Page 132 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2015

HEALTHY LIVING giving it our best shot
Going to school in Mississippi? Children must have vaccinations
story by Ed Lepoma photos by Katherine Swetman and courtesy of Mississippi Department of Health
hile Mississippi ranks
at the bottom of many social and economic indicators, it’s at the top of the list in the drive
to eliminate childhood diseases through early immunization.
So, if you’re moving here from another state, you need to know your child must be immunized to attend private and public schools in Mississippi.
applies to daycare facilities that are licensed by the state.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting 28 doses of 10 vaccines for children from birth to six years old.
Dr. Van Wurm, chairman of
the Pediatrics Department
at Ocean Springs Hospital, wholeheartedly agrees.
“Although no medical
intervention is 100 percent
effective or risk free, vaccines
are among the safest and
most effective medical interventions available,” he
said. “The vaccines protect against 16 different diseases. Many dreaded diseases are now effectively rare thanks to modern vaccines.”
He pointed out that in 1952 there were 58,000 cases of paralytic polio in the United States resulting in more than 3,000 deaths. “From 2002 to 2008, there was only one case of paralytic polio recorded in the U.S.,”
he said.
The Center for Disease Control
estimates that 732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood diseases were prevented between 1944 and
2014.
Opponents argue that
children’s immune systems can deal with most infections naturally, and that injecting questionable vaccines into a child may cause side effects, including seizures, paralysis, autism and sometimes death.
Liz Sharlot
According to Liz Sharlot, communications director for
the Mississippi Department
of Health, “Mississippi and West Virginia have the strongest
Dr. Van Wurm
immunization policies for school entry. To attend any school in Mississippi you need to have your vaccines.”
While some states allow exemptions for religious, health or philosophical differences, Sharlot said a medical exemption might be granted for valid health reasons, “but the exemption
is rare.” The strict requirement also
Dr. Wurm contends, “There is no link between vaccinations and autism and these other illnesses.”
He noted that prior to coming to market, vaccines undergo a series
of evaluations that involve years
of testing by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. After vaccines are licensed, they are continuously monitored for safety and effectiveness.
132 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • August 2015
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