Request for Comments: Time for Pro-Vax Parents to Step Up

I am writing this email to express my gratitude that there is movement to have the immunization schedule for schools match the CDC recommendations. I am a mother of a 15 month old daughter. I will be enrolling her in day care in the fall. Because of her age she is still too young for some of the vaccines that could prevent diseases. Prior to the anti-vax movement I would have been able to rely on other parents vaccinating their children and therefore protecting my daughter. Of course now there is a much larger risk of my daughter unknowingly contracting a disease that would otherwise be preventable. Anti-vax families are relying on pro-vax families to keep their (anti-vax) children healthy. However, for children that are still to young for some vaccines there is no safety. I stood by science and my conscience when I made the decision to vaccinate. I hope those making this decision will do the same.

The e-mail above was sent to the Minnesota Department of Health this week by a Minnesota mother after she learned that the MDH was considering modifications to the state's "School and Child Care Immunization Law" through the state's rule making process--a legislative process. In order to change any rule, citizens must, by law, be given the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes. In this case, the changes proposed are simply to make Minnesota School Immunization Law line up with the CDC's immunization recommendations. Currently, there are places where they do not match up, leaving children vulnerable.

The Request for Comments period in this process has become critical. That's because the vast majority of individuals who are motivated enough to call, e-mail, or attend meetings on proposed immunization law changes are anti-vaxxers. People who vaccinate their kids, while fantastic public citizens, are often complacent or even unaware that anti-vaxxers pose such a threat to their children and to infants in the community. That's why it's so important this year for parents who vaccinate to take the time, like the mother above, to make their voices heard. Here are the details. 

WHAT: The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is considering modifications to the School and Child Care Immunization Law through the Minnesota rulemaking process. The MDH will be accepting comments on these proposed changes until June 30^th at 4:30pm. 

WHERE: You can file your comments by mail, phone, or e-mail. Contact Patricia Segal Freeman, Minnesota Department of Health PO Box 9441, St. Paul, MN 55164-0975, phone (651) 201-5414 or1-877-676-5414; fax (651) 201-5501; TTY users may call (651) 201-5797; email health.immrule@state.mn.us. We would also love to post more letters or comments on this site, so if you do write, please consider dropping us an e-mail at momswhovax AT gmail.com.

MDH will hold two public meetings on the rules.

1.     The first meeting will be on Thursday, June 14, 2012 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Orville L. Freeman Building at 625 North Robert Street, St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.

2.     The date and time of the second meeting, which will be a statewide video conference, is Monday, June 18 from 11:30am to 2:00pm. Final details are still being worked out but we expect to have 11 to 13 video conference sites around the state.