vaccine law

[Guest guest]

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Here's a reprint of what PROVE sent out about the vaccines. Bottom

line--your nurse is misinformed. There are now 3 types of exemptions

instead of 2: conscientious, religious and medical. I was a little

confused reading the tips. It's not clear to me whether you need to submit

the religious exemption on the Health Department form or not. Check the

PROVE website--www.vaccineinfo.net

cs

Texas Vaccine Exemption Information for the 2003 School Year (also posted

at http://www.vaccineinfo.net/exemptions/exemption2003.shtml) Dear PROVE

Texas Members – Thanks to HB 2292 passed in the Texas Legislature and

signed by the governor, starting Septemeber 1, 2003, Texas will become the

19th state to have a conscientious exemption. HB 2292 also corrected the

unconstitutional aspect of the religious exemption. Now the exemption can be

for “a religious belief”, and the unconstitutional requirement to be an

adherent of a recognized religion which opposes immunization has been

stricken from law. Additionally, the criteria allowing a physician to write

a medical exemption has broadened to allow doctors more flexibility to write

exemptions. IN ORDER TO UTILIZE THE CONSCIENTIOUS OR RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS

IN TEXAS ON OR AFTER SEPTEMBER 1, 2003 FOR ADMISSION TO PUBLIC OR PRIVATE

SCHOOL, DAY CARE, OR INSTITUTES OF HIGHER EDUCATION, THE LAW REQUIRES THE

PARENT TO: 1) Obtain an official original exemption form from the Texas

Department of Health for each child (photocopies will not be accepted by the

school or day care) Requests must be in writing and can be made

IMMEDIATELY by mail:

The Texas Department of Health

Immunization Division

1100 West 49th Street

Austin, TX 78756

or by email:

Immunize@...

(Put “Immunization Exemption Form Request” as the subject)

Include in your request:

· that you are requesting immunization exemption forms

· the number of children you have for which you are requesting

immunization exemption forms (you do not need to give names or any

identifying information for your children, but you will need a

separate form for each child and a separate form for each

institution the child attends)

· Your name and the complete postal mail address where you want the

forms mailed (forms will NOT be returned by email) FYI: TDH is prohibited

by law from keeping a record of who asks for a form. They are only required

to track the total number of forms mailed out.

· Fill out the form and have it notarized. Don’t sign the form until you

are in front of the notary so they can witness and stamp it. (Notaries can

usually be found at your bank, commercial postal outlet centers, and some

are listed in the phone book. Banks typically don’t charge for this service

while the notaries at commercial postal centers and those listed in the

phone book do charge.)

· Submit the original signed and notarized form to your school or day care,

and only forms notarized within 90 days of being submitted will be accepted,

so don’t rush to have your form notarized until you are ready to submit it.

Do NOT send the completed form to the health department. You may want to

make a photocopy of the signed original form for your own records and have

the person you submitted the original form to sign and date the photocopy in

acknowledgement that they have received and accepted the original. This way

you have something to show the school or day care to prove you submitted it

if they should misplace your paperwork and to encourage them to look for it

a little better. IN ORDER TO UTILIZE A MEDICAL EXEMPTION ON OR AFTER

SEPTEMBER 1, 2003: Any doctor (MD or DO – no chiropractors) licensed to

practice medicine in the United States who has examined your child may write

and sign a letter stating that “in the physician's opinion, the immunization

required poses a significant risk to the health and well-being of the

applicant or any member of the applicant's family or household.” Doctors no

longer have to state that the immunization “would be injurious” to the

child. FOR FAMILIES ENROLLING CHILDREN IN SCHOOL OR DAY CARE BEFORE

SEPTEMBER 1, 2003: The law in place before September 1, 2003 provides for

both a religious and medical exemption. Information on utilizing a

religious exemption including a sample letter can be found on our web site

at: http://www.vaccineinfo.net/exemptions/relexemptlet.shtml. If

you’ve previously submitted a religious exemption letter, you do not need to

submit a new one until after September 1st, and then you will need to submit

one of the official health department forms. If you’ve previously submitted

a medical exemption and it is for a lifelong condition, you are not required

to submit anything new. Some schools are enrolling children where the

parents are telling the school officials that they will submit the form as

soon as they get it from the Health Department. Other schools are enforcing

the old law in effect until September 1, 2003. Check with your school

district directly how they will handle this. If your district is insistent

that they will not admit your child unless they are fully vaccinated and you

desire an exemption, you have the right of a religious and medical exemption

as explained above under the old law. For updates on this information,

please stay subscribed to our email list at

http://vaccineinfo.net/subscribe.htm.

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· THE LAW NOW READS TO SAY: Section 38.001, Education Code, ©

Immunization is not required for a person's admission to any elementary or

secondary school if the person applying for admission: (1)

submits to the admitting official:

(A) an affidavit or a certificate signed by a physician who is duly

registered and licensed to practice medicine in the United States, in which

it is stated that, in the physician's opinion, the immunization required

poses a significant risk to the health and well-being of the applicant or

any member of the applicant's family or household; or ( an

affidavit signed by the applicant or, if a minor, by the applicant's parent

or guardian stating that the applicant declines immunization for reasons of

conscience, including a religious belief or (2) is a member of

the armed forces of the United States and is on active duty. (c-1) An

affidavit submitted under Section ©(1)( must be on a form described by

Section 161.0041, Health and Safety Code, and must be submitted to the

admitting official not later than the 90th day after the date the affidavit

is notarized. (f) A person who has not received the immunizations

required by this section for reasons of conscience, including because of the

person's religious beliefs, may be excluded from school in times of

emergency or epidemic declared by the commissioner of public health.

Section 51.933, Education Code (d) No form of immunization is

required for a person's admission to an institution of higher education if

the person applying for admission: (1) submits to the admitting

official: (A) an

affidavit or a certificate signed by a physician who is duly registered and

licensed to practice medicine within the United States in which it is stated

that, in the physician's opinion, the immunization required poses a

significant risk to the health and well-being of the applicant or any member

of the applicant's family or household; or ( an affidavit

signed by the applicant or, if a minor, by the applicant's parent or

guardian stating that the applicant declines immunization for reasons of

conscience, including a religious belief; or (2) is a member of

the armed forces of the United States and is on active duty. (d-1) An

affidavit submitted under Section (d)(1)( must be on a form described by

Section 161.0041, Health and Safety Code, and must be submitted to the

admitting official not later than the 90th day after the date the affidavit

is notarized. Section 161.004(d), Health and Safety Code: (d) A

child is exempt from an immunization required by this section if:

(1) a parent, managing conservator, or guardian states that the

immunization is being declined for reasons of conscience, including a

religious belief; or (2) the immunization is medically

contraindicated based on the opinion of a physician licensed by any state in

the United States who has examined the child. Subchapter A, Chapter 161,

Health and Safety Code: Sec. 161.0041. IMMUNIZATION EXEMPTION AFFIDAVIT

FORM. (a) A person claiming an exemption from a required

immunization based on reasons of conscience, including a religious belief,

under Section 161.004 of this code, Section 38.001 or 51.933, Education

Code, or Section 42.043, Human Resources Code, must complete an affidavit on

a form provided by the department stating the reason for the exemption.

( The affidavit must be signed by the person claiming the exemption or,

if the person is a minor, the person's parent, managing conservator, or

guardian, and the affidavit must be notarized. © A person claiming

an exemption from a required immunization under this section may only obtain

the affidavit form by submitting a written request for the affidavit form to

the department. (d) The department shall develop a blank affidavit

form that contains a seal or other security device to prevent reproduction

of the form. The affidavit form shall contain a statement indicating that

the person or, if a minor, the person's parent, managing conservator, or

guardian understands the benefits and risks of immunizations and the

benefits and risks of not being immunized. (e) The department shall

maintain a record of the total number of affidavit forms sent out each year

and shall report that information to the legislature each year. The

department may not maintain a record of the names of individuals who request

an affidavit under this section. Section 42.043, Human Resources Code:

(d) No immunization may be required for admission to a facility regulated

under this chapter if a person applying for a child's admission submits one

of the following affidavits: (1) an affidavit signed by a

licensed physician stating that the immunization poses a significant risk to

the health and well-being of the child or a member of the child's family or

household; or (2) an affidavit signed by the child's parent or

guardian stating that the applicant declines immunization for reasons of

conscience, including a religious belief. (d-1) An affidavit

submitted under Section (d)(2) must be on a form described by Section

161.0041, Health and Safety Code, and must be submitted not later than the

90th day after the date the affidavit is notarized.

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