Northport Wellness Center

As the debate over mandatory vaccines continues, New York State Assemblyman Mark Alessi (D-Wading River) reaffirmed his plans to establish a roundtable event this summer to discuss the benefits and risks of immunizations.

Alessi recently sponsored the "Philosophical Exemption to Immunizations Act," which currently rests in the health committee, and, if passed, would give parents the right to opt out of mandatory vaccines. However, according to Alessi, another piece of legislation - A10942 - which has recently been proposed by the NYS Department of Health, would take control of vaccine administration away from New York State and put it in the hands of the federal government. This bill, said Alessi, would jeopardize the success of the "Philosophical Exemption to Immunizations Act" at a crucial period when there are still a number of unanswered questions about vaccines.

If this bill from the health department passes, said Alessi, any child in New York State who wishes to attend a public institution would be subject to all vaccine recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control. In addition, this bill includes vaccines that are not currently mandated in New York State, such as the influenza vaccine and diseases that are transmitted through sexual intercourse.

"I am actually so opposed to this bill [A10942], especially since we have just begun the debate over New York State's current mandated program to see if it is a good idea or not," Alessi stated. "Now that the departmental bill has been introduced, I thought it was important to get my message back out there ... let's not push this bill to the Legislature before deciding what is in the best interests of our children."

Alessi said that the roundtable discussion will be held sometime during the summer after data and research have been collected, and a number of speakers or experts representing both sides of the controversy are secured for the meetings.
"I am not going to just stack the deck to try to prove my point," said Alessi. "I really want to invite both sides of this debate and finally get it aired in a way that will help us to better understand our current vaccine program and state mandates and help us decide what is the best state policy in regards to protecting the health of our children."

Meanwhile, the community already has begun voicing their opinions on the vaccine controversy and a parent's right to choose.

"I am working to pass the philosophical exemption bill so parents can refuse vaccines based on philosophical grounds instead of religious," said Rita Palma of Bayport. "I was subjected to a 'sincerity test,' whereby a school attorney questioned my husband and I for two hours purportedly about our faith in God. Seventy-six percent of the questions had nothing to do with God." Palma said she and her husband were ultimately denied the religious exemption "along with almost every other couple in this town who applied." She added that she wants "to help parents raise their kids as they see fit by our laws that respect decisions that are carefully reached in a family."

But according to Anthony Badalamenti, also of Bayport, giving parents the individual right to have their children exempt from vaccinations puts the entire public at risk. "It is an inescapable fact that the only reason those few who do elect to follow a path where they do not vaccinate their children are able to remain disease free is because others don't follow their lead," he said. "I cannot imagine any other situation where it would be considered appropriate to pass legislation making it easier for people to do something, when it is clear that if too many people engage in the activity it will be dangerous to all."

However, Palma contends that there is no guarantee that vaccines are safe and "to force a one-size-fits-all formula on millions of bodies with different strengths and weaknesses makes no sense." Citing personal experience, she said that immunizations are not always completely reliable and that she "caught chicken pox from a vaccinated child."

Regarding the population of vaccinated children who contracted such illnesses, Dr. David Graham, chief deputy health commissioner and acting director of public health at the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, said, "There are always a small percentage of breakthrough diseases because no medication or vaccine is 100% effective ... [but] I think that there is increasing evidence that childhood vaccine exemptions are leading to increased public health risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as these outbreaks that we are seeing in other states that have philosophical exemptions."

Graham, who said he is opposed to the philosophical exemption legislation, said, "The measles used to kill over a million children per year in the world; it still kills over one quarter of a million but in the United States we are not as aware of the risk because it has dropped significantly primarily due to vaccines." According to Graham, by conducting what is referred to as "herd immunity," which occurs when over 90% of the childhood population is vaccinated, "the entire population is protected to a greater degree."

The language of the philosophical exemption bill estimates that only a small percentage of people will file for the exemptions the bill seeks to make easier to obtain, noted Badalamenti. "[But] would anyone support a bill allowing people who own Ferraris to drive 150 miles per hour simply because only a few people will ever own such a car?" he asked. "I cannot understand the logic here."

"There is certainly not one protocol that is good for everyone," stated Dr. Ashley Lewin, a naturopathic physician in Riverhead. "In certain situations, vaccines are absolutely contraindicative in regards to children with specific health conditions or complaints, such as those on the autism spectrum or those with severe digestive disorders, and potentially in some cases of children who have attention deficit disorder."

According to Lewin, vaccines put children who have or who are susceptible to such conditions at a higher risk "because their bodies may not be able to handle that particular kind of stress to the immune system, whereas the average healthy child can take immunizations and have no problems whatsoever." Lewin asserted, "The decision has to be made on an individual basis."

But Badalamenti asserted that public safety must be taken into account. He said, "What is my business and my concern, and should be the goal of legislators and other government officials entrusted to be the guardians of the public - all the public - is that by following their beliefs about vaccines, [those who want exemptions] put others unnecessarily at risk."

Without absolute proof that vaccines cause harm, it is overzealous on the part of the government to put forth the exemption bill, Badalamenti said. "Medical science does not and should not react emotionally," he said. "It requires definitive proof that A causes B. Is it possible we will find a link between vaccines and some medical conditions? Yes, anything is possible, but to take reactionary steps now, when there has yet to be any concrete evidence of harm demonstrated is shortsighted and irresponsible."

On the contrary, said Michelle Doxsee, a physical therapist and parent from Sayville, adding that until there is 100% proof that vaccines and the ingredients in them do not cause harm, the government should be taking every precaution necessary to protect the public. At the very least, officials should not prevent people from opting out of vaccines, she stated.

"There is no evidence that the ingredients in vaccines ... are safe to be injected in children," she said. "As a matter of fact, the [World Health Organization's Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety] added a subgroup in 2006 to start looking proactively into the safety of preservatives and other inactive vaccine ingredients."

Furthermore, stated Doxsee, in addition to the recent dramatic increase in the number of cases of autism, "during the last two decades of the 20th century when the number of vaccines a child was expected to receive more than tripled, there was a simultaneous explosion in acute and chronic childhood disease and disabilities. Many people are now asking the question, 'If vaccines are supposed to be making our children so healthy, why is this highly vaccinated group of children so sick?'"

Exemption Bill Heats Up Vaccine Controversy