Vaccination exemption rates high in Bend

In Bend, more than 10 schools have non-medical vaccination exemption rates higher than the state average of 7 percent.

Many parents opt not to get their children vaccinated for a number of reasons. The state used to use the term “religious exemption” and now uses “non-medical exemption,” to reflect the changes in beliefs.

Amity Creek Elementary in Bend reported 34-percent of their students as “non-medical exempt.” The other top 10 schools reporting higher than the state average of students who are “non-medical exempt” are all in the city of Bend.

In 2000, Deschutes County’s percentage rate was 0.4-percent. That number has increased, along with other rates across the state, over the past 15 years.

Last year, Deschutes County had the fourth-highest percentage of students with non-medical vaccination exemptions in the state of Oregon. The top three were Grant, Josephine and Curry counties..

The measles outbreak has touched 14 states in the country. Oregon has one confirmed case in Lane County that is tied to the cases that arose at Disneyland in California.

Health officials believe the cases will remain isolated, but worry about the increasing rates of parents not vaccinating their children.

Exclusion Day in Oregon is Feb. 18th, when students (other than those who are exempt) who have not been vaccinated and updated their records with schools are sent home.