Most parents, upon hearing a friend or schoolmate of their child is sick, would probably keep their own child away from that kid until he or she is better.
But what if the child in question has not been vaccinated? Should he or she be kept away from other children who have been?
A new “no jab, no play” campaign in Australia is seeking to give childcare centers and preschools there the right to turn away children who have not received their vaccinations, the Sunday Telegraph reports.
Some parents there refuse to have their children vaccinated, or just plain forget to, and the Australian Medical Association says that leaves small babies and children with cancer and other immune-compromising conditions vulnerable.
That organization believes that tougher measures should be introduced “to make life harder for "free-riding" parents who refuse or forget to vaccinate,” the Telegraph reports.
Last year, Science Daily reported on a University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing study that found that unvaccinated children are putting other children at risk.
Penn Nursing researcher Alison M. Buttenheim wrote that an increasing number of parents are choosing not to have their children receive vaccines. Those parents cite concerns about their safety, including a fear that some vaccines could cause autism, despite a lack of scientific evidence.
People who cannot get immunizations because of allergies or compromised immune systems rely on "herd immunity," the protection they get from a disease when the rest of the population is immunized or immune, Buttenheim told Science Daily. If a high number of children go intentionally unvaccinated because of personal belief exemptions, herd immunity is compromised, she said, giving a disease the chance to spread rapidly.
Some states allow “personal belief” exemptions from vaccination requirements, which allow students to enter school without receiving vaccines.
The issue is causing rifts in some friendships, Scienceblogs.com reports:
Karey Williams never thought a parenting decision would come between her and a good friend. The two had known one another for a decade, supported each other through infertility treatment and had their first babies around the same time. But when she told the friend that she had stopped vaccinating her daughter at age 1, the relationship abruptly ended.
“She said, ‘Well then, your child can’t come into my house,’” recalls Williams, 47, who lives in the Chicago area.
Speak Out: What do you think? Is there a risk in allowing unvaccinated children around other children? Should schools and childcare centers be allowed to separate those groups?
Tell us in the comments!