Vaccine policy provides safe environment
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2000, the United States declared that the disease measles was eliminated, which means the disease was not present in the country.
In 2014 there were 644 cases of measles in the United States, and with recent outbreaks in California, specifically the one at Disneyland, questions have been raised as to why measles is back in the United States and if people are safe from the disease.
Measles is a respiratory disease that causes a rash and fever and is rarely deadly according to the CDC. It spreads in the U.S. mainly by unvaccinated people who travel outside of the country, contract the disease and come back into the country.
This means a smaller percentage of people are vaccinated now then in 2000. Jennifer Shiring, nurse director of Student Health Services, said things like religion, medical reactions to vaccines and fear of rare side effects keep people from vaccinating their children and themselves.
“I think measles is one of the vaccines that is pretty standard,” Shiring said. “Most students coming in do have it. It is a concern because look at the number compared to the year 2000 and how many outbreaks there have been just this year.”
A main reason Shiring believes people are not vaccinating their children is because of what she calls “the myth” that the measles vaccine, called the MMR, can cause autism.
“There have been a lot of rumors and things out there saying that the MMR vaccine causes autism,” Shiring said. “It was later found out to be false because the study wasn’t a good study. But there’s still that myth out there that the MMR vaccine could cause autism, and parents are then choosing not to vaccinate their children.”
Shiring said despite the recent commotion about vaccinations, Waynesburg University has yet to have a problem with anything related to the spread of diseases.
“We do require the recommended immunizations based on the American Academy of Pediatrics. Combined with the CDC, they get together each year and they say these are the recommended immunizations by this date,” Shiring said.
Shiring said before students enroll at Waynesburg they are required to inform the school of their vaccination status.
Waynesburg requires the tetanus, measles, hepatitis B, chicken pox and polio vaccines. The meningococcal vaccine, the hepatitis A vaccine and the human papillomavirus infection vaccine are vaccinations that are recommended by the university for students to have.
According to Shiring, Waynesburg University has a 97% vaccination rate, which she believes is higher because some students who have been vaccinated have not turned in their medical forms.
“There are a few people for medical reasons or religious reasons who are not vaccinated,” Shiring said. “But if there is an outbreak on campus those students would have to go off campus if they aren’t vaccinated.”
Mike Humiston, director of the Department of Public Safety, said step one for the Department of Public Safety if a student has the measles-or another disease that is highly contagious-would be to contact Shiring to figure out the best solution to keep the students safe, even if that means removing unvaccinated students from campus.
Humiston said Waynesburg has not had any problems and they do not anticipate any problems in regards to the spread of diseases such as the measles.
“I think the university does a very good job with communicating with the students with regards to immunizations,” Humiston said. “In spite of what somebody’s beliefs are, our job is to protect the masses of the students.”
Humiston said the policy for vaccinations at Waynesburg University is good at protecting the masses of the students, but if something were to happen the university could always reevaluate the policy to keep the students as safe as possible.