Unvaccinated kids banned from Indiana school due to measles 'outbreak'

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: measles, outbreak, vaccinations

(NaturalNews) Mass hysteria over a measles outbreak in Hamilton County, Indiana, has led county health officials there to irrationally prohibit all unvaccinated children from attending two public schools. According to reports, 21 preschool-age students, seven elementary-age students, and 26 intermediate-age students in the Noblesville Schools District will not be allowed to attend either White River Elementary School or Noblesville Intermediate School, the two schools where there have been confirmed cases of measles, unless they either get the combination measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, or wait until 21 days after the last confirmed case of the disease is remediated.

Officials believe the outbreak first began as a result of two infected individuals who attended the recent Super Bowl in Indianapolis. It has since spread to 13 people in the Hoosier state, all of whom reportedly live in either Boone or Hamilton counties. And the two confirmed cases in schoolchildren has led to drastic measures that unfairly discriminate against students who have not been vaccinated for measles, some of whom are allergic to the vaccine.

"One confirmed case in a school setting constitutes an outbreak and will trigger outbreak procedures as designated by the state and local health department," read a memo from Carmel Clay Schools, a nearby school district that plans to ban unvaccinated students from its schools as well, should there be a confirmed measles case in the district. As of this writing, however, there have been no confirmed cases outside the two Noblesville schools.

The so-called procedures for handling measles outbreaks involve barring students and even teachers that have not complied with the state-sponsored vaccine schedule from attending school, despite the fact that Indiana law provisions for individuals to opt out of vaccines for both medical and religious reasons. Five of the unvaccinated students reportedly have religious exemptions on file with the school district, while the others are presumably exempt for medical reasons.

In the collective mind of the state, refusal by some students to get vaccinated somehow represents a threat to other students, even though those other students have been vaccinated. Prohibiting unvaccinated students from attending school on the grounds that they will spread the disease further makes no sense, as though who are vaccinated are said to already have protection against the disease.

And oddly enough, most or all of those who have already contracted the measles in Indiana as part of the current outbreak have likely been vaccinated as well, which just goes to show the sheer hypocrisy of the vaccine pushers in trying to coerce everyone to get vaccinated for their own protection.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.wishtv.com

http://www.indystar.com

http://www.nvic.org/Vaccine-Laws/state-vaccine-requirements.aspx