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She says outbreaks of preventable diseases are up in some cases simply because there are more <br />children who are not fully vaccinated. <br />“For one thing, we have more children who are not vaccinated because of parental choice,” Butler says. <br />“Not a large number, the vast majority of our kids are vaccinated. <br />“[Outbreaks] just bring more attention to the fact that children who are not vaccinated are definitely at <br />greater risk if they’re exposed to these diseases.” <br />Butler adds the risks for children who have been vaccinated also goes up as the percentage of <br />unvaccinated children increases. <br />“Because the vaccines are not 100 percent effective,” she says, “the more often they are exposed, the <br />more likely they are to become ill with one of the vaccine-preventable diseases as well. Even though <br />they’re fully vaccinated.” <br />99.2 percent of students in Orange County Schools are vaccinated and 98.78 percent of Chapel Hill – <br />Carrboro City School students are vaccinated. But that number drops to just below 96 percent for charter <br />schools and just over 93 percent for private schools. <br />Those figures line up with Butler’s expectations. <br />“Because I’ve worked in the county for so long, I knew that we had a couple of private or charter schools <br />where we had more parents who are not as inclined to vaccinate their children,” Butler says. “So, no, I <br />can’t really say there was any surprise. Not to me anyway.” <br />Emerson Waldorf has the lowest vaccination rate throughout public and private schools in Orange County <br />at just over 62 percent of student vaccinated. A reason for the dramatic drop at Emerson Waldorf is <br />because 84 of the 222 students claim religious exemptions. <br />Butler says there is not verification required to justify a religious exemption in the Tar Heel state. <br />“North Carolina does not require any specific information,” she says. “All they require is that a parent say <br />that they choose not to vaccinate their children for religious reasons.” <br />Butler adds there are medical exemptions to not vaccinate children as well.