August 2017 | www.santabarbarafamilylife.com | Santa Barbara Family & Life | 5
More SB County kids getting vaccinations Sam Goldman
explained, a more effective approach is the “take one for the team” mentality of protecting the vulnerable — communicated on a more personal level. eversing a recent trend, vaccination Though lawmakers and health professionals rates in California have quickly have cheered SB 277’s effectiveness, it quickclimbed again, which medical and ly prompted a local lawsuit filed by 17 parents school officials credit to new community and four nonprofit organizations representing outreach efforts and a recent state law barring parents who say they were affected by the law. personal-belief exemptions from school The plaintiffs sued then-Santa Barbara vaccination requirements. County Public Health director Dr. Takashi In Santa Barbara County, the number of kinWada; Public Health Officer Dr. Charity dergarten students receiving all their shots rose Dean; the state Department of Education; 1.5 percent over the last year to 96.4 percent its superintendent, Tom Torlakson; the state for the 2016-17 school year, according to the Board of Education; the state Department California Public Health Department. of Public Health; and its director, Dr. Karen Following a 2014 measles outbreak that Smith. started at Disneyland, state legislators passed Though the plaintiffs argued that the law and Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Senate denied children access to school and violated Bill 277, which mandates that all children in parents’ right to bring up their children in acpublic or private school receive the required Photo by Sam Goldman cordance with their personal beliefs, they soon vaccines before starting kindergarten or advoluntarily dismissed their lawsuit, in August. vancing to seventh grade. The law also applies Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital’s Dr. Steven Barkley says Senate Bill 277 and outreach efforts have counteracted misplaced beliefs about vaccinations and the shortness of our “cultural memory.” Five days before that decision, a U.S. to childcare centers and nursery schools. District Court judge for the Southern District Though valid medical exemptions are at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Despite all the time, money and effort put of California denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a allowed, personal-belief and religious-belief The real goal of vaccines, he explained, into thoroughly debunking the idea, a signifpreliminary injunction that would have barred exemptions are no longer permitted. is not necessarily to prevent the vaccinated icant quirk of psychology means that skepthe state from enforcing the law. Senate Bill 277 went into effect in July, individual from having to spend a week in bed tical parents become even more doubtful of “Maintaining a high vaccination rate making California the third state behind West with the flu, but to protect those with imvaccines even when presented with irrefutable among children in our community is the Virginia and Mississippi to prohibit personmune-system deficiencies that make catching a data showing their safety and efficacy. most effective way to protect them against al-belief exemptions. preventable disease a life-threatening ordeal. Chastising them for their erroneous beliefs vaccine-preventable disease,” Dean said in State Public Health officials posited that This concept of “herd immunity,” where has been shown to only strengthen their skep- a statement. “And, it also protects the most the law, public awareness after the measles there are enough immunized people to halt ticism, Barkley said. vulnerable community members.” outbreak, and outreach efforts by local public the spread of a disease between susceptible “You don’t need too many people convinced health departments, schools and medical proindividuals, generally requires at least 95 that the behavioral change in their child was Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can viders were behind the jump in immunizations. percent of people to be vaccinated and spread temporarily related to their immunizations to be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Over the last two years, the state’s overall out at least somewhat evenly in the population, really scare a lot of people,” Barkley said. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, rate rose 5.2 percent to 95.6 percent. though the rate varies with each disease. Rather than focus on the potentially disastrous @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Santa Barbara County’s kindergarten vacWhile SB 277 certainly played a critical Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook. cine rate ranks around 18th out of California’s role, he said, a dedicated public outreach effort consequences of opposing vaccinations, he 58 counties, not all of which have full data spearheaded by Dr. Daniel Brennan, a pediavailable. atrician with Sansum Clinic, was crucial to Students with personal-belief exemptions turning the tide toward greater immunization. in the county peaked at 3 percent during the “From the point of view of a practicing phy2013-14 year, but now the number is below 1 sician, we were concerned that many of our percent, according to state data. schools were below the herd immunity rate of Another 0.6 percent of students are report95 percent,” Brennan told Noozhawk. edly exempt for specific medical reasons. Sansum, Cottage, the Santa Barbara County The law’s effects on local school districts Education Office, local schools and the county have varied. Public Health Department quickly jumped The transition was fairly smooth at the on board his campaign, dubbed Strive for Santa Barbara Unified School District, which 95, which aired TV and radio ads, did social held “robust communication with families” • HIKE about the changes, according to spokeswoman media outreach and organized a symposium at the Lobero Theatre. Lauren Bianchi Klemann. • CAMP Most of the campaign revolved around “sharThe district’s vaccination efforts were • KAYAK ing the scientific data that’s available and letting focused on parents who waited until the last • WHALE WATCH people read through and feel comfortable.” minute to immunize their kids, she said. But there was also a social approach: StickFor the 2015-16 school year, only 84 ers similar to the “I Voted” ones handed out at percent of Montecito Elementary School kindergartners had received all their vaccines, the polls were available to parents when they Full Day Trips, Half Day Trips took their kids in for shots. according to Shots for School, a website that or Camp on Local or Outer Islands Brennan posited that if moms and dads saw collects data on school vaccination and pertheir peers at school pick-ups, PTA meetings and sonal-belief exemption rates. other outings wearing the stickers, they may feel Another 11.3 percent had personal-belief more comfortable vaccinating their own kids. exemptions on file. One factor in parents’ decision not to immu“Montecito Union had an issue a few years nize was a loss of “cultural memory,” Barkley back with parents not wanting to immunize said. with the personal-belief exemption,” district He recalled that his mother had made him Superintendent Tammy Murphy said. But in the year since, she said, “100 percent wait in line in the sun for two hours to receive his polio shot when the threat of the crippling of kindergartners are in compliance” with disease was still a fresh memory. vaccine requirements. Society’s improved health has diluted the Though SB 277 played an important role in the dramatic turnaround, Murphy credited school perception of the dangers that even rare diseases still pose, he said. nurse Cassandra Ornelas for an all-out push to At the root of many personal-belief inform parents and solicit their compliance. exemptions is a discredited 1998 study by a For the 2015-16 school year, just fewer Authorized Concessioner for Channel Islands National Park Since 1968 British doctor who claimed a link between the than half of local schools had rates above 95 measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and the percent, while over three in four do now, according to Dr. Steven Barkley, a neonatologist onset of autism.
Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary
Photo: Hilda Kilpatrick
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