More parents are opting out of vaccines for their kids. Here’s what you need to know.
Vaccine appointments are starting to fill up at clinics and pediatrician offices across San Antonio as parents round out preparations for sending their children to school, according to the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.
Miguel Cervantes, public health administrator for communicable disease for Metro Health, recommends getting an appointment set sooner rather than later.
The local health authority provides free shots at “pop-up” clinics and by appointment at the district’s central office. Both COVID-19 vaccines and Back To School vaccines are available at no cost at the clinics.
The immunization line for making an appointment is 210-207-8894.
“The closer you get to the beginning of the school year, the less likely you are to get an appointment or to be seen by a health care provider,” Cervantes said. “Because that’s usually when we see a big surge of people looking for those immunizations, or their immunization record if they do have their immunizations already.”
The reminder comes as more parents opt out of the state mandated vaccines, which protect against a variety of diseases including Polio, Hepatitis B and Measles, Mumps and Rubella. The COVID-19 vaccine is not required by the state, but is recommended for everyone 6 months and older to prevent getting really sick from COVID-19.
“Science has shown that getting vaccinated is much safer than getting sick,” the Texas Department of State Health Services said on their website. “Side effects from vaccines are minimal, and vaccine benefits are significant. Vaccines protect children against dangerous and potentially deadly diseases that can cause serious illness, paralysis, deafness, brain damage and even death.”
State-required vaccinations:
- DTaP: Diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (whooping cough); record may show DT or DTP
- Polio: IPV – inactivated polio vaccine; OPV – oral polio vaccine
- HepB: Hepatitis B vaccine
- Hib: Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine
- PCV: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
- MMR: Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines combined
- Varicella: Chickenpox vaccine. May be written VAR on record
- HepA: Hepatitis A vaccine
Parents can find more information about state requirements on the Texas Department of State Health Services website, which also answers questions about the different types of vaccines and at what age they are recommended.
Parents opt out of vaccines
The yearly exemption rate for vaccines has risen from less than 1% in the 2013-2014 school year to 2.7% in Bexar County in the 2022-2023 school year, according to the latest available data.
The small but growing number of parents are opting out of the state vaccine requirements by filing paperwork with the state for a conscientious exemption.
That type of exemption is one of three allowed under the law, along with exemptions for those in the armed forces and those with a medical reason as determined by a health care provider.
Under state law, exempt students may not be allowed to go to school if outbreaks of certain diseases occur.
Some charter school networks and districts have higher rates of vaccine exemptions than others, such as the Great Hearts charter school network, which had nearly 9% of students exempted from the mandates in 2022-2023. Larger traditional ISDs had lower exemption rates between 1-1.5% of students exempt in Judson, North East and Northside ISDs and fewer than 1% at San Antonio ISD.
Cervantes said the goal of Metro Health is to have as many community members vaccinated as possible, to ensure herd immunity from common vaccine-preventable conditions.
“The more members that are vaccinated, the less likely [we] are to have outbreaks here locally or clusters of infections, particularly amongst populations that are under or not immunized completely,” he said.
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