A North Vancouver mom is concerned her teenage son, who has a compromised immune system, will contract a serious illness from his potentially unvaccinated classmates.
Shannon Westerlund brings a personal perspective to the polarizing vaccine debate. Her son Andrew, 14, endured two open-heart surgeries on the road to receiving a new heart in 2013.
The Westerlunds thought Andrew was out of the woods, in terms of imminent health problems. He was back skiing two months after his heart transplant and acting like a normal teenager.
But underneath it all, Andrew is still one common cold away from landing in the hospital with serious complications. The anti-rejection drugs he takes have compromised his immune system for life.
“You would not suspect that this is a sick kid, but he’s really sick,” said Shannon.
Then last September came worse news: Andrew was diagnosed with a rare cancer related to his heart transplant.
Numerous rounds of chemotherapy and the removal of lymph nodes from his entire body have done another number on Andrew’s immune system.
Andrew’s oncologist and cardiologist at first both suggested that he not return to school because of germ exposure. He was later given the all-clear in February.
Carson Graham secondary arranged Andrew’s schedule so he is only in the school once every two days. Still, there remains a risk that Andrew could contract a serious illness from a contagious classmate.
“There are definitely people in that building that are not vaccinated,” figures Shannon, citing a recent study that found B.C.’s vaccine compliance rate is 86 per cent.
Frustrated because there are certain policies in schools to protect vulnerable students — the no peanut rule, for example — Shannon wonders why vaccinations should be treated any different.
“I don’t want to tell other parents they have to do this — I would like parents to realize that it’s the right thing to do,” said Shannon.
Vaccination is not mandatory for students in B.C. schools. Parents provide the school with a copy of their child’s immunization record, which is forwarded to Vancouver Coastal Health.
Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, medical health officer for the North Shore, said the Westerlund family has reason to be concerned about Andrew getting sick at school due to his compromised health, but also noted the risk is low.
Shannon should get a clearer picture of immunization rates at Carson Graham sometime in the coming weeks when Vancouver Coastal Health is expected to release immunization data from each individual school on the North Shore.
“I think that this is the information that a lot of parents are looking for . . . the percentage of students that could bring serious infection into these schools,” said Lysyshyn.
Lysyshyn, who had a look at the preliminary data, said while most students across the North Shore are vaccinated, there are a few key schools where the non-immunization rates are very high relative to the rest of the region. “But I believe that parents sending their kids there already know that is the case,” he added.
Those parents might be shocked to realize just how high the non-immunization rate is, said Lysyshyn, especially if they are hoping to rely on herd immunity to protect their children.
Herd immunity against measles, for example, requires a vaccination rate of about 95 per cent to be effective.
It’s been suggested to Shannon that Andrew be home schooled, an option that she said is not the right choice.
“I don’t want to put him in a bubble because that’s not living,” said Shannon.
