Should New York Be Able To Force Children's Vaccinations?
 Friday, May 30th, 2008

A bill has been introduced in the State of New York that has some mothers raging mad. And we would be, too! Assembly Bill 10942, if passed, would make all vaccinations recommended by the CDC mandatory for all children in order for them to attend school (which is also, of course, mandatory, unless you're home schooling), and required for all infants to toddlers.

The Rules Committee introduced the bill at Richard Daines' request - he is the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health (and not, we might add, a mother). The Rules Committee is that of the Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat.

There are various other rules that would come along with the Bill, including required shots for children up to age 18 for things such as annual flu shots, human papilloma virus, meningococcal, and more; these things would require doctors to issue certificates for shots given, and parents would have to maintain these records for their children's schools and other authorities.

Here's our problem with this. Many of the vaccinations that the CDC (the Federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends are considered by many doctors to be unnecessary. There is also the issue of overvaccination in some infants and children leading to serious problems such as autism. Jenny McCarthy was on Larry King's special about autism in April (Autism Awareness month), and was speaking on behalf of thousands of women who insist that overvaccination led to their children being diagnosed with forms of autism. McCarthy has been battling the CDC for years over required vaccinations.

Here are some examples of CDC-recommended vaccinations for infants:

-DTaP is a combined vaccination for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). When's the last time you've come across someone with diphtheria or whooping cough?

-Polio.

-Hepatitis B.  This is a DNA virus that only 3 - 6% of the entire world has. It's transmitted through unprotected sexual contact, blood transfusion, re-use of contaminated needles, or during childbirth. In other words, if the mother tests negative for Hepatitis B, the infant should not be at any risk to get the virus.


Cafemom has posted an article about this issue, along with the phone numbers and contact info to have your voice HEARD on this issue. There are only a few weeks to defeat the bill, so act fast!

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