Schools

MVUSD Among Few Compliant With Vaccine Requirement

Murrieta Valley Unified School District is among the handful of districts in Riverside County to have all its students compliant with a new pertussis vaccination requirement as of a Sept. 27 deadline.

Only about two percent of middle and high school students in Riverside County still need to be vaccinated against whooping cough before they can remain in class, a county health official said today.

Students between seventh and 12th grades had until Tuesday, Sept. 27 to provide proof of immunization, according to Jose Arballo Jr., a spokesman for the Riverside County Department of Public Health.

Several county districts have a 100 percent compliance rate--taking into account those who have received the shot and those requesting a medical or personal belief exemption waiver, Arballo said.

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Fully compliant districts are:

  • Alvord Unified School District
  • Murrieta Valley Unfied School District
  • Nuview Unified School District
  • Perris Elementary School District
  • Temecula Valley Unified School District

Some students did turn in waivers, according to Murrieta Valley Unified School District spokesperson Karen Parris.

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"We have 1.5 percent of our students who have waivers, 1.4 percent for personal beliefs and .1 percent for medical reasons," Parris said.

Dr. Eric Frykman, the county’s health officer, said the goal is to make sure all students have the vaccine.

“There are sufficient vaccine doses available so that anyone who needs one can get one,” Frykman said.

Under state law, students were required to show proof of vaccination before being allowed to enroll in school. The law went into effect on July 1.

Each school district is responsible for determining how it will comply with the law.

In California, more than 9,000 people contracted whooping cough (Pertussis) last year and 10 infants died from during the outbreak, according to Arballo.

Families without insurance can take their children to one of 10 Public Health Family Care Centers in Riverside County, he said.

For more information, please visit http: www.rivcoph.org/pertussis or www.ShotsforSchool.org.


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