Unvaccinated Children Are Now Barred From Going To School In New York — And Their Anti-Vax Parents Are Really Mad

Anti-vaccine protesters outside an event with Gov. Andrew Cuomo at Farmingdale State College in Farmingdale, New York, on Sept. 18.

Furious anti-vax parents in New York this week are posting memes and images of sad children — and have shown up in person to protest the governor — because a new law prohibiting unvaccinated children from attending school went into effect.

The mandate, enacted in June, “prohibits a school from permitting any child to be admitted to such school, or to attend such school, in excess of 14 days without sufficient evidence that the child has received all age appropriate required vaccinations,” according an official publication from the New York Department of Health, Office of Children and Family Services, and the State Education Department.

Those 14-day grace periods started expiring this week, which meant school officials barred students from going to class or began removing them from schools, to be picked up by their parents. (To be clear, the students could return to school if their parents had them vaccinated.)

State health officials told BuzzFeed News that 26,217 unvaccinated New York children in public schools, private schools, parochial schools, daycare centers, and prekindergarten programs claimed religious exemptions during the 2017–18 school year. New York ended religious exemptions for vaccines in June, following the worst measles outbreaks the state had seen in decades.

There is rampant misinformation about vaccines that in part influences anti-vax parents. There is an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence that shows vaccines work and do not cause disorders such as autism — a claim that has been repeatedly debunked. The claims continue to frustrate many autistic people, as people spread vaccine misinformation to play on fears and prejudices.

“Immunizations give children the best protection from serious childhood diseases and the science is crystal clear that vaccines are safe and effective,” the New York Health Department said in a statement to BuzzFeed News on Friday.

On Tuesday, a group of parents protested — and livestreamed — outside Lloyd Harbor Elementary School in Long Island as they waited to collect their children from their 14th and last day of school until they were vaccinated.