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Hundreds Of NYC Private Schools Have Below-Average Immunization Rates
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 31, 2014
Modified Mar 31, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 31, 2014
Modified Mar 31, 2014
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With the city experiencing a measles outbreak that's infected at least 20 individuals in three boroughs thus far, it's worth taking a look at school vaccination rates in both private and public schools—and, troublingly, 245 of the city's 800-plus private schools have immunization rates below the recommended threshold.
According to Daily Intelligencer, data shows that a swath of private schools have immunization rates below the 95 percent rate needed for herd immunity; though vaccination does protect individuals against disease, it is not a complete protection, and most of us rely on the low probability of an outbreak to keep from coming down from diseases like measles, mumps and rubella.
The average vaccination rate for NYC private school students is 97 percent; for public schools, that number is 98 percent—according to the DOE, no public school district falls below the 95 percent line. But that's not the case with individual private schools in the city, with 125 schools boasting rates below 90 percent; 37 schools showed immunization rates below 70 percent, and a total of nine schools had fewer than 42 percent of their student bodies immunized. The worst offender, the Early Learning Center and the Academy of Art in Queens, had a dismal rate of only 18.4 percent.
Though Daily Intelligencer noted that a percentage of schools with low immunization rates may cater to students who need particular medical attention, there appear to be private schools that specifically allow students to come in with vaccination exemptions. A religious exemption from vaccination permits both the parents and the school in question to argue against immunization because of "genuine and sincere religious beliefs which are contrary to the practice of immunization." A large number of religious schools have low immunization rates. So do particular alternative schools, like the Waldorf schools in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the Brooklyn and Manhattan free schools, founded by members of the Park Slop Food Co-op.
It is important to note that schools with predominantly unvaccinated student bodies can spread disease through communities, and according to the Center for Disease Control, measles is fatal to 1 or 2 out of 1,000 children who come down with it. Those odds seem more alarming in light of recent resurgences.
The Department of Health has not responded to request for comment.
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Rebecca Fishbein
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