As schools prepare to welcome students back to campus, there has been an unfortunate, yet predictable, regurgitation of misinformation regarding the rights of school children to be exempted from taking vaccines recommended for public school enrollment. This omission of information about exemption availability, whether intentional or otherwise, must be corrected regardless of the source.

As seen in news stories such as this one from KPRC in Houston, so-called journalists take up ample screen time to become de facto promoters of pharmaceutical products, urging parents to make sure their kids are up-to-date on supposedly required vaccines lest they be excluded from school. While the reporter in this piece does acknowledge the existence of “Reasons of Conscience” exemptions, she goes on to warn parents that “inconvenience” isn’t an acceptable excuse for not getting vaccines (deemed acceptable by whom, she doesn’t say). Other examples of egregious oversight can be found in every region of the state, from the panhandle to Central Texas, from Southeast Texas to Northeast Texas, and everywhere in between.

Though one would expect media outlets to go to great lengths to avoid “disinformation” campaigns, what with their huge push to “follow the science” during the COVID pandemic, it’s almost as though their Big Pharma advertisers and sponsors take over in the month of August. Between the “no shots, no school” mantra and non-stop pieces promoting “Immunization Awareness Month”, the news is nothing more than a thirty minute long commercial for vaccine manufacturers.

The fact is, immunizations are NOT required for children to participate in the public school system, regardless of the student’s age. Texas law clearly states that parents have the right to exempt their children from the vaccine schedule, be it declining one, some or all shots, by simply requesting a FREE affidavit from the Department of State Health Services website and submitting the completed form to the school prior to enrollment of the child. 

For complete and accurate information about Texas vaccine exemptions, please visit https://texansforvaccinechoice.com/exemptions/