Vermont schools report low vaccination rates

Laura Slesar is comfortable sending her kids to the Lake Champlain Waldorf School.

Her two children, in seventh and eleventh grades, get a different kind of education there, she said.

It's an education, the school says, where children learn to think critically, act ethically, communicate early and problem-solve well.

So when she saw that only 50.4 percent of the private school's 232 students have had the measles vaccination, she was unfazed.

"As a parent, I don't worry, because I know the school would notify parents if anyone were really sick," Slesar said.

The vaccination rate at the Waldorf School, a private pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school in Shelburne, is the lowest among Chittenden County's public and private schools, according to Vermont Health Department data.

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The 50.4 percent level is well below what is considered safe by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health officials. Any vaccination rate below 90 percent is considered too low for "herd immunity" to be in place at the kindergarten level, according to the CDC. Such immunity protects those who can't get vaccinated, including infants or those with immune deficiencies.

Shelburne's Waldorf School is one of more than a dozen Vermont schools with an MMR vaccination rate below what officials consider safe, the data show.

MORE: Low vaccination rates at schools put students at risk

Two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are recommended, said Chris Finley, immunization program chief at the Vermont Health Department. The first dose is administered between 12-15 months of age, and a second dose between 4-6 years of age, she said. If a student has received only one dose, that student would not count as meeting state requirements.

The 50.4 percent of students at the Waldorf School accounts for the children who have received both doses, he said. While that percentage seems low, students could have received one dose of the vaccine at a younger age. That is 95 percent effective, she said.

Andrea Bayer, administrative director for the Waldorf School, said the school takes no position on vaccinations. The school follows the immunization requirements put in place by the Vermont Department of Health. Any student that fails to comply with requirements must have an exemption, she said.

The school does not track the types of exemptions parents have for vaccines, Bayer said. Exemptions can be philosophical, religious or medical.

"That is a decision made between parents and doctors, and we are not involved," she said.

Rates vary

The Waldorf School isn't alone in having low vaccination rates. Data from the Health Department show more than a dozen other Vermont public and private schools with MMR vaccination rates below what officials consider safe.

A majority of public schools in Vermont have near perfect vaccination rates, ranging from 80 percent to 100 percent of students vaccinated for MMR, according to the Health Department. Private school data show MMR rates vary widely, from 23 percent to 100 percent of students vaccinated.

Elsewhere, according to state data:

•At Windham Elementary School, a public school in Townshend, 60 percent of the school's 15 students have received two doses of the MMR vaccine.

•66 percent of the 51 students at Bennington School had received the vaccine.

•At the Central Vermont High School Initiative in Plainfield, 23.5 percent of the school's 17 students met the state requirement.

•Another Waldorf School, Orchard Valley Waldorf School in East Montpelier, also reported a low vaccination rate: 40.6 percent the school's 138 students are fully immunized against measles.

Parents: No concern

Despite the figures, parents from the Lake Champlain Waldorf School said there is no concern.

"It's funny, because it sounds really dramatic when you say the percentage, but it really isn't because of the school that the low percentage rate exists," Slesar said. "Most vaccines happen before school age and before students even step through the door at the Waldorf school."

In the Waldorf School, everyone knows each other, she said. The small, tight-knit environment helps her feel at ease. If someone is contagious in class, Slesar said, she's confident the school would notify parents.

"The school is on top of it, and it helps that we all know each other," she said. "I can call parents and figure out if our kids have been together and if there is any exposure risk."

In a private school such as Waldorf — where children learn string instruments, carve wooden bowls and feed the school's chickens — Bayer, the school's administrative director, said she doesn't think the type of education at Waldorf attracts parents disinclined to vaccinate their kids.

Tarn Foerg, a Shelburne resident and mother of two Waldorf students, echoed Bayer's thoughts. Whenever a parent has the opportunity to choose between a public or a private school, there is more thought involved and more options available, she said.

"Maybe that's a little different than going somewhere where there may be a lot of pressure to do exactly what you're supposed to do," Foerg said.

Exemptions allowed

In Vermont, parents have the right to choose whether to vaccinate their children, for reasons either philosophical or religious. Some children cannot receive vaccines due to medical problems, and schools can allow students to be admitted provisionally, meaning the child has no exemption and lacks the required vaccine. Those are all factors that could lead to a low percentage of vaccinated students at the Waldorf School, said Finley, the immunization program chief.

Lawmakers at the Vermont Statehouse plan to introduce a bill that would eliminate the philosophical exemption altogether, but Gov. Peter Shumlin says he opposes the effort. The state previously had conversations about rolling back the exemption as recently as 2012.

According to the Health Department, in the 2013-14 school year, 102 of the 467 children entering kindergarten in Vermont private schools had not received the required two doses of MMR vaccine. Of the 102 students who failed to comply with requirements, 55 percent of them cited a philosophical exemption, and 5 percent exempted for religious reasons. No students were exempt for medical reasons, but 40 percent of students were provisionally admitted, Finley said.

In the same year, 493 children out of the 6,304 students entering kindergarten in public schools had one or no doses of the MMR vaccine. Of those 493 children, 39 percent had a philosophical exemption, 2 percent had a religious exemption and 1 percent were exempt for medical reasons. Finley said 58 percent of students were provisionally admitted.

Nationally, philosophical or religious exemptions have increased 37 percent, according to the CDC.

Foerg said that although she chose to vaccinate her two children, she respects the decision other parents have made. Choosing to skip vaccinations is a personal choice, she said, and one that parents at the Waldorf school do not make lightly.

"I feel strongly that parents are making educated decisions and not just saying, 'I don't do vaccinations,' " Foerg said.

Until recently, measles cases were rare in the U.S., but in the wake of an outbreak that has sickened more than 100 people in 14 states, advocates say they need local data to better protect themselves and their children.

The Vermont Health Department has made vaccination rate data available on its website for public and private schools throughout the state.

Bayer, the school's administrative director, said the Waldorf School does not make that information available for parents and has never been asked for the data by visiting parents. If asked, Bayer said she would point parents to the Health Department website.

"We have a fairly educated parent body," she said. "It's their decision, and we don't get involved."

School choice is about more than vaccination rates, Foerg said. When asked if she would make the decision to send her children to a different private school with a higher vaccination rate, Foerg said that wouldn't be a factor. We live in a global society, she said, and these cyclical illnesses do occur.

"I respect that the CDC and Health Department are encouraging people to consider all of the information, but I also believe that the parents who aren't vaccinating are considering that information," she said. "They are listening; they may just be choosing to do something different."

Contact Haley Dover at 660-1850 or hdover@freepressmedia.com. Follow Haley on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HaleyRDover.

Clarifications and corrections:

An earlier version was unclear and changed to better reflect attribution. The information about the Waldorf education being one where students can think critically, act ethically, communicate early and problem solve well is paraphrased from the school's website. It should not be attributed to Waldorf parent Laura Slesar.