Panic over chickenpox outbreak in North Carolina private school

Twenty-eight private school students in North Carolina now have chickenpox in an outbreak that began last week.

The number of children infected at Asheville Waldorf School grew from 13 the week before, the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Department announced Monday.

In a statement, school directors said it has provided information about the outbreak to the health department.

North Carolina’s rate of unvaccinated children doubled between 2012 and 2016 due to easy exemption rules for religious reasons.

To obtain a medical exemption, parents need a doctor to prove that their child is immunocompromised and would be harmed by the vaccine, and the state has to approve their application to prove that.

However, religious exemption is much simpler. There is no oversight. The parent need only write a letter to the school claiming religious beliefs, and their child is exempt. 

According to an article North Carolina’s The News & Observer last year, the rate of children exempted for medical reasons remains low (just 180 kids). But religious exemptions have risen dramatically, from 871 in 2012 to 2,073 in 2016. 

The lack of approval process means ‘you don’t even have to believe in God,’ Asheville-based lawyer Alan Phillips told the newspaper.  

Trying to bring the latest outbreak under control, Buncombe County Medical Director Dr Jennifer Mullendore said students who can’t provide proof of vaccination against chickenpox have been quarantined for 21 days. One of the infected children attends a different school.

Asheville Waldorf, a private school, opened in 2009, first with the name Azalea Mountain School.

It serves students from nursery school age to Grade 6, with approximately 130 students, for up to $8,900 a year. 

‘Asheville Waldorf School is committed to protecting the health and safety of our community,’ the school said in a statement.