School vaccination danger lists

The state is warning several central coast schools that they are the most vulnerable for outbreaks or vaccine-preventable diseases.

It is something the state regularly does but now this warning is being met with extra precautions because of the current measles outbreak in California.

This week the Monterey County Public Health Department sent out a health advisory to all local schools.

There are also advisories being issued by the state letting schools know how many of their students don’t have their vaccinations.

To find your child’s school vaccination rate, click here: http://www.shotsforschool.org/child-care/how-doing/

When program director Megan Mosquera was notified by the state that one of her preschools , The CSUMB Child Care Center, had less than a 70% immunization rate, she immediately notified parents.

“We hand wrote a letter out to the parents, you need this vaccine and this vaccine and you need to have it by two weeks from that date,” said Mosquera.

If not, Mosquera says the student can’t come back to school. With more than 50 kids enrolled at the care center she says safety comes first, “Sometimes there’s issues they can’t get a doctor appointment or the parents are too busy to go get the vaccination and we just tell them you have to get them vaccinated before they can come back.”

By law parents always have the right to refuse vaccination for their children, either for religious or personal reasons, but now more than ever, health experts are pleading with parents to get their kids vaccinated.

The county’s health advisory details the symptoms of the measles virus and what to look for if you suspect your child has it. Educators like Mosquera say the school and health department can only do so much, in the end it’s the parents choice.