Sarah Donovan says school personnel are unfairly targeting her son after they sent the unvaccinated child home Friday due to a chickenpox outbreak at his school. The Birmingham mother feels Michigan health officials are overreacting.
Michael Donovan, 11, is one of over a dozen unvaccinated students banned from class and who may not be permitted to return to school until April 14, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Sarah Donovan says chickenpox is typically not a deadly disease and that what the school system is doing to her son is opening him up to questions and ridicule because other students will know why he is not in school.
“I don’t like this bullying. I’m going to push back somewhat. I’m not a media person — I’m not. I like privacy. But I think it’s important for people to know the other side. It’s not right. It’s truly bullying. My son is being singled out and we’re made to feel like were bad parents because we’ve decided not to vaccinate anymore. They’re saying it’s some deadly disease but, hello, we all had it.”
Although school officials notified parents whose children are unvaccinated of the ban on Thursday, Sarah Donovan let personnel know when she picked Michael up that she would be sending him to school today.
The Birmingham mom says Michael and his older sister are partially vaccinated. When Michael’s older sister began to show signs of autism as a toddler, Sarah opted not to vaccinate any further. As the Detroit Free Press points out, health professionals and researchers maintain there is no link between vaccinations and autism. However, Ms. Donovan, as many other parents, believes the damaging effects of vaccines are not fully known and the dangers of vaccinating are often downplayed.
Students in Michigan must have two doses of the chickenpox vaccine before starting school, unless a parent signs a waiver. The state has reported 100 cases of chickenpox since the beginning of the year, which has Michigan health officials concerned. Sarah Donovan may be upset about the school’s decision to ban unvaccinated kids, but school officials say the Oakland County Health Division issued the directive in order to prevent the spread of chickenpox as the virus is highly contagious. All of the banned students’ absences will be excused and homework and classwork can be made up.
While many parents believe it should be their choice whether to vaccinate their children, other parents who choose to vaccinate worry about illness and disease being spread to their children by unvaccinated children. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the controversial topic of vaccinating versus not vaccinating has led some lawmakers to suggest parents who refuse to vaccinate should be held accountable for not doing so.
[Image via Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
Michigan Mom Says School Officials Are Bullying Her Son After Unvaccinated Child Is Sent Home Due To Chickenpox Outbreak is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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