Oregon’s Exclusion Day prompts vaccine clinic to keep kids in school and daycare

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Wednesday, Feb. 19, is Exclusion Day in Oregon. That means kids who are not up to date on vaccinations will be excluded from school or daycare unless they have an exemption.

Multnomah County is hosting an immunization clinic Wednesday morning from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. for those parents who wish to keep their kids off the exclusion list. The clinic will be for walk-ins only and youth ages 5 to 19. It is free for families, including families whose insurance does not cover immunizations. No ID or insurance is needed.

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According to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), letters have been sent to parents, notifying them to update their immunization statuses. OHA wants to remind parents and caregivers that their children may miss out on school or childcare if their records show missing immunizations.

“We want to make sure kids are caught up and protected—wearing all those ‘seatbelts’ that all those vaccines give you, that extra protection in case you encounter these bacteria or viruses in the community. Also protected from spreading it to your friends or your classmates or your teachers as well,” said Multnomah County Health Officer Richard Bruno.

According to OHA, there were over 1,200 cases of pertussis or whooping cough in Oregon in 2024 — the highest number of cases since 1950. They say immunizations remain the best defense against diseases like RSV, whooping cough, and measles.

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In 2024, the Oregon Health Department sent almost 25,000 letters to parents and caregivers informing them they needed to submit records showing up-to-date immunizations. That led to a total of 4,446 children sent home during the 2024 Exclusion Day.

OHA says parents and caregivers seeking vaccines for their children can contact their healthcare provider or local health department. Families can also request a vaccine exemption for certain medical or non-medical reasons.

There is a way for students to be exempt from Exclusion Day in Oregon.

“If there’s some medical reason why your child can’t receive the vaccine, then you’ll need something from the doctor that says that. And the other is an objection based on non medical reasons, you know, for some reason, the parent doesn’t want the child to have a vaccine. And for that, we require documentation that the parent has gotten some information about the diseases and the vaccines that are intended to prevent the disease,” said Dr. Paul Cieslak with OHA.