Hundreds of Unvaccinated Seattle Students Miss School

Nearly 1,000 students in Seattle public schools were expected to be turned away from school Wednesday because they were not vaccinated against measles.

The school district sent a notice to families on Dec. 30 alerting them that students who did not have current vaccinations when winter break ended on Jan. 8 would not be allowed to attend school.

About 7,000 students did not have proper vaccinations, but after officials sent notices and held free vaccination clinics, that number dropped to less than 2,300. Seattle Public Schools reported that about 950 students as of Tuesday had still not met the vaccination requirements and would not be allowed to attend classes.

Students who can provide proof of an upcoming appointment to receive a vaccination will be allowed into school Wednesday, and additional free vaccination clinics are being held next week.

A bill passed in the state of Washington last year eliminated the personal and philosophical exemption from the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine for school and childcare attendance. In addition to providing immunization records, students can also show a lab report stating that they are immune to the disease and do not need the vaccine.

They can also show a signed certification of exemption that claims a medical or religious reason for foregoing the shot.

"We need to have updated immunization records for all of our students so that we can respond in a timely way if we have a health emergency, such as whooping cough or measles," Sami Haog, the manager of student health services, said in a statement.

Washington's health department reported 87 cases of measles last year, the most since 1990. Across the country, 1,282 measles cases were reported in 31 states as of Dec. 31, the greatest number of cases since 1992, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.