Seattle, Wash., Oct 3, 2019 / 12:35 pm
Children who attend Catholic schools administered by the Archdiocese of Seattle must be vaccinated and can no longer claim personal or religious opposition to vaccines, the archdiocese announced earlier this week.
"We decided it was time to update the school policy for immunizations to make sure it's reflecting our Catholic teaching," Helen McClenahan, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Seattle, said on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The new policy only permits exemptions for medical reasons, such as an allergy to the ingredients in a vaccine.
Analysis of all schools--public and private--located in the archdiocese shows that some communities have vaccination rates well below what is required for herd immunity. Data from 2018 indicates that some Catholic schools in Seattle have sixth-grade MMR/pertussis vaccination rates that are lower than most developing countries, and are comparable with vaccination levels in Somalia and Afghanistan.
Other Catholic schools in the area have much higher rates, including many with more than 90% of students vaccinated.