mild diseases (with the exception of TB) be gone from our society? And how do you know vaccine reactions are mild to nonexistent? I think that's what the crux of the argument in our society today is, is whether these vaccines are causing other diseases connected to the immune system, or whether they're 'harmless." And I'd also be loathe for them to develop a test for sensitivity for a reaction, because it would then be that much easier to legislate.

 

-HWM, who is philosophically and religiously opposed to vaccinations.

[gofish]

Dh and I thought long and hard about if we were going to get our kids vaccinated .

The deciding factor for us is when my cousins 6 month old baby got sick.

I never saw a casket that small before.

 

I have had the chicken poxs and when I was 30 I had shingles. My sister had shingles when she was 8.

The usual chickenpox incubation period averages between 14 and 16 days but it can be as long as 21 days.

They are trying to protect the ones that for one reason or another like illness/ reaction can't get vaccinated.

 

I just wanted to warn about what the school systems/ state will do if it shows up in your area. Not to be a vaccination debate.

[sassenach]

I had chicken pox when I was seven but I never got measles like my brothers did. What I am seeing in my region as well as other regions is whooping cough and because of my auto immune disorders and rugged year with infection from my face fall and injury to my mouth I bet the doc would really like to give me that shot for it now. I am contemplating it. I have had plenty of vaccinations as a child and as a military member in the past but basically only tetanus most of the time since those years. But the whooping cough one might be pretty important one. I have avoided the flu shots pretty much. I went through the swine flu stuff but it had mutated and did not affect my lungs luckily, just wiped my energy out for a very long time.

I try to avoid vaccinations now because of the mixes but sometimes it may be necessary to make an exception. I was exposed to mercury in the navy for several years and the chemical toulene and that is why I have so many rheumatalogical disorders that are autoimmune also. They started up pretty fast really and only in about the last five years have I had to deal with type 2 diabetes. Finally got that properly diagnosed.

I am concerned about the whooping cough. It is taking hold in VT and there are alot of folks who are back and forth between here and there all the time so I think it will spread. I do not think one vaccine will harm me compared to what I have already been exposed to regarding toxic substances, if it helps avoid a body wracking . lung ruining thing like whooping cough, its probably a good idea for me as the individual I am.

[TurtleMama]

I guess I shouldn't get involved in this debate, but I'll toss in my two cents' worth.

 

The chickenpox vaccine seemed a little silly to me until I got pregnant with my son. I never had chickenpox...my mom tried to make me catch it when my friends got it, and I never did. It was only when my OB found out I'd never had it and freaked out that I realized that there could be anything wrong with that. Apparently, if you get the chickenpox when you're older, it can be a really nasty illness; and if you get it when you're pregnant, it can harm the baby. I was instructed to stay away from small children as much as possible until my son was born, and they couldn't wait to stick me with the vaccine once he was out! LOL At least with my second child, I didn't have to fear every two-year-old that came my way.

 

That being said, I personally think that it's sort of silly to vaccinate kids for varicella (chickenpox) -- when for the most part, it's a pretty harmless disease in childhood. I think the whole, "Oh, no, they're missing out on school!" thing is overblown. Of course, it's uncomfortable and itchy, but c'mon...I think that it comes down to a vaccine manufacturer making money somewhere.

 

On the other hand, I gratefully immunized my babies against measles (just because we don't see infants dying of measles in our society doesn't mean it can't happen -- do some research in childhood fatalities do to the disease in Africa and South America...sad), polio, mumps, pertussis (which very nearly killed my infant nephew...my sister didn't take him in for his vaccination on time, and when his older sister brought it home from school he contracted it. The doctors said they didn't know how he made it through that disease, as bad as he had it and as young as he was...by all rights he should be dead, but I'm so grateful he's not!), and all those other diseases which, a few generations ago, killed so very many children. One child dead from measles is too many when it can be prevented -- IMO.

 

BUT -- people have the right to not vaccinate their kids. I think, though, that as more people do that, and we see what can happen as a result, we'll see many of the abstainers changing their minds about refusing to vaccinate their kids. That's just my idea, though, and it could be wrong. I mean no disrespect or harm to those who genuinely believe that vaccinations are not the right thing to do.