Precautions Needed for Children Attending School With No Vaccines

In the U.S., children are required to receive about 30 vaccinations before they reach the age of 7. The vaccines are for childhood and other contagious diseases that once decimated the population, though some parents object to the vaccination schedule and send their children to school without them. If the majority of the child's class has been vaccinated, they may be immune carriers of diseases that can sicken the unvaccinated child. Parents should take precautions to prevent such an infection, so the child may safely attend school.

  1. Communicating with Officials

    • The process to enter a child into school without vaccinations requires a personal belief exemption. Although the exemption paperwork is seen by school administrators, it is the school's nursing staff and the child's teacher who have first-hand knowledge of outbreaks amongst the students. Parents should always communicate their child's vaccination status to the school nursing staff and the teachers. If they know your child's immunization status, they can work to help protect him in the event of an outbreak.

    Staying Ahead of Outbreaks

    • Communicating with the teachers, administrators, nursing staff and other parents is the best way to stay ahead of outbreaks. Knowledge of diseases circulating amongst students is valuable, and helps parents of unvaccinated children determine when to pull the child from school and when to return them to classes. Regular communication with school staff is a key part of staying informed about when the first child in school is sent home with an illness.

    In Event of an Outbreak

    • When your child comes home with a notice of a flu, measles or whooping cough warning letter from the school, you can still take precautions to ensure that he remains healthy. Of course, hand washing, proper diet and sleep are keys to staying healthy, but so is avoiding anywhere the contagious disease may reside. This may mean staying out of school until the outbreak ends. If the child does go to school, parents are usually allowed to send hand sanitizer, personal tissues and face masks for the child to use while amongst the other children. An unvaccinated child will need such items to provide a barrier against the contagious illness.

    Learning Precautions at Home

    • The bulk of the protection that parents can provide is in teaching the child how to resist contracting an illness. Instilling good habits, such as frequent hand washing, proper coughing and sneezing technique as well as knowing when to use hand sanitizer, is something that must be learned at home. Children should also be taught not to share food, utensils, clothing or anything that goes in the mouth, nose or eyes. Parents of unvaccinated children have an especially important need to teach their child how to prevent the spread of disease.

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