In PVUSD, Aptos Families More Likely to Opt-Out of Vaccines

When Pajaro Valley public school students return to the classroom on Aug. 20, kids going into kindergarten and the 7th grade will be required to show proof of various vaccinations. The same is true for students at private schools. While school officials use phrases like "no shots, no school" to underscore the message, the reality is not so strict. 

Parents or guardians can obtain an exemption from vaccination requirements for medical reasons or personal beliefs. To get a personal belief exemption (PBE) all a parent needs to do is sign an affidavit in front of a school secretary. Last year, 94 children entered kindergarten in the Pajaro Valley’s public and private schools with a personal belief exemption on file.

In the Pajaro Valley, Aptos-area schools tend to have a higher rate to PBEs. With less than a 14 percent of public school kindergarten enrollment, Apto's schools account for three-quarters of the PBEs in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Eighteen children entering kindergarten in the three Aptos elementary schools last year had a PBE on file. That's about 8.5 percent of the 211 kindergartners enrolled in that area. By comparison, six of the 1,340 students starting kindergarten in Watsonville-area public schools (including North Monterey County) had PBEs.

One Aptos-area and two Watsonville students also had medical exemptions on file.

The rate of PBEs in Aptos mirrored that of private school students in the Pajaro Valley. Eleven of the 130 private school kindergartners had PBEs, according to the California Department of Public Health.

A bill in the state legislature aims to make it tougher for parents to get a PBE by requiring an additional signature from a doctor or medical professional. Opponents of the proposed legislation argue that doctors tend to be dismissive of parental qualms about vaccinations. Some public health professionals note that the risk of not vaccinating a child is only acceptable when the vast majority of children are vaccinated and diseases like whooping cough are relatively rare.