If you are anti-state required vaccinations, would you use the vaccination registry?

[Janeway]

I am anti-mandatory vaccinations. I do not care to argue that point. BUT..if you are anti-mandatory medical shots, and your child has had shots, would you participate in the registry? Records have gotten lost before due to a ped moving and changing names. Did find those records eventually, but it was a real pain. We just do exemptions now. Also, we do not do all shots, I pick the shots I want the kids to have and do not do the rest. Should we just skip the registry? I am actually worried about getting in to the registry and then being on someone's "radar" as being a partial vaccinator or something. Plus, I recall there was something odd about the exemption paperwork where if I turned in records for some shots, I have to make sure I only check the shots not done on the paperwork. So the school nurse had advised me to skip over providing any records at all and just give the exemption. 

 

What do you think? Should I go for the registry? And does anyone have concerns about privacy if they did the registry?

[SparklyUnicorn]

Well, in the event your kids found themselves in a situation where they had to have them and they couldn't provide any proof they'd have to get them all over again.  So I might do it for that reason. 

 

 

[Crimson Wife]

I volunteer at the reading lab at my youngest's school and a couple years ago I had to scramble to get my childhood immunization records when there was a measles outbreak in my region. Of course it happened to occur right when my parents were traveling in rural India. All I remembered was the last name of my pediatrician and the town where his office had been located. I had to make a bunch of calls to find the right guy. Fortunately he hadn't yet retired or I really would've been up a creek.

 

My other alternative would've been paying to have a titer run to prove I'm immune. I ended up having to do that this year for another purpose and it cost me $300 out-of-pocket since insurance wouldn't cover it.

 

My kids follow a delayed & spread-out schedule and at this point I wouldn't have any issues with them being on some registry since they've gotten nearly all of their shots. I have no idea if there even is a registry in my state so it's possible they already are on one.

[regentrude]

Why wouldn't you simply keep an updated record of your child's immunizations at home? I don't let government databases do any other record keeping for me, why should vaccines be different?

 

We keep an international vaccine booklet. At every vaccine, we enter it and have the physician stamp and sign. The document is trilingual.

[The Girls' Mom]

I prefer to keep a record at home.  Each child will get a copy when they move out, and I'll keep one.  I don't have much faith in the "system".

 

I was a military brat, got all the required vaccinations as a kid and as a pregnant adult.  I go to return to school, and lo and behold, my records are NO WHERE in the system.  I do not exist.  This despite, at one time, being in multiple databases in a couple of different state.  Blech.  I ended up getting re-vaxxed for a few things just so I could go to college.

[Ravin]

If there is a registry reported to by the doctor, that is fine. I'm not going to go out of my way to get on such a registry for my kids, though. Thus far I've managed to keep track of their shot records myself.

[Ellie]

I want as little information as possible about my children's health--and mine, for that matter--to be on-line, accessible by the government (or anyone).

[Ailaena]

 

I'm not exactly anti-vax, but I opted out of the registry the instant I knew it existed. Anybody can access that database and I'm just not ok with that. I managed to lug around dd's records for 21 years, so maybe I'll manage this one. Especially since I have an electronic backup!

 

Although I admit I always just sign exempt whenever I have to provide records, which made it easy. Good thing I live in a state where I can do that!

[eternalsummer]

Why wouldn't you simply keep an updated record of your child's immunizations at home? I don't let government databases do any other record keeping for me, why should vaccines be different?

 

We keep an international vaccine booklet. At every vaccine, we enter it and have the physician stamp and sign. The document is trilingual.

 

I believe she's talking about in case they lose the record (we keep ours with the birth certificates and passports and etc., but even so that can all be lost in a house fire or something and the shot records might be more difficult to replace than the other things).  

 

I keep a scan of ours in my gmail account (just the shot records) since schools seem to be fine with a scan of them anyway.  Can't lose that in a fire!

[regentrude]

I believe she's talking about in case they lose the record (we keep ours with the birth certificates and passports and etc., but even so that can all be lost in a house fire or something and the shot records might be more difficult to replace than the other things).  

 

I keep a scan of ours in my gmail account (just the shot records) since schools seem to be fine with a scan of them anyway.  Can't lose that in a fire!

 

Exactly. You can easily keep an electronic copy. 

[maize]

I'd do the registry because I have lots of kids and am not good at keeping track of things. I'm happy to have a record in someone else's system.

[Loowit]

I wouldn't sign up for a registry for the information.  I have copies off my kids immunization records.  We are selective vaccinators.  I also have access to my children's medical records online.  I do need to figure out a way to download and save the information since we are being forced to switch doctors due to an insurance change.  I have a paper copy of my vaccination record that my mom kept for me when I was a kid.  It is in a file with my birth certificate and other documents in our fire proof safe.

[K&Rs Mom]

Here it's automatic: kid gets a shot, doctor files it with the state.  I'm not a fan, but it does make it easier when your doctor retires (ours recently did) or you have to get a waiver for school (health dept and school office can look them up).  We selectively vax.  I do have privacy concerns but I don't think there's any way to opt out in my state (MI) because the doctor's office just submits it and I don't remember ever giving them permission. 

[lllll]

nm

Edited November 5, 2016 by cathey

[Acorn]

I needed to unearth a 35 year old record or pay for titers. My mom had a written record book that she kept but my doctor that had to sign an employment physical needed official verification. We were able to track down proof from the state registry.

[BigMamaBird]

I am against State mandated vaccinations and our family utilizes the registry.  

 

[Ailaena]

Here it's automatic: kid gets a shot, doctor files it with the state. I'm not a fan, but it does make it easier when your doctor retires (ours recently did) or you have to get a waiver for school (health dept and school office can look them up). We selectively vax. I do have privacy concerns but I don't think there's any way to opt out in my state (MI) because the doctor's office just submits it and I don't remember ever giving them permission.

https://www.mcir.org/resource/public-freqently-asked-questions/

Q6 tells you how to remove yourself.

 

I Was about to say that I don't know why this registry idea bothers me so much, but I do know why. Literally every other parent I have talked to doesn't even know we have a registry and that their kids are in if. They don't ask, they just put you in it, and I have had people who have NO BUSINESS accessing ds's records accessing his records.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Why wouldn't you simply keep an updated record of your child's immunizations at home? I don't let government databases do any other record keeping for me, why should vaccines be different?

 

We keep an international vaccine booklet. At every vaccine, we enter it and have the physician stamp and sign. The document is trilingual.

 

I didn't even realize this would be acceptable (officially).  I read on the CDC website that it usually is. 

 

I did have a copy made from the kids' doctor when we moved and the new doctor just copied it and threw it in the files.  Kinda weird because the whole thing is just some sort of worksheet with a bunch of scribbles on it. 

[luuknam]

Why wouldn't you simply keep an updated record of your child's immunizations at home? I don't let government databases do any other record keeping for me, why should vaccines be different?

 

I've got a mental record of what vaccines the kids and I have had. I don't need a physical record for myself. The only people who want a physical record are the government (or rather, places required by the govt to ask for my records), so, why should *I* keep track of that stuff for them? (no idea where my vaccination record is, nor my kids' - their ped hands me a copy when I need to give a copy to someone).

[Katy]

Yes.  It's better to have a record of the vaccines they have received.

 

 

ETA:  When I went to nursing school, I was really glad my vaccines were on the registry.  My childhood doctors had long since died or retired, and I knew my vaccination record wasn't typical because I basically stopped getting everything but tetanus shots after I had a seizure after an MMR vaccine. Having them on a registry helped ME avoid unnecessary shots.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Katy

[SparklyUnicorn]

I assume they just report this to the state anyway.  I could take any ole sheet and scribble the names of vaccines and some illegible initials (that's all that was on the sheet I have) and give it to anyone.  I assume they must verify this stuff.

 

But maybe my assumptions are wrong.  Probably because the govt. apparently is not that organized. 

[Valley Girl]

I'm not anti-vax, but I have opted out of the registry. I also decline, whenever possible, to allow information to be kept in a database. (That's becoming harder and harder.) While I recognize there can be benefits to having information easily available, I have absolutely zero confidence in the security of these systems. I also have a visceral dislike of the idea of having the details of our entire lives at someone else's fingertips. The fact that our private information has been compromised on multiple occasions has further solidified that stance.

[Reefgazer]

I would skip the registry; we are not on the registry, despite my kids being fully vaxxed.  My kids have folded cardstock form given to us by the doctor with a list of all their vaccines/dates.  Or you could just start a file folder yourself and keep all records of the kids' vaccinations in it (you get a signed form when each vax is administered anyway, so you can use that as proof of vaccinations.

Edited October 21, 2016 by reefgazer

[KungFuPanda]

I think it's a good idea to store official records somewhere where you can get them if something happens to your records at home. It should be enough that your dr has them on file. A state database seems unnecessary.

 

I'd also keep an eye towards any colleges your child may have in mind and have a plan for dealing with those requirements. Thinking about and planning for that now will keep you and your young adult from stressing so much when it's time to move out. You may have to do unexpected things like budget for off-campus housing and whatnot

Edited October 21, 2016 by KungFuPanda

[TranquilMind]

I keep my own records, but recently discovered the local school has access to my kids' records via a database. I got a phone call from the school because one of my kids was missing one vaccine, and I asked her (nicely) how she even had that information. The call ended up being a mistake, since my kid isn't in school, but I still found it a bit troubling that someone had accessed my child's health records like that, without my knowledge or permission.

 

Wow, that's interesting. Did you sign something that gave them access?  If there is a school clinic, perhaps you did.  They have some pretty invasive consent forms.  If not, I'm really interested in how they managed to get that information. 

 

[TranquilMind]

I'm not anti-vax, but I have opted out of the registry. I also decline, whenever possible, to allow information to be kept in a database. (That's becoming harder and harder.) While I recognize there can be benefits to having information easily available, I have absolutely zero confidence in the security of these systems. I also have a visceral dislike of the idea of having the details of our entire lives at someone else's fingertips. The fact that our private information has been compromised on multiple occasions has further solidified that stance.

 

This. I have zero confidence in database security. Almost everything has been breached, or hacked, or inadvertently released.  Less than zero confidence. 

I think the old days where your records were on paper at your doctor's office was a much better and safer method.