Personal belief exemptions for vaccinations increase in North Dakota

Published: Apr. 1, 2019 at 10:14 AM CDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

Vaccination rates in North Dakota are holding steady for school kids, but the North Dakota Department of Health says personal belief exemptions are up nearly a percent.

NDDoH says the percent of North Dakota parents claiming an exemption due to reasons of personal belief increased from 3.1 percent to 3.9 percent, leaving approximately 400 students exempt from immunizations.

“Increasing exemption rates leave North Dakota schools vulnerable to outbreaks caused by vaccine preventable diseases, such as measles, mumps, or pertussis,” said Jenny Galbraith, epidemiologist with the NDDoH. “An MMR coverage rate of 95 percent is recommended to maintain herd immunity in schools and prevent cases and outbreaks. Outbreaks have become more commonplace in the United States due to low vaccination rates and the ease of travel.”

Before entering school in North Dakota, children must have five doses of DTaP, four doses of IPV (polio), three doses of HBV (hepatitis B), two doses of MMR, and two doses of varicella vaccine. Students entering seventh through twelfth grade need one dose of Tdap, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap). Students in grades 7 through 10 need one dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) and students entering grades 11 and 12 need a second dose of MCV4.

For a list of exemptions, see the attached link.