VACCINE EXCEMPTION Q's Answered (TX Dept of Health)

VACCINATION INFORMATION

http://www.vaccineinfo.net is the best source of information we have about vaccination in Texas. Most issues are discussed or linked to other sites.

Vaccinations are mandated by the Texas Department of Health for all school children. However, the State has vaccine exemption affidavits available to anyone who wishes to make the choice to not be vaccinated or vaccinate their children. Public schools may not require vaccinations and must admit any child who submits a Texas Department of Health Vaccine Exemption Affidavit by law.

Here are some questions and answers directly copied from the Texas Department of Health http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize/school/default.shtm

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Vaccine Exemption for Reasons of Conscience

Q. How do I obtain a vaccine exemption for reasons of conscience for my child?
A. Parents or guardians need to request a vaccine exemption affidavit form in writing. Each child’s name and date of birth must be included in the request. The requests must be submitted through the U.S. Postal Service, commercial carrier or hand delivered to:

Texas Department of Health
Bureau of Immunization and Pharmacy Support
1100 W. 49th Street
Austin, Texas 78756

Q. What if I have already submitted a request for a vaccine exemption affidavit form by e-mail or fax?
A. Any request submitted by e-mail or fax will need to be resubmitted in writing and sent through the U.S. Postal Service, commercial carrier or hand delivered to the above address.

Q. How many vaccine exemption affidavit forms can a parent or guardian request at one time?
A. Parents or guardians can request up to five vaccine exemption affidavit forms per child.

Q. What information will be listed on the vaccine exemption affidavit form I receive?
A. Information on the form will include the child’s name; date of birth; a list of vaccines for which exemptions may be requested; a statement for the requesting parent or guardian to indicate their relationship to the child; and an acknowledgement that the parent or guardian has read attached information entitled The Benefits and Risks of Vaccinations. Parents or guardians will then have to sign the form in front of a notary public.

Q. What will happen to the information collected on each child?
A. Requests submitted to TDH will be destroyed once vaccine exemption affidavit forms are mailed to parents or guardians. TDH will track and report on the number of affidavit requests but no personal information will be maintained.

Q. What should parents or guardians do with the vaccine exemption affidavit form?
A After the original vaccine exemption affidavit form is signed and notarized, it must be submitted to the child’s school.

Q. For how long is each child’s individual exemption affidavit valid?
A.Each individual vaccine exemption affidavit is good for five years from the date notarized.

Q. What happens if the parent or school loses the original vaccine exemption affidavit?
A. Photocopies of the vaccine exemption affidavit form are not valid. If parents or schools lose the exemption affidavit, the parent or guardian needs to request another vaccine exemption affidavit in writing following the same procedures used to obtain the first form.

Q. What if my child changes schools?
A. The vaccine exemption affidavit is part of the child’s school records and should be sent to the new school with other school records.

Q. Does a child have a 90-day provisional enrollment in school while awaiting the vaccine exemption form?
A. No. TEA policy requires school districts to provisionally enroll for no more than 30 days, those students whose parents or guardians wish to claim exemption from vaccine requirements for reasons of conscience.

Q. What happens at the end of the 30-day provisional enrollment period?
A. Once the 30-day provisional enrollment period ends, parents or guardians must present an official notarized TDH affidavit form, an up-to-date immunization record or a physician’s affidavit of medical contraindication to school officials to attend school. If parents or guardians cannot produce one of these three documents, their child will be excluded from attendance.

Q. What is required for school enrollment if I want my child exempt from some vaccines but not all of them?
A. Two different immunization documents will be needed: 1) an official notarized TDH vaccine exemption affidavit for those vaccines the parent or guardian has chosen for reasons of conscience to have their child exempt from; and 2) a valid immunization record indicating the month, date and year each vaccine for which the child is not exempt was administered, with appropriate validation by a physician or public health clinic.

Q. If a child currently has a religious exemption for vaccinations on file with the school, do they need to obtain a new vaccine exemption for reasons of conscience affidavit?
A. No. Students who are currently exempt from vaccination for religious beliefs and already have an affidavit on file at the school they attend do not need a new vaccine exemption affidavit form. The religious exemption on file remains valid.

Q. What if there is a vaccine-preventable disease—such as measles—outbreak at a school?
A. Each parent or guardian who signs a vaccine exemption affidavit form also is acknowledging they understand that their child may be excluded from school attendance in times of emergency or epidemic declared by the Texas Commissioner of Health.

Q. Does this new vaccine exemption option mean that my vaccinated child may be attending school with other children who are not fully vaccinated?
A. Yes.

Q. Can an expectant parent request a vaccination exemption affidavit form for an unborn child?
A. No. Because the child’s name and date of birth is required when the vaccine exemption affidavit form is requested, expectant parents must wait until after the child is born to request the vaccine exemption affidavit form.

Q. Can schools accept any other documents, other than a TDH vaccine exemption affidavit for reasons of conscience, to exempt a child from vaccination requirements for enrollment?
A. Yes. In addition to the vaccine exemption for reasons of conscience or religion, parents or guardians also may present for their child an affidavit or certificate signed by a licensed physician, which states that, in the physician's opinion, the immunization required would be injurious to the child’s health and well-being or any of the child’s family or household member. Unless a lifelong condition is specified, this affidavit or certificate is valid for only one year from the date signed by the physician and must be renewed every year for the exclusion to remain in effect.

Q. Are there other reasons a child may be exempted from vaccination requirements?
A. A child may be exempt from one or more vaccinations for medical reasons. The parent or guardian must provide the school with a certificate signed by a physician, registered and licensed to practice medicine in Texas, which states that, in the physician’s opinion, the immunization required would be injurious to the child’s health and well-being or to any of the child’s family or household members. Unless a lifelong condition is specified, that certificate is valid for one year from the date signed by the physician and must be renewed every year for the exclusion to remain in effect.

TEXAS VACCINE EXEMPTION INFORMATION
2005-2006 Texas Vaccine Exemption Information
The state of Texas in law grants and acknowledges the right of parents to exempt their children from vaccination requirements for day care, school, and college for reasons of conscience including a religious belief or for medical reasons. In 2003, the Texas legislature passed changes to the statutes expanding the reasons a parent can claim an exemption but the Health Department has questionably also increased the bureaucratic red tape necessary for claiming the exemption. There are specific procedures for requesting an official state form and submitting it to the school or for completing a medical exemption that all take some time so please don't wait until the last minute to get your papers in order.

For everyone claiming an exemption for the first time after 9/1/03, you must comply with the new law. If you've submitted an old religious exemption prior to 9/1/03 you are grandfathered under the old law (see notes below) and do not need a new form. The vaccine exemption forms for reasons of conscience including a religious belief are only for students claiming a vaccine exemption for the first time after 9/1/03 when the new law went into effect. If you need to request forms from the state health department, you can do it by fax, mail, or personal visit. If you send it by mail, we suggest sending it registered mail with a receipt so you can keep track of your request. If you send it by fax, set your fax machine to print out a delivery receipt. We would like to keep track of the Health Department's processing time.

According to the Texas Dept. of Health:
Written requests must be submitted through the U.S. Postal Service, commercial carrier, fax at (512) 458-7544 , or by hand-delivery to:
1946
DSHS Immunization Branch
1100 West 49th Street
Austin, Texas 78756

Hand-delivered requests may be submitted to the DSHS, Immunization Branch, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. ALL affidavit forms will be mailed to you via U.S. Postal Service. No requests will be filled at the time of hand-delivery.
Affidavit form requests will be processed and mailed within one week from the receipt of the request. If additional information is needed in order to process the affidavit, you will be notified;
The letter must include the following information:
•Full name of each child for whom a form is requested (first, middle, and last);
•Date of birth of each child for whom a form is requested;
•Parent or legal guardian’s complete return mailing address, including zip code;
•Number of forms needed for each child (not to exceed five forms per child)
Electronic mail or telephone requests cannot be processed.

The official Texas Department of State Health Services affidavit form must be notarized and submitted to school officials. The form must be submitted within 90 days from the date it is notarized.

The school will accept only official affidavit forms developed and issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Immunization Branch.. No other forms or reproductions will be allowed.

(SOURCE: http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/immunize/school_exclusion.htm)
IT IS OUR OPINION THAT PARENTS SHOULD OBTAIN A WRITTEN NOTE FROM THE SCHOOL ACKNOWLEDGING RECEIPT OF THE EXEMPTION FORM. IF THE SCHOOL LOOSES THE FORM THEY CAN KICK YOUR KIDS OUT OF SCHOOL. IF YOU HAVE A WRITTEN RECEIPT FROM THE SCHOOL THAT YOU SUBMITTED THE FORM, YOU CAN PUT THE RESPONSIBILITY BACK ON THE SCHOOL TO GO FIND IT AND KEEP YOUR CHILD IN SCHOOL.

It is also our opinion that the department is outside of the law requiring that parents submit their children's names to get a form especially since the law requires the department to develop a blank form. They are also exceeding their authority in the statute by putting 2 year expirations on the new forms as the statute specifies no expiration. This bullying behavior is putting the department at risk for a legal challenge. However, for now, until this is legally challenged, these are the dictatorial procedures the DSHS has set up.

School officials around the state, ignoratn of the facts, are denying kids admission to school if they have an old religious exemption affidavit saying they need one of the new forms from the health department. THIS IS NOT TRUE! If you hear this is happening in your district, please call the superintendent's office and give them this link to the state health department where it clearly says you don't need a new form. Also, when you transfer schools, the old religious exemption letter is still part of your child's record and you do not need a new one as long as it was part of your child's record prior to 9/1/03.
http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/immunize/docs/faq_exemption.pdf

On the bottom of page 2, it says:
Q. If a child currently has a religious exemption for vaccinations on file with the school, do they need to obtain a new vaccine exemption for reasons of conscience affidavit?
A. No. Students who are currently exempt from vaccination for religious beliefs and already have an affidavit on file at the school they attend do not need a new vaccine exemption affidavit form. The religious exemption on file remains valid.
Also on page 2 it says:

Q. What if my child changes schools?
A. The vaccine exemption affidavit is part of the child’s school records and should be sent to the new school with other school records.

Additionally, some schools, daycare facilities and colleges are saying they don't have to accept the exemption. This is wrong - the law grants parents this right and the schools and daycares can't take this right away. For your convenience, we've posted links to the state statutes directly below.

The other option for parents to exempt their child from state immunization requirements is with a medical exemption written by a doctor. This is intended for families with children with health concerns or a past history of reactions. While this option bypasses the bureaucratic red tape with the new conscientious/religious exemption, the pressures on doctors to not write these are great and it may be difficult to get a doctor who acknowledges a vaccine reaction to substantiate that in writing by issuing an exemption because of pressures being put on them to deny acknowledgement of vaccine reactions.

Regardless, most families and physicians are not aware the exemption statute was greatly expanded last session to make it much easier for a doctor to write to protect a child from future reactions. No longer do they have to say the vaccine would definitively harm the child but that it instead poses a risk to the child. Any M.D. or D.O. licensed to practice medicine in the United States can write the letter stating that "in the physician's opinion, the vaccine required poses a significant risk to the health and well-being of the child or any member of the child's household." If the letter also says this is for a lifelong condition, (the condition does not need to be named) the exemption never has to be renewed. Otherwise it has to be renewed annually. The doctor just needs to write it out on a piece of paper and sign it. In this case, you can keep the original and give the school a copy.

Here is a sample medical exemption letter:

Medical Exemption to Immunization
In my opinion, the required immunizations pose a significant risk to the health and well-being of (name of child). This is a lifelong exemption for lifelong conditions.
Doctor's name, signature, and date

Laws Which Allow For Exclusions from Vaccine Requirements
Children and Education including Colleges:
•Texas Education Code, Health and Safety Chapter Section 38.0001 - Immunization Requirement Exceptions
•Texas Education Code, Title 3 Higher Education Section Chapter 51.933 - Immunization Requirements; Exceptions
•Texas Administrative Code Title 25 Part 1 Section 97 - Immunization Requirements in Texas Elementary and Secondary Schools and Institutes of Higher Education
(this section contains vaccine requirements by rule, provisional enrollment, and exemptions)

Day Care:
•Human Resource Code, Section 42.043 - Rules for Immunizations and Exemptions
Health Care Providers:
•Texas Administrative Code Title 25 Part 1 Rule § 97.101- Statewide Immunization of Children by Hospitals, Physicians, and other Health Care Providers
State of Texas:
•Texas Health and Safety Code, Section 161.004 - Statewide Immunization of Children

Other State Information
Texas Vaccine Exemption Information for the 2004 School Year - CLICK HERE:
www.vaccineinfo.net/exemptions/exemptions2004.shtml
Texas Vaccine Exemption Information for the 2003 School Year - CLICK HERE:
www.vaccineinfo.net/exemptions/exemptions2003.shtml