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Local schools face measles threat, even with high vaccination rates - The Daily Tar Heel <br />https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/09/school-vaccines-0917[9/18/2019 1:32:16 PM] <br />physician licensed by the state of North Carolina deems a required immunization detrimental to a person’s <br />health (i.e. allergic reaction), they have the authority to advise against vaccination. <br />A statement of “bona fide religious belief” against immunization, however, does not need to be notarized <br />nor signed by a religious leader or attorney. A parent, guardian or person in loco parentis of a child may <br />write a document expressing why vaccination requirements conflict with their religious belief. <br />Although personal or philosophical beliefs against vaccinations do not qualify as legal exemptions, there is <br />no formal process of verifying whether a religious statement is truly applicable to a student. <br />“It can’t really be checked,” said Penny Rosser, a nurse for Orange County Schools. “We just have to trust <br />the parents.” <br />Growing religious exemptions <br />The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported that 1.2 percent of children <br />entering kindergarten for the 2017-2018 school year were exempted from state-mandated vaccinations for <br />religious reasons, a 0.1 percent increase from the previous year. <br />Western counties hold the highest percentage of unvaccinated students in the state, with Buncombe <br />County — where Asheville is located — holding the highest percentage of unvaccinated students – about <br />5.7 percent of the 2,542 kindergartners of Buncombe County exempt from vaccines through religious <br />exemptions. The state’s metropolitan hubs also saw an increase in religious exemptions in the past year – <br />news station Fox 46 Charlotte reported that Mecklenburg County saw a 2.5 percent increase in non- <br />vaccinated kindergartners and a "sharp" increase in non-vaccinations in Wake County. <br />Rosser said that although parents do have a right to a religious exemption, she urges them to contact their <br />health provider to make an informed decision. <br />“Prevention is the name of the game,” Rosser said. “Talk to your doctor and ask for valid research on <br />vaccines and potential complications.” <br />The measles vaccine is not a fool-proof form of prevention, but Sanders said immunization guards against <br />contraction and high-risk symptoms. <br />“Vaccines are not 100 percent effective," Sanders said. "It’s not necessarily that people are not getting <br />vaccinated and therefore, we’re getting all of these cases coming in. It’s just that if they get it, their <br />symptoms will be much worse.” <br />Sanders said although it’s too early in the 2019-2020 school year to know current immunization rates, <br />Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools hope to have 100 percent compliance of all students by the 30th day of <br />school. <br />“The benefits far outweigh the risk,” Sanders said. “Vaccinations are the number one defense against <br />many communicable diseases that can be deadly.”