The public schools in Newton, Massachusetts, will bar unvaccinated students from attending school this fall following a recent chicken pox outbreak.
The Boston Globe reported:
The decision was prompted by a review of student vaccination statuses following a recent chicken pox outbreak, said Superintendent Anna Nolin in a memo to the School Committee last week.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous superintendent waived student vaccine requirements, according [sic] the memo. Newton Health and Human Services and the City of Newton Nursing Division found last week at least 182 students, a little more than 1 percent of the student body, continued to attend school without their appropriate immunizations even five years later.
Of those surveyed, at least 422 were not fully vaccinated against measles, the school district said. The lack of immunization created concerns; there have been outbreaks of measles in areas such as Texas, where there have been more than 700 cases of measles and two children died.
“We’ve got to follow state law, that’s our responsibility,” Chris Brezski, the school committee chair, said.
Measles is a highly contagious disease and has the ability to stay in the air for up to two hours. The American Academy of Pediatrics found that herd immunity for measles is between 92 and 94 percent immunization. Massachusetts has an immunization above the average at roughly 95 percent.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, students have been allowed to move to the next grade without the state-required vaccines.
A total of 182 students, a little more than 1% of the student body, don’t have the required vaccines, according to the report.
Newton Health and Human Services and school nurses will provide vaccines for students who aren’t in compliance with state requirements.
The vaccination mandate was approved at a school committee meting in mid-June.
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