Religions that don't immunize kids?

I got a kid today who had no shot record. When I asked about it I found out that the family has a religious belief of not immunizing. Anyone know what religion this might be? I want to make sure I'm being respectful to this child's religion but I'm not sure what it might be. Thanks!

 

They could be Christians... some just go to that extreme that prayer is the best medicine. It doesn't necessarily mean they are some extreme world religion. I had neighbors when I was younger who avoided shots and they are Christians.

 

Don't worry too much about being respectful-I am sure you are. If they have any particular practices they would like you to honor, they will let you know!

 

I have one child who doesn't have shot records, or celebrate any holidays except for the religious ones. His mom doesnt want us discussing birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving or anything like that. She normally keeps him home around the holiday times and when we celebrate them at school. Im not even sure what his religion is.

 

Are these kids admitted into public schools? I thought that was a requirement.

 

I believe that it's a Jehovah's Witness belief to not get immunizations, although as previously stated that doesn't mean this student is a JW...

 

Some people are against vaccinations, my husband and many of his grad school classmates included. They may use the "religious" exemption if its the only way to get past the requirement.

 

You can get a waiver from the immunizations but if that disease shows up in the community those children are not supposed to be allowed in school.

 

JWs get immunizations. They changed their rules in 1952.

 

I have a student this year who is the same way. I think their family just doesn't want them to have them.

 

Apparently I'm behind the times then :lol:

 

Here's an article on it:

http://www.cmda.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=10060&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

And I'm pretty sure scmom is right: you can get a waiver, but if the disease shows up, your kids are quarantined for the duration.

 

Amanda!! HI!! Good to see you!

Anyway, my friend refuses to vaccinate her kids for this reason.

 

This makes me so freaking angry. I don't give a flip what someone's religion is, they should have to have the vaccines since people like me have to. I was in a 2-day coma from mumps/rubella and had serious effects from at least 2 others at various stages. The schools insisted even when the doctors said it was too risky. The only options we had were private school or admitting me to the hospital for overnight observation in case I went into a coma.

Families go through all of THAT (I had to do every shot once when we moved because the military lost all my medical records and Las Vegas schools would not accept the copies my mom had) I had to do this again 4 yrs ago because of the time since I had a couple of them when I was admitted to state university; luckily I didn't have any reaction other than a rash this time, but I had to stay in the hospital overnight to be safe.), yet kids get a religious exemption? Also, some of them are not vegan, and they don't allow that as a reason either. So, if going into a possible coma because of a proven medical history and ethical reasons are not enough, why is religion?

Don't get me wrong, I am all for supporting religious freedom and allowing people to practice their beliefs, but I am also in favor of people not being forced to do medically unsafe/dangerous things. Fair is far.

 

Nevada didn't allow it in 1980, and Virginia didn't allow it in 1994. If that has changed, that is a very good thing.

I have to get the swine flu vaccine, but I am terrified. My dad has a very compromised immune system and I can't risk bringing stuff home to him. I am worried about this as a new teacher, even though I am always healthy and haven't even had a common cold in at least 6 or 7 years.

 

I do believe all states issue exemptions of one form or another. One of my children needed a medical exemption and I just assumed that I would do what needed to be done to keep her healthy. So, she has not had some of the immunizations but, of course, is allowed in school. Why would I give her something that could seriously hurt or even kill her?
Here is a table that lists the exemptions other than medical by state.

http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14376

 

You do have options. You are right - you should not be forced to do something that is dangerous to your health.

Many people take a religious exemption for that very reason, not because of their religious beliefs. In my state, there is no philosophical exemption, just a religious one. But you are not required to be part of an organized religion to take it. You just have to write down your religious beliefs. That's easy enough. You can look up the beliefs of Christian Scientists, and write them down on the exemption form.

It's great that we live in this country which was founded on religious freedom, because no one will question your religious beliefs. So you can get out of mandatory vaccinations, which, frankly, are a violation of our rights.

 

I just found it odd that this family didn't have their child immunized. I can totally understand not doing it because of medical issues. However, I would think even religions would want their people safe and healthy. I'd hate for my kid who doesn't get immunized to get sick but I hope the other kids, staff, and myself won't get sick because of him. I've heard that his older sister stays sick. It just seems ridiculous for any reason other than medical.

 

You are assuming that being vaccinated will make you safe and healthy. Many people disagree.

Do you believe in the efficacy of vaccinations? Apparently you don't. Because if you did, then why would you be worried about getting sick?

 

I think parents just need to take time to educate themselves. I am always amazed that parents in our state don't know that they can sign a waiver for vaccinations. We have students get excluded from school every year because they aren't up to date on their vaccines.

I agree that no one should ever be required to be injected with something.

The number of vaccines that are "required" now is staggering. I sure don't trust the drug companies.

 

In one of my special education classes a parent spoke to us about her son who has autism. She believes that the reason he has autism is because of the way he received his vaccines and decided not to have her second child have them. If I remember right she had to fill out a ton of paperwork about it and why she wasn't doing it.

 

A LOT of people belive that autism can be caused by the MMR vaccination. Even though the original study has been refuted (and I believe it was refuted by one of the original authors) the connection is still thought to exist.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090303396.html

not exactly the link I want, but I have a crying child on my lap at the moment.

The point is, these parents aren't merely superstitious or uncaring or uneducated-- there was a study, and lots of anectdotal evidence, linking MMR and autism. That doesn't mean the vaccines cause the disorder, but it does give lots of parents reason to be cautious.

edited to add: OK, here's an article about the authors of the original study denying the link: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/328/7440/602-c

 

The child that I was referring to actually has autism and doesnt have any of his vaccinations.

 

despite the fact that the research has not shown that to be the case...

 

I'm glad this issue has gotten easier to deal with over the last 20 years. Admittedly, my experiences are out of date. A religious exemption in Nevada back in the 80s required letters from clergy with longstanding relationship. You had to be able to prove I think 5 years continuous involvement with the religion, but I could be wrong on the figure.

I'm probably ok for any vaccines now other than my aversion to them. The side effects seem to be more severe for kids, and I didn't have any serious issues with the last ones I had, including some I needed for a 3 month stay in Mexico City.

I'm really not sure what I would do if I had kids. I think vaccines do a great deal of good, but they do scare me. The percentages though are on the side of getting them done, but that isn't much comfort if your kid is one of the tiny % who has one.

 

I forget where I got this, but it sums up the whole tiny-chance-of-a-problem issue pretty well:

"2% are good odds-- unless you're one of the 2. Then it becomes 100%."

My kids are all immunized, even though Brian had a reaction to the MMR (thankfully it was just a high fever and things along those lines.) We did our research, and took the advice of a pediatrician we respect highly, and the kids were all fine.

But there's enough room for doubt that I can understand the concerns of some. And some people, particularly those who have survived Measles, Mumps or Rubella (I had the 1st 2 as a kid) would rather take their chances with a rough 2 weeks being sick than a child who is autistic for life.

But I do have a question: why don't parents who are hesitant about MMR just choose to get the 3 vaccines separately? I've never heard of issues with the individual vaccines, just the MMR. So why not just break them up? There's obviously a perfectly good answer out there somewhere. I'm pretty sure they've removed the mercury, so that's no longer the issue.

 

I lost my hearing from an immunization shot.

 

Ouch. Which vaccine? And do they know for sure that it was the vaccine that caused it?

 

Thanks Amanda. I knew there had to be an answer to such an obvious question.

 

They are reasonably sure this is what caused it. I had a high fever and it was noted 3 days later I was suddenly deaf. I recently found out I have an enlarged vestubular acquedut so I was probably already predisposed. This was the DPT shot. Many kids in the 70's had side effects from it. My oldest child only had the pediatric DpT as a result. Later when I found out that shot wasn't using live vaccines anymore, I upgraded his immunization.

Alice, not everyone will do as much research into each individual shot. They will do a blanket research and realize that as a whole immunizations do cause a lot of problems in a select percentage of people. That fear is enough for some people. I recently had to get an immunization before they operated on my head area. Again, I was one of those 1% chances. I did my research though and found out the vaccine was largely safe even for those who had the side effect. There was still a chance of serious effects but I read what the symptoms were and that it was treatable if caught in time. In other words, if I had trouble breathing call 9-1-1. Don't wait.

 

let me share your frustration. I homeschool my children. However I believe in imunizing my kids........... and let me tell you that I'm the oddball for doing so. (so I feel). I do understand the fear of some imunizations and how they have side effects. But I think the epidemic of not imunizing is gonna bite us in the butt as a whole.:unsure:

 

Yep. I tried to get the separate vaccines for my son and couldn't. Before Merck stopped production, we had a doctor lined up who was willing to purchase the separate vaccines for us. When it came time to get the vaccine, we found out it was unavailable.

I think I've spent more time researching vaccines than almost any other issue since I've become a parent. Yet, still, I feel like I know so little. It is almost impossible to find unbiased information on the subject.

 

I have not read the entire thread but I can't have immunizations due to severe allergic reactions to the synthetic binders they use. In college I had to put religious exemption because I was on a time restriction and couldn't get my medical records sent over fast enough. The medical exemption required medical records and the religious only required you to sign a statement.

As an adult I have been offered alternatives to the old immunizations I had reactions to but I declined those for personal reasons. I think we over immunize in America and I know of many parents that feel the same way.

ETA: When I have children I plan to vaccinate, however I won't follow the schedule they typically push. I plan to look for individual vaccines rather than groups and delay many of them. There is just too much research on how viruses are causing cancer (the other "causes" are actually more of a trigger) as well as all the other issues vaccines can cause. I want my children to have as much time as possible to develop their immune systems naturally without being bombarded with vaccines.