[NVIC] Sticking It To Children in New Jersey

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[NVIC] Sticking It To Children in New Jersey

[NVIC] Sticking It To Children in New Jersey

December 12, 2007

National Vaccine Information Center

NVIC E-news

www.nvic.org<http://www.nvic.org/>

www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com<http://www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/>

Sticking It To Children in New Jersey

by Barbara Loe Fisher

It wasn't like any of the parents, who showed up in Trenton on Dec.

10, 2007 to witness members of the New Jersey Public Health Council vote on a

new vaccine mandates proposed by state health department officials, were

surprised by the thumbs-up 7-2-2 vote by political appointee members of the

Council. For the past two decades every time state health department officials

have pushed to require children to get another new vaccine to attend school, the

new vaccine has been automatically added to state vaccine mandates under rule

making authority held by state health officials and without a vote by the

people. Hoping to set precedent for other states to follow suit, this time New

Jersey officials are ramming through mandates that will ban babies and toddlers

from daycare or pre-school without two doses of influenza vaccine and three

doses of pneumococcal vaccine while sixth graders will have to show proof by

Sept. 1, 2008 that they have gotten a dose of TdaP and meningococcal vaccine.

New Jersey is about to become the first state to make children get

flu shots despite a lack of scientific evidence that influenza vaccine is very

effective in preventing Type A or Type B influenza in children.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7574/912

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zHbZ3SzB7ijdSWgEeWUE0y7EFbGl>

If NJ Health Commissioner Fred s and NJ Governor Joe Corzine

approve the new requirements written by health department officials, then New

Jersey will lead the nation in vaccine mandates by forcing children to get 35

doses of 13 vaccines.

Federal and state health officials refuse to publish credible

scientific evidence that demonstrates it is necessary or healthy to force

children to get so many vaccinations by sixth grade. They also continue to deny

that the doubling of the numbers of vaccines mandated for child use over the

past quarter century has contributed to the dramatic increase in chronic disease

and disability among American children during that same time period. Today, 1

American child in 6 is learning disabled; 1 in 9 has asthma; 1 in 94- 150

develops autism; 1 in 450 is diabetic. New Jersey is reported to have the

highest autism rate in the nation: 1 child in 94 living in New Jersey develops

autism.

http://www.northjersey.co m/page.php?

qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y

3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDczNzMy<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9a7dGcZPctOMMka4yoTiss\

2QdgYnxok5mqFYVAobt8dMynlW-9q8YL6YrKexHL_L_Bsv4hSx-FBWkCC3x5BL55RhqwUNdGmVZB7D5T\

WjfNMIZyvijeKhKnyzmGhVTyv87jNGu25nNS-ov6dfkCSk1ivQvKB2PrbACaZbpHa0hatX5DFdTynjJG\

nQ3ftd7Ji4sKgwiLkuJkgEWoRWl0eDPHF>

Sue , co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed

Choice in Vaccination (NJAICV at

www.NJAICV.com<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9b3yB7DpDSy-GQMLqC414u3PjSMSu\

qXBAAmhQq2j4JwkcSo2giLpPTKf8YiA824hZkdytIsoUuXkZVtW8sETg2BqwH53xCS84g=>) and

longtime leader of a grassroots effort to institute conscientious belief

exemption to vaccination in New Jersey, said that many parents oppose the new

vaccine mandates: " We deserve a choice, not a mandate. It's our right to decide

what toxic substances we inject into our children, " she said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/1 1/nyregion/11vaccine.html?_r=1 & oref=slogin

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9a48G8eQmrKrdJZuw8Z1ECgY0OcZ-4imZroLsIBYH5a\

2DxplC0rHetClKUjtfyZQ5o6c2wnimgfzqn8pVVe6h_s2jnSb2OUMkphDAaRXe5ecq1IZ15ewb0xMLAX\

Q1nPJIwdJjtu8PMAsP0Y8WUADcuIsjk4EKSR_FqDhBCtzoXUHBe9gAHuioh-jz1HztQWw6g=>New

Jersey Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R- Westwood), who is the sponsor of a

bill to insert conscientious belief exemption into New Jersey vaccine laws, told

the Council " Children of this state are assaulted with shot after shot before

they go to school, " she said. " Don't force it on those who have these

objections. This is America. What's happened to our freedom? "

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?

qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y

3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjMyMjk0JnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZW

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A2EcZ2-ApeVpHi8c0JChII3w6EwkxDYij8VhyrsNCp6_LKWzJR39RJIbABNwbzY=>==

The National Vaccine Information Center joins with NJAICV and other

organizations representing parents and children opposing the new vaccine

mandates and supporting the addition of conscientious belief exemption to

vaccine laws in New Jersey, including Advocates for Children's Health Affected

by Mercury Poisoning (A-CHAMP), Association of American Physicians and Surgeons

(AAPS), Autism One, Autism Research Institute, Children Having Everybody Upset

About Shots (C.H.E.R.U.B.S), Generation Rescue, Holistic Moms Network, National

Autism Association (NAA), Network Organization for Vaccine Awareness and Choice

(NOVAC), Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), Taper Safely, Unlocking Autism (UA),

and US Autism and Aspergers Association (USAAA). Coalition for Mercury-free

Drugs (CoMeD, Inc.) supports replacing all state vaccine mandates with " opt-in "

laws and SafeMinds opposes continued use of mercury in vaccines.

The fate of the new vaccine mandates proposed by the NJ state health

department now rests with the retiring Commissioner of Health, Fred s,

appointed by Governor Joe Corzine and the Governor himself. Fred s is

expected to rule on the new mandates by Dec. 18 and can be contacted at

http://www.state.nj.us/health/commiss/contact.sht

ml<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9Yh2WYc2u7M3lzhw4T0Yw5JBJpVQBdL1ydpRjRCI6\

OqSr5uGY8itwYSdLRw6AELmh165lE0VdKGja7fy25Z4IOgTxHEe6-jWW3COgaG6FYDATs-d5YpQAQ88W\

TbHx9BhFA2BdJJUQqql0GZfdev7Frh>. Governor Corzine can be contacted at htt

p://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9a\

JaSVLotEs56D-1gO9u3ydLO_ENE1wYEBhsxZQujbR6ooqgSFkXRS-2Ql4ADfnAZwumq5qAhC-sNntZWX\

apBr7uwEkxpbPvBdRbWuLkvjAo2ZXLh4zpz8t3XHnJr52DvzyT99pbRpeHA==>

In addition, New Jersey residents who are interested in contacting

their state Assemblyperson or Senator about the need to secure a conscientious

belief exemption to vaccination, can find out how to do that at

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.

asp<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9ZqmZSCeePNRZ2OWXwX4G1hMpzDWQNYqnMk582Fm\

M9T6oi_ckxnjU6Xn2ukMIQ3dP9R-oFAorpoiHz3dSC6rNoGXQmlcHcvZkOxmnStjtEoX4oO5VPN3XgCC\

15MQec3uvAXSWWlEdOBqg==> . To help other parents work in New Jersey on this

issue, contact NJAICV's Sue at www.NJAICV.com

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9b3yB7DpDSy-GQMLqC414u3PjSMSuqXBAAmhQq2j4Jw\

kcSo2giLpPTKf8YiA824hZkdytIsoUuXkZVtW8sETg2BqwH53xCS84g=>(See copy of NJ

Conscientious Belief Exemption bill below). To find out more about how to

educate members of your community about vaccination and the right to informed

consent to vaccination, go to NVIC's website at www.nvic.org

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9bh9ckj_t92t3uv2hijcciHUjShe1FCQ87lv1sXOGP_\

6UAAx6luUgfDCjLpcip2wPRzTIV0TQd_i07bZNZOdTGTZVbQt273q1A=>or contact NVIC at

NVICinfo@...

New Jersey children in day care, preschool

and sixth grade will be required to have four new

vaccinations, under regulations expected to be signed this month.

--------------------------------------------------------------

" Children in New Jersey's public schools and day care must get two

new vaccines by September, state health authorities recommended Monday over

objections by parents who fear that immunizations can cause autism. The decision

by the Public Health Council will make New Jersey the first state to require

annual shots for influenza and bacterial (pneumococcal) pneumonia for infants

and toddlers. For sixth-graders, the state also will mandate a meningitis

vaccination and a booster for diphtheria/pertussis/ tetanus, or DPT. Parents

will have just two ways to opt out: religious conviction or medical necessity.

State Health Commissioner Fred s is expected to approve the regulation by

the end of the month. " - Jill R. Capuzzo, The New York Times (December 11, 2007)

" One parent, Anne Downing of Readington, testified about receiving a

flu shot when she was pregnant. Today her 7-year-old daughter has autism. " Try

having your child bite chunks out of your skin ... or threaten to chop your head

off, " she said. " Something's going on with these vaccines and we don't want any

more mandates. " ....... " We have forgotten the seriousness of these diseases, "

said Dr. Rice, a Monmouth County pediatrician. Dr. ,

another pediatrician from Monmouth County, asked parents to consider a wider

responsibility. " You're not making a decision just for your child, " said.

" You're making it for the reading circle at the library, for other children who

come along in the family. " But some parents and activists criticized forced

immunization as anti- American. They decried the lack of long-term studies on

the vaccines' safety. " - Elise Young, The Record (www.northjersey.co

m<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9adgJHOZRuQJnlJ5c_I-3hOuob76RpL5wWMghwqraH\

edkANYbT5KvHfPTXiT5-_Y4x1XiuvVyooMqWs8phceuByY3WgzTu8cs4BcemA3t-3Hg==>)

(December 11, 2007)

Vaccine Rule Stokes Fears Over Autism

The Record

December 11, 2007

by Elise Young

Click here for the

URL:<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9ZOi6XsKRZUO5gS2L8L4EsPDDYtwwpS0O1Fyoeb\

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Z2-ApeVpHi8c0JChII3w6EwkxDYij8VhyrsNCp6_LKWzJR39RJIbABNwbzY=>

Children in New Jersey's public schools and day cares must get two

new vaccines by September, state health authorities recommended Monday over

objections by parents who fear that immunizations can cause autism.

The decision by the Public Health Council will make New Jersey the

first state to require annual shots for influenza and bacterial (pneumococcal)

pneumonia for infants and toddlers. For sixth-graders, the state also will

mandate a meningitis vaccination and a booster for diphtheria/pertussis/

tetanus, or DPT.

Parents will have just two ways to opt out: religious conviction or

medical necessity.

State Health Commissioner Fred s is expected to approve the

regulation by the end of the month.

New Jersey has the country's highest autism rate, with one in 94

children affected by the neurological disorder that has no known cause or cure.

A growing movement of activists believes that vaccines containing the

preservative thimerosal are a chief contributor, although the federal Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention has dismissed the connection.

" There is no scientifically supported evidence that this causes

autism, " Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, deputy New Jersey health commissioner and state

epidemiologist, told the council Monday. " The facts and the science do not

support this opinion. "

One parent, Anne Downing of Readington, testified about receiving a

flu shot when she was pregnant. Today her 7-year-old daughter has autism.

" Try having your child bite chunks out of your skin .... or threaten

to chop your head off, " she said. " Something's going on with these vaccines and

we don't want any more mandates. "

Autism can cause a range of behavioral and cognitive problems, from

barely noticeable to completely incapacitating. Children whose autism is

detected early, and who undergo intensive behavioral, occupational and other

therapies appear to have the best chance of leading typical lives.

The 60-year-old Public Health Council, consisting of eight members

appointed by the governor, acts as an independent adviser to the Department of

Health and Senior Services. s has the option of rejecting its

recommendation, but he has supported such vaccinations in the past.

Authorities on Monday said he will sign the new regulation before he

leaves Governor Corzine's administration for a private-sector job.

The rules will take effect Sept. 1, in time for the school year. To

enroll their children in licensed preschool or day care, parents must show proof

of vaccination. Sixth-graders who lack their shots will be denied entrance to

public school.

The council noted that it has no jurisdiction over children who are

home-schooled or attend parochial schools. And no one will force immunizations

on youngsters who are not enrolled in out-of-home care.

" If you don't send your kid to preschool or day care, you don't have

to get the shots, " said Tom Slater, a spokesman for the Department of Health.

Some doctors haven't waited for a mandate. They said they have

routinely given such shots to infants, toddlers and sixth-graders for years, on

the advice of federal health authorities and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

At the hearing, pediatricians, nurses and public- health officials

called childhood vaccinations one of the country's great achievements,

protecting against mumps, measles, rubella, smallpox, whooping cough, polio and

other diseases that can cause grave sickness or death. The benefits of new

immunizations, they said, far outweighed the risks.

" We have forgotten the seriousness of these diseases, " said Dr.

Rice, a Monmouth County pediatrician.

Dr. , another pediatrician from Monmouth County, asked

parents to consider a wider responsibility.

" You're not making a decision just for your child, " said.

" You're making it for the reading circle at the library, for other children who

come along in the family. "

But some parents and activists criticized forced immunization as

anti-American. They decried the lack of long-term studies on the vaccines'

safety.

" We deserve a choice, not a mandate, " said Sue , co-founder

of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination.

Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, R- Westwood, was the sole

legislator to testify.

" Children of this state are assaulted with shot after shot before

they go to school, " she said. " Don't force it on those who have these

objections. This is America. What's happened to our freedom? "

Staff Writer Bob Groves contributed to this report. E-mail:

younge@...

* * *

New rules

By Sept. 1, 2008, New Jersey children in day care, preschool and

sixth grade will be required to have four new vaccinations, under regulations

expected to be signed this month.

· Age 8 weeks to 4 years, 9 months: Pneumococcal (bacterial)

pneumonia

· Age 6 months to 4 years, 9 months: Influenza

· Sixth grade: DPT booster, meningitis

Opting out

Children who do not attend preschool or day care will not be forced

to receive the flu and bacterial pneumonia vaccinations. Nor will those who are

enrolled in parochial school or who are home- schooled.

Parents may seek two types of exemptions.

· For a medical waiver, a licensed physician must certify that

immunization would harm the child.

· For a religious waiver, a parent must certify that the vaccination

would " conflict with the pupil's exercise of bona fide religious tenets or

practices. " The law does not allow a child to forgo immunization based solely on

philosophical or moral grounds.

Source: N.J. Department of Health and Senior Services

FEEDBACK

Survey: Should the state mandate flu shots for

students?<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9YIR7kqpxHt3Q_4DprAVzkBFeo_8T4PAug\

u6pHeF3jkIUjABek1x4vU4oQaprBthRgtvVdr7CpS8NKmuSldUvWKKkutKK2AK0NJIFaqEyPCqdNcive\

yTgJjby6KxtoPWW5XTTR1XtvI5ihaaWBY_3LT7FLDB_GI6iLtmMQn5pq-L6TWNWqvLoK0-ih1Mf7KG9L\

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9YzEpgdp2rJnYRbuxhKo0E_sWzg==>

ON THE WEB

New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in

Vaccination<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9aaUtWqjUSRwaYMjyC0s5QZhGUnIX0Cq\

IRfwfmfKxVg-M2pMn12ae0_-46dhyVa8HRwQBbL3z0sV4yKiavkAs_hsnZzkRRYmTmTFGbGkiLOfg==>

Flu Shots for Children Grow Near in New Jersey

The New York Times

December 11, 2007

by Jill R. Capuzzo

Click here for the

URL:<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011yxoJn3Xf9ZnHV6uOaLtT9T2btxwOwBcL0Eu_6JruqfQSfYC\

E3Zpy5rC75NQA8KhtEKJv3UpSXHmwb7HyXHdgb4amgn2bLslZEKhg8756vjn71NIGmUvq8O6CWM6LF-1\

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YMeC4LCYEqHYQitE>

TRENTON, Dec. 10 - Despite opposition from numerous parents and

children's rights advocates, a public health advisory panel voted on Monday to

require all children in New Jersey who attend preschool or are in day care to

get annual flu vaccinations.

Before the vote, some parents who believe in a link between

vaccinations and autism spoke against the proposal, but state officials said

they did not believe there was such a connection.

The measure, expected to be approved by the state health

commissioner in the next week, will make New Jersey the first state in the

country to mandate such immunizations.

By a vote of 5 to 2, with two abstentions, the advisory panel, the

New Jersey Public Health Council, recommended approval of the flu shot

requirement, as well as requiring three other new vaccines for school children.

The other immunizations are a vaccine against pneumonia for preschoolers and two

vaccines for middle school students, one against a fast-killing strain of

meningitis and the other a booster for the immunization against tetanus,

pertussis and diphtheria, which is already routinely given in first grade.

Department of Health officials said that they expected the health

commissioner, Dr. Fred M. s, to sign the measure by Dec. 18. The new

vaccines would become mandatory on Sept. 1. But those getting immunized against

the flu would have until December 2008 because of the shipment dates of the

vaccine, said Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, New Jersey's deputy commissioner of health and

state immunologist.

At the start of the standing-room-only public meeting on Monday

morning, Dr. Bresnitz outlined his department's reasons to support requiring the

new vaccines, saying that they were important for disease prevention, influenza

being the greatest offender. Extrapolating from statistics provided by the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Bresnitz said about 600 New

Jersey children are hospitalized annually for influenza.

" Simply put, implementation of these rules will save lives and

prevent disease and suffering in children, their families and the community, "

Dr. Bresnitz said.

But not all the family and community members who attended the

meeting agreed. Some parents of autistic children have argued that the vaccines

already required of school-age children may be linked to autism, although many

experts say that no solid evidence supports this view. A recent federal study

showed that New Jersey leads the nation in its rate of autism, a

neurodevelopmental condition the cause of which is still a mystery.

Some advocates and parents have suspected a link between vaccines

and autism because thimerosal, a mercury-containing organic compound, has been

used as a preservative in some vaccines. Anne Downing , a Readington, N.J.,

mother of two, said she believed that her 7-year-old daughter's autism was tied

to two vaccines: a flu shot that she got when she was pregnant with her

daughter, and a vaccine against pneumonia that the girl received as a baby. Ms.

Downing invited the council's panel to spend a day at her house to see what it

was like living with a child who has autism.

" Try having a child bite chunks of skin out of herself, or tell you

she's going to chop your head off, or smear feces over the wall, " said Ms.

Downing, referring to the acts of her daughter and her best friend's son, who

also suffers from autism. " Something's going on with these vaccines, and we

don't want any more mandated. " Dismissing the link between vaccines and autism

as " scientifically unfounded, " Dr. Bresnitz also called the thimerosal argument

" a moot issue, " since most vaccines are either free of the compound or contain

only trace amounts, like the preschool flu vaccine. Moreover, he said, parents

could request thimerosal- free formulations of the vaccines. The new flu vaccine

will be required annually for all children from 6 months to 5 years old, who

attend licensed day care or preschool facilities. State law allows exemptions

from the mandated vaccines for religious or medical reasons. Children who are

home- schooled are also exempt from the regulations. Sue , a co-founder

of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination, said that the

exemptions were difficult to secure, particularly those based on medical

reasons, which state and local officials have the right to challenge, according

to Dr. Bresnitz. " We deserve a choice, not a mandate, " Ms. said. " It's

our right to decide what toxic substances we inject into our children. " Speaking

on behalf of the new vaccines were two pediatricians and two public health

administrators. Sharen Clugston of the New Jersey Association of Public Health

Nurse Administrators said, " Vaccines have transformed the landscape of disease. "

Dr. , a Monmouth County pediatrician, said that over

the years he and his colleagues had " seen so many children not only suffer but

die from diseases that could be immunized against. "

" That could have been prevented simply by administering a vaccine, "

he said.

***

ASSEMBLY, No. 165

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

212th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2006 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman CHARLOTTE VANDERVALK

District 39 (Bergen)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen S.Kean, McKeon,

Assemblywomen Oliver and Lampitt

SYNOPSIS

Provides for conscientious exemption to mandatory immunizations.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

AN ACT concerning immunization requirements and supplementing Title

26 of the Revised Statutes.

BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New

Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

" Commissioner " means the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services.

" Conscientious exemption " means an exemption from a mandatory

immunization on the grounds of a sincerely held or moral objection to the

immunization.

" Department " means the Department of Health and Senior Services.

" Mandatory immunization " means any vaccination required by the State

as a condition for attendance at public or private institutions of higher

education, public or private school, kindergarten, nursery school, preschool or

child care facilities in New Jersey.

" School " means any public or private institution of higher

education, public or private school, kindergarten, nursery school, preschool or

child care facility in New Jersey.

" Student " means any person attending a public or private institution

of higher education, public or private school, kindergarten, nursery school,

preschool or child care facility in New Jersey.

2. a. The department shall provide to all local health departments a

standardized form to be used by a student, or if the student is a minor, by the

student's parent or legal guardian, claiming a conscientious exemption from a

mandatory immunization. A local health department shall make the form available

upon request.

The form shall state that the student, or parent or legal guardian,

understands the potential benefits of immunization and the risks in not

immunizing. The form shall require, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) a statement claiming exemption from a specific immunization

signed by the student, or if the student is a minor, by the student's parent or

legal guardian, witnessed by the local health officer or the local health

officer's designee;

(2) the name and address of the person who signs the form;

(3) the name of the student seeking exemption from the immunization;

and

(4) the school at which the student is enrolled.

b. Upon receipt of a completed form by a local health department,

the designated local health officer shall grant a conscientious exemption from a

mandatory immunization to a student. A student who is granted a conscientious

exemption shall provide the form granting the exemption to officials at the

student's school.

3. a. Any student with a conscientious exemption from a mandatory

immunization may be excluded from school during a vaccine-preventable disease

outbreak or threatened outbreak as determined by the commissioner.

b. Pursuant to the provisions of R.S.26:4-6, a school official may

prohibit the attendance of any student who has been granted a conscientious

exemption and is under a school official's control, on the account of a

communicable disease, or to prevent the spread of a communicable disease. The

school official may also specify the duration of time that the student with a

conscientious exemption must remain away from school.

c. A conscientious exemption from a mandatory immunization may be

suspended at any time by the commissioner during the existence of an emergency,

as determined by the commissioner.

4. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall, pursuant to

the " Administrative Procedure Act, " P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt

rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.

5. This act shall take effect on the 90th day following enactment,

but the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services may take such anticipatory

administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for implementation of the

act.

STATEMENT

This bill provides for conscientious exemptions from mandatory

immunizations.

Under current law, the State requires certain immunizations for

students as a condition for attending public or private institutions of higher

education, public or private school, kindergarten, nursery school, preschool and

child care facilities in New Jersey.

Provisions in the New Jersey Administrative Code grant students

medical and religious exemptions from immunizations. This bill would grant a

conscientious exemption from a specific immunization to any person attending a

public or private institution of higher education, public or private school,

kindergarten, nursery school, preschool or child care facility in New Jersey.

The bill provides that a student seeking a conscientious exemption

shall complete a standardized form prepared by the Department of Health and

Senior Services. The form shall be submitted to the student's local health

department, which shall grant the exemption. A student with a conscientious

exemption shall not be permitted to attend school during a disease outbreak or

threatened outbreak, as determined by the Commissioner of Health and Senior

Services. An conscientious exemption may also be suspended at any time by the

commissioner in an emergency. Further, pursuant to N.J.S.A.26:4-6, a school

administrator, taking into consideration the spread of a communicable disease,

may prohibit the attendance of a student with a conscientious exemption and

specify the amount of time the student must remain away from the school.

At present, 19 states permit similar exemptions from mandatory

immunizations. This bill would allow New Jersey to join with other states that

grant individuals the right to manage their health or their children's health as

they deem appropriate.

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[Guest guest]

http://www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Sticking It To Children in New Jersey

by Barbara Loe Fisher

It wasn't like any of the parents, who showed up in Trenton on Dec. 10,

2007 to witness members of the New Jersey Public Health Council vote on a

new vaccine mandates proposed by state health department officials, were

surprised by the thumbs-up 7-2-2 vote by political appointee members of the

Council. For the past two decades every time state health department

officials have pushed to require children to get another new vaccine to

attend school, the new vaccine has been automatically added to state

vaccine mandates under rule making authority held by state health officials

and without a vote by the people. Hoping to set precedent for other states

to follow suit, this time New Jersey officials are ramming through mandates

that will ban babies and toddlers from daycare or pre-school without two

doses of influenza vaccine and three doses of pneumococcal vaccine while

sixth graders will have to show proof by Sept. 1, 2008 that they have

gotten a dose of TdaP and meningococcal vaccine.

New Jersey is about to become the first state to make children get flu

shots despite a lack of scientific evidence that influenza vaccine is very

effective in preventing Type A or Type B influenza in children.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7574/912

If NJ Health Commissioner Fred s and NJ Governor Joe Corzine approve

the new requirements written by health department officials, then New

Jersey will lead the nation in vaccine mandates by forcing children to get

35 doses of 13 vaccines.

Federal and state health officials refuse to publish credible scientific

evidence that demonstrates it is necessary or healthy to force children to

get so many vaccinations by sixth grade. They also continue to deny that

the doubling of the numbers of vaccines mandated for child use over the

past quarter century has contributed to the dramatic increase in chronic

disease and disability among American children during that same time

period. Today, 1 American child in 6 is learning disabled; 1 in 9 has

asthma; 1 in 94- 150 develops autism; 1 in 450 is diabetic. New Jersey is

reported to have the highest autism rate in the nation: 1 child in 94

living in New Jersey develops autism.

http://www.northjersey.com/page.phpqstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVs

N2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDczNzMy

Sue , co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in

Vaccination (NJAICV at www.NJAICV.com) and longtime leader of a grassroots

effort to institute conscientious belief exemption to vaccination in New

Jersey, said that many parents oppose the new vaccine mandates: " We deserve

a choice, not a mandate. It's our right to decide what toxic substances we

inject into our children, " she said. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/1

1/nyregion/11vaccine.html?_r=1 & oref=slogin New Jersey Assemblywoman

Charlotte Vandervalk (R- Westwood), who is the sponsor of a bill to insert

conscientious belief exemption into New Jersey vaccine laws, told the

Council " Children of this state are assaulted with shot after shot before

they go to school, " she said. " Don't force it on those who have these

objections. This is America. What's happened to our freedom? "

http://www.northjersey.com/page.phpqstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVs

N2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjMyMjk0JnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==

The National Vaccine Information Center joins with NJAICV and other

organizations representing parents and children opposing the new vaccine

mandates and supporting the addition of conscientious belief exemption to

vaccine laws in New Jersey, including Advocates for Children's Health

Affected by Mercury Poisoning (A-CHAMP), Association of American Physicians

and Surgeons (AAPS), Autism One, Autism Research Institute, Children Having

Everybody Upset About Shots (C.H.E.R.U.B.S), Generation Rescue, Holistic

Moms Network, National Autism Association (NAA), Network Organization for

Vaccine Awareness and Choice (NOVAC), Talk About Curing Autism (TACA),

Taper Safely, Unlocking Autism (UA), and US Autism and Aspergers

Association (USAAA). Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs (CoMeD, Inc.)

supports replacing all state vaccine mandates with " opt-in " laws and

SafeMinds opposes continued use of mercury in vaccines.

The fate of the new vaccine mandates proposed by the NJ state health

department now rests with the retiring Commissioner of Health, Fred s,

appointed by Governor Joe Corzine and the Governor himself. Fred s is

expected to rule on the new mandates by Dec. 18 and can be contacted at

http://www.state.nj.us/health/commiss/contact.shtml. Governor Corzine can

be contacted at http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html

In addition, New Jersey residents who are interested in contacting their

state Assemblyperson or Senator about the need to secure a conscientious

belief exemption to vaccination, can find out how to do that at

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp . To help other parents

work in New Jersey on this issue, contact NJAICV's Sue at

www.NJAICV.com (See copy of NJ Conscientious Belief Exemption bill below).

To find out more about how to educate members of your community about

vaccination and the right to informed consent to vaccination, go to NVIC's

website at www.nvic.org or contact NVIC at NVICinfo@...

Labels: mandates

posted by Barbara Loe Fisher @ 7:52 AM 2 comments

Thursday, December 06, 2007

NJ Health Council Votes Dec. 10 On New Vaccine Mandates

by Barbara Loe Fisher

The New Jersey Public Health Council is scheduled to meet on Monday,

December 10, 2007 at 11 a.m. to vote on whether to approve adoption of

rules written by the New Jersey Department of Health that would require

children to get three doses of pneumoccocal vaccine and two doses of

influenza vaccine to attend daycare or pre-school and one dose each of

tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (TdaP) and meningococcal vaccine to attend

sixth grade. If the Council votes to approve the new mandates sought by

state public health officials, the mandates will apply to all children

entering daycare or school on September 1, 2008.

The NJ Public Health Council meeting will be held on Dec. 10 at 11 a.m in

the Auditorium (1st Floor) of the New Jersey Department of Health and

Senior Services, Market and Warren Streets, Trenton, New Jersey. New Jersey

would become the first state to require influenza vaccine for daycare and

pre-school and the first state to require meningococcal vaccine for sixth

graders if the new mandates are approved by the Council. The additional

nine doses of vaccines would be added to 26 doses of vaccines (diphtheria

(4), tetanus (4), pertussis (4), HIB (3), measles (2), mumps (1), rubella

(1), polio (3), hepatitis B (3), chicken pox (1)) the State already

requires for daycare or school, bringing the total to 35 doses of 13

mandated vaccines.

The NJ Department of Health has the power under rule making authority given

to the agency by the NJ state legislature to mandate new vaccines after

holding public hearings and taking public comments. A public hearing was

held on these proposed new vaccine mandates on Jan. 26, 2007 and the public

comment period ended on Feb. 16. 2007. A 125 page summary of the public

hearing and public comments received by the health department reveals that

the majority of the 103 comments from the public opposed the new vaccine

mandates.

http://nj.gov/health/commis s/bc/documents/phc_final_adoption_857_4.pdf

Supporters of the mandates included state public health and education

officials, the American Academy of Pediatrics and vaccine manufacturer,

Sanofi Pasteur, which markets three of the new vaccines that would be

required (TdaP, influenza and meningococcal vaccines), among others. In a

memo from retiring NJ Commissioner of Health, Fred s, M.D., J.D. to

Herbert Yardley, Chair of the NJ Public Health Council, s notes that

" Some parents rights groups, vaccine critics, autism advocacy organizations

and alternative medicine practitioners will likely continue to oppose

existing requirements, these recently adopted new vaccine requirements, and

future immunization requirements as they have since the mid-1980's....There

is increasing resistance from the public on new state vaccine mandates and

a demand for more informed parental choice in vaccinations for children.... "

http://nj.gov/health/com miss/bc/documents/phc_memo_adoption_857_4.pdf

Exemptions to vaccination in New Jersey include a medical exemption that

must be written by a medical doctor or a religious exemption, which

requires citizens to write a letter explaining how vaccination " conflicts

with the pupil's exercise of bona fide religious tenets or practices. " The

law makes it clear that a " general philosophical or moral objection " to

receiving one or more vaccines " shall not be sufficient for an exemption on

religious grounds. " The law further states that " religious affiliated

schools or child care centers shall have the authority to withhold or grant

a religious exemption " for students attending their schools " without

challenge by any secular health authority. " http://www.nvic.org/state-

site/NewJersey.htm

The citizens of New Jersey have not had an opportunity to vote, through

their elected representatives, on whether they want their children to be

required to be injected with nine more doses of vaccines or be denied an

education. The power to add or remove vaccine mandates currently resides

entirely in the hands of employees of the NJ Health Department and members

of the NJ Public Health Council.

NJ Health Commissioner Fred s can be contacted at

http://www.state.nj.us/health/commiss/contact.shtml

NJ Public Health Council Chair, Herbert Yardley, who is also the Health

Officer for Sussex County, can be contacted at hyardley@...

The Governor of New Jersey, Joe Corzine, can be reached at

http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html

If you want to change the way new vaccines are mandated in your state

and/or support the addition of conscientious belief exemption to state

vaccine laws, you must work with the state legislators you have elected to

represent you. If you are a resident of New Jersey and want to let your

state legislators know how you feel about nine more doses of vaccines being

added to vaccine mandates, go to

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch. asp

The National Vaccine Information Center has been working in New Jersey and

many states as well as nationally since 1982 to educate citizens and their

elected representatives about the need to institute vaccine safety and

informed consent protections in the U.S. mass vaccination system. Some

states have formed local groups, such as the New Jersey Alliance for

Informed Choice in Vaccination (www.NJAICV.org) headed by co-founder Sue

.

The National Vaccine Information Center stands with other parent

organizations such as ACHAMP, Generation Rescue, TACA, NAA, Holistic Moms

Network and others in opposing new vaccine mandates for children in New

Jersey and supports the addition of conscientious belief exemption to

vaccination in New Jersey and all states. If you are interested in working

to educate citizens in your community and state about vaccination and the

need for informed consent protections in your state laws, contact NVIC at

NVICinfo@...

To report a vaccine reaction, go to www.NVIC.org

and to post a vaccine reaction report on NVIC's International Memorial for

Vaccine Victims, go www.vaccinememorial.org

Labels: mandates

posted by Barbara Loe Fisher @ 1:16 PM 1 comments