http://www.boston.com/dailynews/318/region/Boy_temporarily_barred_from_sc:.shtml

 

Boy temporarily barred from school until vaccination dispute resolved

By Associated Press, 11/14/2001 04:33

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) An 11-year-old Sparta boy will continue to be barred from attending classes until his parents and school officials resolve a dispute over the child's lack of a Hepatitis B vaccination.

State Superior Court Judge Kenneth C. MacKenzie denied a request Tuesday by Richard and Donna Shaftan to let their son, Zachary, return to his sixth-grade class at the Sparta Middle School.

The couple is challenging a recent state ruling that requires some students to be vaccinated for Hepatitis B. They believe the requirement is unnecessary, unrelated to education and invasive.

''I'm not against vaccines, but Hepatitis B is a junkies' disease,'' Richard Shaftan told The Daily Record of Parsippany for Wednesday's editions. ''This is really about making money for pharmaceutical companies out there selling their products.''

The ruling, which took effect in September, requires vaccinations for all children who were born on or after Jan. 1, 1990 and are entering sixth grade or a comparable special education unassigned grade.

The boy has been kept out of school since Nov. 1, which was the deadline for him to receive the first in a series of three inoculations

MacKenzie ruled that the school is bound by the regulations, that the Shaftans arguments were invalid, and that they cited no authority to show the vaccinations are medically unnecessary.

However, he scheduled a Dec. 11 hearing where the couple will be allowed to present further arguments on their claims. In the meantime, their attorney, Michael Patrick Carroll, plans to ask a state appellate court to order the boy's return.

The Hepatitis B virus is transmitted through blood products, bodily fluids and needle pricks, and can lead to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer.

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.