immunization legislation in north carolina

Patient Notes: 2/18/2020

Jack Wilson, 9 y.o male, Guillan-Barre Syndrome Diagnosis – Yearly Checkup

• Shortness of breath, reported tingling in legs
• Prescription: Immunoglobulin therapy, check on multivitamin use at home

Guillan-Barre Syndrome is a life-threatening disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack its own nerves, which means that patients suffer from paralysis and chronic pain (Guillain-Barré Syndrome). As a result, individuals who have the condition are unable to get immunizations at the risk of potentially making the condition worse (Guillain-Barré Syndrome). Vaccines can cause severe side effects in patients with Guillan-Barre syndrome, and they rely on the people around them to get their vaccines so they can be protected from illnesses like the common cold, measles and mumps. However, it’s becoming more popular, due to vaccination misinformation, to get out of receiving those immunizations that can be vital protection for people like Jack.

In North Carolina, individuals can get around the current vaccination laws by either claiming a medical or religious exemption. In the case of a religious exemption in the state, parents currently only have to supply the name and date of birth of the child to be exempted, with no other documentation (Knight 2004). 

Some statistics that might make you do a double-take:

• 1 in every 300 students were able to claim religious exemption in the last year, and why 80 of the state’s 100 counties had an increase in those claims since 2011 (Editorial Board 2019).  You can directly view this increase in Figure 1 below.
• Jared Brumbaugh (2019) notes that North Carolina hadn’t had a measles case since 2012, but in the last year, it had three, which was considered an outbreak. 
• Grayson Mendenhall (2016) discusses that vaccine-preventable diseases among adults cost the U.S economy $8.95 billion in 2015, with unvaccinated individuals responsible for 80% of that figure. 

Many anti-vaccination individuals will argue that it is within their own rights to decide whether or not to receive immunizations, as it is a matter of physical autonomy. However, when their actions can infringe on the safety of the general public, it can be dangerous to not only themselves, but people like Jack. It’s a problem that needs to be fixed by the North Carolina legislature, and fast. 

So what can you do to help? First, you can do your part by making sure that you are up to date on all your immunizations, and getting this year’s flu shot at your local pharmacy or doctor’s office. From there, you can write to local legislation urging them to make a change to the current religious exemption clause in North Carolina law, and to ensure that legislators keep public safety a main concern, especially over individual beliefs based on misinformation.

References

Across NC, More Parents Are Using Religious Exemption To Avoid Vaccinating Children. 88.5 WFDD. 2019 Aug 16 [accessed 2020 Feb 22]. https://www.wfdd.org/story/across-nc-more-parents-are-using-religious-exemption-avoid-vaccinating-children

Brumbaugh J. 2019 Jun 5. ENC Health Currents: Is NC Prepared For Measles Outbreak? Public Radio East. [accessed 2020 Jan 31]. https://www.publicradioeast.org/post/enc-health-currents-nc-prepared-measles-outbreak

Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2019 Dec 20 [accessed 2020 Feb 22]. https://www.cdc.gov/campylobacter/guillain-barre.html

Knight AL. 2004. Religious Exemptions to North Carolina’s Childhood Immunization Requirements. School Law Bulletin. [accessed 2020 Jan 31];25(4):12–19.

Editorial Board. 2019 Aug 16. Lawmakers are afraid to take on anti-vaxxers. Now NC has a bigger problem. Charlotte Observer. [accessed 2020 Jan 31]. https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article234071442.html

Mendenhall G. 2016 Oct 12. Unvaccinated Adults Cost the U.S. More than $7 Billion a Year. [accessed 2020 Feb 6]. https://pharmacy.unc.edu/2016/10/unvaccinated-adults-cost-u-s-7-billion-year/

Sanyaolu A, Okorie C, Marinkovic A, Ayodele O, Abbasi AF, Prakash S, Gosse J, Younis S, Mangat J, Chan H. Measles Outbreak in Unvaccinated and Partially Vaccinated Children and Adults in the United States and Canada (2018-2019): A Narrative Review of Cases. The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision and Financing. 2019 [accessed 2020 Jan 31];56:1–10. doi:10.1177/0046958019894098.