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Texas one of 8 states seeing higher number of non-medical vaccination opt-outs

From polio to hepatitis to tetanus, Coleen Christian, the health educator for the Austin Public Health immunization program, said they work to tell people about the importance of getting immunizations.

A new study said Texas is one of eight states seeing a higher number of non-medical exemptions to opt out of vaccinations for their kids.

From polio to hepatitis to tetanus, Coleen Christian, the health educator for the Austin Public Health immunization program, said they work to tell people about the importance of getting immunizations.

"They're more effective when they're young.We find that the immune system just works better,” said Christian. "They have a more robust or better response to the immunization."

But not every parent agrees.

"I noticed from the time I started vaccinating my son, that he started getting sick,” said Rachel Clark.

Clark is part of the Texas Medical Freedom Alliance and said her son had skin reactions at 2-months-old.

From there, she said it only got worse, including whooping cough and a bronchial spasm.

"We’re trading these normal childhood viruses for other health problems in our children," said Clark.

As a teacher, she believes she can see the effects.

"This is the sickest generation I've ever seen. I've been teaching for two decades and have never seen kids that are this sickly (and) have this many behavior issues,” said Clark.

She feels just because there are pockets of areas where kids aren't vaccinated, that doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

"Well where's the outbreaks? There are none if you look at the unvaccinated communities. They're some of the most healthy communities,” said Clark.

"We’re seeing that increase in Travis County over the past several years,” said Christian.

In Texas, parents can get a form from the Texas Department of State and Health Services, and choose to opt out of vaccinations for "reasons of conscience, including a religious belief."

That exemption can last two years.

Christian said we have a 1 percent exemption rate in Travis County over all, but said there are parts of the county where the exemption rates are closer to 40 and 50 percent.

"We see areas of town where they are more socioeconomically advantaged and probably have a higher education level and that's where we see more exemptions being filed,” said Christian.

And that can be a worry for outbreak.

"Yeah we're worried, because it is quite likely that a vaccine preventable disease could be brought into that community. I mean, if you have the affluence to have a higher income level and things, you may do international travel,” said Christian.

“We need to stop and we need to be given informed consent,” said Clark.

Clark worries the "hot spot" data is skewed, saying it classifies skipping one shot or all shots as the same.

"If they're opting out of one vaccine, they're considered exempt,” said Clark.

"We kind of look at immunizations as not only protecting yourself and your children, but protecting the community as a whole because there are people out there that are vulnerable for reasons other than they just didn't want to get the vaccine," said Christian.

Christian also said they urge parents to bring their children in for the vaccinations in accordance with the schedule put out by the CDC and not spread them out.

“We really don't recommend that because we've got science that proves that it's safe and effective that your child receives all these vaccines at one time at the appropriate age,” said Christian. "Children are immunized on a certain schedule because it protects them best at those ages from complications from those diseases."

If a child isn’t vaccinated, Christian said that could lead to missing a lot of school.

"If there were to be a vaccine-preventable disease in their child's school or childcare facility, if their child's not immunized, they're going to be excluded from attendance until that outbreak is over. And sometimes if there's multiple cases, that can last for several weeks and even months,” said Christian.

And if any parent is worried about their child developing autism from vaccines, she has an answer for them.

"We tell them that there have been more than two dozen studies that show that vaccines do not cause autism, and the biggest reaction kids have are the soreness of the arms,” said Christian.

Whether parents choose to vaccinate or not, both sides said they just want their kids to be healthy.

If you decide to vaccinate your child, the health department encourages parents to book their appointment now, and not wait until the busy back to school season.

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