Vaccination rate higher than state average

The Weiser School District’s vaccination rate of 91.1 percent for the current school year is above the state average of 86.5 percent but slightly below the state target of 94 percent.

 The state’s target of 94 percent is the number that state health officials say is necessary – a sort of critical mass of vaccinated students – to protect against the spread of highly contagious childhood diseases.

 Weiser School District officials said with a 91.1 percent vaccination rate, it can be assumed that about 9 percent of Weiser school students are not fully immunized, which represents about 135 students. 

 Parents who opt out of required immunizations must fill out a form that is kept on file with the school district. Some opt out for medical reasons, others for religious or personal beliefs, others because they do not believe in vaccinations, superintendent Wil Overgaard said. 

 The highest opt-out rates in the state are found in northern Idaho. In 2017-18, the vaccine exemption rate in Bonner County was 23.8 percent. The lowest opt-out rates by parents are found in eastern Idaho.

 The issue of vaccination rates first arose when cases of the measles showed up in the neighboring state of Washington and sparked concern that Idaho schools with   low immunization rates could be impacted. 

 There have been no measles cases reported by health officials in Idaho this year. 

 The Weiser School District has posted information on its website provided by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare of what protocols would be followed if the measles did show up at a school. 

 If a case of the measles were to appear in the Weiser district, not only would the student who contracted the disease be excluded from attending school for 21 days, but so would those students without evidence of the MMR vaccine. 

 Statistics compiled by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare for the 2018-19 school year show that 3.29 percent of students in Washington County are exempt from all vaccines and 10.89 percent are exempt from at least one vaccine. 

 Another .51 percent are conditional catching up and 1.29 percent have an incomplete vaccination record. 

 Lawmakers in Idaho were considering making the immunization opt-out procedure even easier with a bill that was introduced in the Idaho House that would have required public and private schools, along with daycares, to provide parents with information on how to opt-out of vaccinations.

 The bill passed the House but did not get a vote in the Idaho Senate.