BOE speech

[Guest guest]

Okay, guys, I went to my Board of Ed tonight. I read the following, after which

I was asked to email the state vaccine laws to the entire board, including the

chair of the policy committee. Jim, I think we all need to keep repeating your

No Shots, No School, Not True mantra all over the country.

Here it is:

" I know you’re planning to have a discussion about the swine flu next month but

with all the swine flu hysteria being promoted through the media, and our

government losing its mind over the now 522 swine flu deaths out of over 307

million people in our country, I have serious concerns about proposed plans for

vaccination clinics in the schools. I believe the school’s responsibility lies

with educating our children, not with medical procedures, which should be

between families and their doctors. I’m worried that parents may assume they

will be required to have their children vaccinated with the new, experimental

swine flu vaccine, the same way they believe they have to have their children

vaccinated at all for school entry--and that's what I really want to talk about

tonight.

As someone who has been researching vaccines for 16 years, including as a former

board member of a state vaccine information group, I want to comment on the

state law mandating vaccines. First, no shots, no school—not true. Paperwork

sent to us by the schools includes statements that students must be vaccinated

or they cannot attend school. However, what we are not told is that all states

have medical exemptions, all but two have religious exemptions (including CT)

and almost half have philosophical exemptions. CT does not. Exemption forms are

available to download for free at the CT Dept. of Public Health website. Parents

need to be made aware of these exemptions because many people only vaccinate

their children because they think they have to for school.

Parents also think they have to go by the CDC/pediatrician recommendations for

at least 50 vaccines for 15 diseases by age 6—and there are more after that, but

those recommendations are not the same as state laws. CT only requires 23

vaccines for 10 diseases by age 6. For ex., flu vaccine is recommended annually

for babies on up and three doses of the controversial Gardasil vaccine are

recommended for older girls—yet neither is required by state law, nor are the

recommended Hep. A, Rotavirus, pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines.

Plus, for 15 of those 23 vaccines required by the state of CT, documentation of

immunity is acceptable in place of vaccination. And many parents believe they

have to adhere to the recommended schedule beginning at birth when, in fact, the

schools only require the number of vaccines be met, and those can be started

within months of school beginning.

Yet, this information is being withheld from parents by the schools which cite

the law but only the parts which support a pro-vaccine agenda, and I know some

people think that’s good but I am asking this board to enact a policy to fully

inform parents about what is legally required regarding vaccines, including

exemptions and providing a link to get the state forms. These are our children

and we have the right to be given the full truth regarding our children’s health

and education.

It also is a good idea to have a policy asking parents whose children are

freshly vaccinated with live virus vaccines to keep their children home for a

couple of weeks to protect the rest of the students and staff from the shedding

viruses, the same way we are asked to keep sick children home for a period of

time. I don’t think parents think about how they are putting others at risk with

these shedding viruses when they get their children vaccinated. I’d like you to

put this on the agenda for your next meeting and to attach these copies of our

state law and exemption forms to your meeting minutes. I think this is such a

critical time right now to address this with all the talk about possible mass

vaccination and forced vaccination. "

Winnie