This year’s Humboldt County Grand Jury — that group of citizens tasked with providing independent review of local governmental agencies, and given special investigatory powers under the constitution of the state of California — today issued its first report of the 2015-2016 year. Their topic? Child immunization rates in the Humboldt County school system, and what local governmental authorities are doing to address new state legislation requiring kids to be up-to-date on their immunizations in order to attend public school.

This is an important and interesting topic. It resulted in one of the strangest Humboldt County Grand Jury Reports in recent memory.

The report starts off well enough, noting that Humboldt County’s immunization rates are near the bottom (54th out of 58 California counties) and that not coincidentally we have the state’s second highest rate of pertussis, a potentially deadly infectious disease that was once on the road to eradication. Humboldt County had 58 diagnosed cases of pertussis in 2010, the Grand Jury writes, and 149 diagnosed cases in 2014.

But why are our vaccination rates so low? The Grand Jury has two answers:

• One: It’s hard for some people to find transportation to the clinic.
• Two: Too many parents don’t know about a cool website — www.shotsforschool.org — that can tell you all about current vaccination rates at their kids’ schools.

That is literally the Grand Jury’s diagnosis: Tough to find a ride to the doctor sometimes, the cool website hasn’t made the rounds. This makes the solution so simple! Send the Department of Health and Human Services Mobile Medical Van out to the hinterlands to deliver shots to the kids, and everyone put a link to shotsforschool.org on your websites!

Why does this analysis fail to convince? For one, because many or most of the schools with the lowest vaccination rates in the county aren’t exactly hours from civilization. Three of the five schools with the lowest rates — Coastal Grove Charter School, Fuente Nueva Charter School, Blue Lake Elementary — are well within Humboldt County’s urban center. The first two of those schools are literally walking distance from several different clinics and doctor’s offices.

What the report fails to consider — what it absolutely fails to acknowledge at all, in fact — is the fact that a large proportion of Humboldt County parents stand firm by the discredited notion that the cure, in this case, is worse than the disease. Many people here honestly believe that vaccination is not so much a proven means of eradicating deadly and crippling infectious diseases, but some sort of medico-industrial governmental plot to enslave and poison the minds and bodies of their precious little ones. 

This is a real thing that people in Humboldt County and elsewhere believe, and in large numbers. Sadly for everyone, the problem isn’t going to be solved by offering people a lift to the doctor’s office. There’s no easy answer, but the Grand Jury does no one any favors by glossing over the issue.

The full report — titled, sunnily enough, “Be Wise, Immunize” — can be found at this link. Press release from the Humboldt County Grand Jury below:

Vaccination rates in Humboldt County rank a low 54 out of 58 California counties. 

Humboldt County’s low vaccination rates became a public concern when SB 277 was signed into law in June 2015. With the passage of SB 277 parents will no longer be able to refuse the vaccination of their children based on personal belief exemptions, if their children attend public or private school. Humboldt County has the sixth highest personal belief exemption rate in the state.

When it comes to California vaccination rates for kindergarten and seventh graders in schools, Humboldt County ranks 54 out of 58 Counties. This includes both public and private schools. The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury finds there is a risk of a contagious disease outbreak due to the percentage of children who are not currently vaccinated in Humboldt County. The Humboldt County Department of Public Health has taken the initiative to establish the Humboldt Immunization Coalition (HIC) and is initiating a community-wide outreach program to improve vaccination rates for County school-aged children. The HCCGJ acknowledges the work of the Humboldt County Department of Public Health, Humboldt County Office of Education, and the individual schools in Humboldt County for their diligence in initiating the implementation of SB 277.

The 2015-2016 Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury has two concerns.

According to a survey conducted by the HIC, access to transportation presents a major obstacle when it comes to children receiving vaccines. The HCCGJ, therefore, recommends that the Humboldt County Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the Humboldt County Office of Education, develop and implement an action plan to address transportation accessibility for mandated vaccinations.

Furthermore, parents may not have access to vaccination rates prior to the fall of 2016, to enroll their children in their selected school. While there is a state database (www.shotsforschool.org) which includes the vaccination rates for every school in California, parents may not be aware of this site and the Humboldt County information contained on that site may not be accurate. The HCCGJ recommends the Humboldt County Department of Public Health, Humboldt County Office of Education, and the individual schools post the vaccination rates of students on their websites and/or include a link to the Shots for School website and in collaboration designate an agency to officially oversee the timely and accurate reporting of those vaccination rates.

Parents have a right to access accurate vaccination rates of prospective schools before they enroll their children in that school.