Twenty students who were not vaccinated against measles were not allowed to attend school or enter the campus of Huntington Beach High School for three weeks following probable exposure to the virus after a student who had measles entered school last week. The announcement was made last Monday by school officials.
The decision was rooted to a student who was infected with measles in early January and attended the opening of classes. They are concerned on whether he had spread the contagious disease to other students. The school said that they are just implementing this as a health precaution and to prevent further outbreak of the disease.
County health officials confirmed that the students will stay at home for three weeks and will not be allowed within the school campus until January 29. However, some parents think that the decision of the department of education and county health ministry was too extreme for their kids.
One parent aired her concern on the decision made by the school officials, "I'm not a doctor so I can't say, but that seems extreme to me. I mean, I had the measles and I think I was out for three days."
Pamela Kahn, County Department of Education Health and Wellness Coordinator, told NBC4 on Tuesday that making the students stay at home is the only resort they had to do to prevent the virus from spreading to other students.
Meanwhile, Dr. Eric Handler, Orange County public health officer said, "If there is a case in the school and their child is not immunized, they will be removed from the school for 21 days. From an epidemiological standpoint, in order to prevent spread of the disease, this is a necessary measure."
According to records, Orange County has a higher rate of parents who have opted not to immunize or vaccinate their children due to uproar in beliefs regarding bad effects of these vaccines. Vaccination rates in OC have been declining since 2002 especially in kindergarteners. There are still numerous suspicions on the side effects of vaccines on children that make parents decide not to let their children get vaccinated.
"The vaccine is safe," Handler said. "We can prevent this disease if people get vaccinated."
