The state of Minnesota protects parental decision-making regarding vaccines.
It is your right to choose NOT to vaccinate your children before they go to school or day care. Many Minnesota parents do extensive research, and allow only the vaccines they have determined are safe and necessary for their unique child – and only when those vaccines are appropriate.
The law in Minnesota simply requires that parents report to schools or day care centers whether or not their child is vaccinated. If you choose not to follow the “one size fits all” schedule for your child, the only requirement is a notarized signature. The Department of Health has a form you can use, or you can create your own form indicating that you are conscientiously choosing to follow a schedule best suited to your child’s health status, or exempt them completely from vaccines. (http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/immunize/laws/notary.html)
Also listed at the MDH website are locations where you can find notary services at little or no cost.
At back-to-school time, most parents are given information suggesting that their children must receive vaccinations before they go to school. But that is not correct; Minnesota parents are free to choose to vaccinate their child if and when they decide their child is ready, and only with the vaccines that they have thoroughly investigated and found necessary for their child.
If you are concerned about the safety of vaccines, the majority of parents agree with you. Recent research shows that 89% of U.S. parents identified vaccine safety as a top research priority for them in managing their child’s health care. http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/vaccine-and-medication-safety-are-parents-top-research-priorities
Here are some excerpts from the Minnesota law on childhood vaccines that show the different categories of exemptions that parents use to tell the school why they have not vaccinated their child:
“(d) If a notarized statement signed by the minor child’s parent or by the emancipated person is submitted to the person having supervision of the school or child care facility stating that the person has not been immunized as prescribed because of the conscientiously held beliefs [bold added] of the parent of the minor child or of the emancipated person, the immunizations specified in the statement shall not be required. “ (Minn Stat. 121A.15 Subd 3(d) 2012)
“(c) If a statement, signed by a physician, is submitted to the administrator or other person having general control and supervision of the school or child care facility stating that an immunization is contraindicated for medical reasons or that laboratory confirmation of the presence of adequate immunity exists, the immunization specified in the statement need not be required.” (Minn. Stat. 121A.15 Subd. 3(c) 2012)
“(a) If a person is at least seven years old and has not been immunized against pertussis, the person must not be required to be immunized against pertussis.
(b) If a person is at least 18 years old and has not completed a series of immunizations against poliomyelitis, the person must not be required to be immunized against poliomyelitis….
(e) If the person is under 15 months, the person is not required to be immunized against measles, rubella, or mumps.
(f) If a person is at least five years old and has not been immunized against haemophilus influenzae type b, the person is not required to be immunized against haemophilus influenzae type b.
(g) If a person who is not a Minnesota resident enrolls in a Minnesota school online learning course or program that delivers instruction to the person only by computer and does not provide any teacher or instructor contact time or require classroom attendance, the person is not subject to the immunization, statement, and other requirements of this section. (Minn. Stat. 121a.15 Subd. 3(a),(b)(e)(f) and (g)
Here is more information on Minnesota’s vaccination law:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=121A.15
If you would like to report to the school or day care that you are exempting your child from any or all vaccines required for entrance to school or child care, fill out a statement, have it notarized, and give it to your school or child care provider. You may use this form for your statement if you wish:
For children in child care:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/immunize/laws/childcareimzrec.pdf
For school:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/immunize/pupilimzrec.pdf
Note: Minnesota law states that any written information on vaccine requirements from your school or child care facility or from your medical facility must also give you information on your options for exemptions! If you have received written information that does not include exemption information, please contact Patti Carroll of VSCM at (651) 785-5716 to report this, and notify Patti Segal Freeman of the Minnesota Department of Health at (651) 201-5520.
The Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota opposed recent proposed rule changes by MN Department of Health to add more vaccines: Recently the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota, together with other consumer groups including Vaccine Awareness Minnesota, Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions, Canary Party, National Health Freedom Action, and The Organic Consumers Association opposed a proposed rule by the Minnesota Department of Health to add more vaccines to the child school and day care schedule. We opposed a new requirement for hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines for infants in child care, and meningococcal vaccines for seventh graders. VSCM believes these vaccines are not needed due to the extremely low incidence of these diseases in Minnesota children, and because they pose an additional risk of vaccine injury.
A hearing was held before an Administrative Law Judge on June 27 to present evidence for and against the proposed rules; 200 comments were submitted after the hearing, the majority against the proposed rule changes. If you sent in testimony or comments, thank you! Judge Eric Lipman has not yet handed down his ruling on this proceeding. VSCM will post the ruling as soon as it is available.
The Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota’s purpose is to inform and educate. We offer research, news, and vaccine safety information not often available through mainstream media or public health outlets. We encourage parents to do their own research, in order to make fully informed vaccine choices based on their unique child’s circumstances. VSCM provides general information regarding vaccines and vaccine policy. Our information comes from a variety of sources and should not be misconstrued as official medical or legal advice. Please consult with trusted practitioners regarding any actions you implement for yourself or your child. We hope this information inspires consumers to make truly educated decisions for the health and well-being of their families.