VCH's Dr. Althea Hayden not in favour of mandatory vaccinations, but instead mandatory proof of vaccinations

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A petition asking for vaccines to be mandatory for children going to public schools in B.C. has reached over 30,000 signatures.

Mom Katie Clunn started circulating the petition after Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed there had been a case of measles in Vancouver. Since then, eight cases have been confirmed.

Clunn says children that are not vaccinated put their classmates at risk, and unless they have a medical reason not to get one, vaccines should be mandatory for enrollment. At the very least, she says schools should collect information on which children have their immunizations up to date.

When asked about the possibility of mandatory vaccinations, Dr. Althea Hayden with VCH says she’d instead be in favour of mandatory proof of vaccinations.

“Mandatory proof means that in order to register your child for school you have to either declare that you are purposefully not vaccinating them, or provide your vaccine record,” she says. “Mandatory vaccination means that if you are a conscientious objector you cannot enroll your child in school.”

Hayden says excluding a child from school is a big burden, considering it’s not the child’s decision.