North Carolina

Officials urge children get vaccinations after chicken pox outbreak at Asheville school

By Mark Barber
By Mark Barber

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A chicken pox outbreak has grown to 36 students at a private school in Asheville.

Children in North Carolina can’t go to public or private school unless they have received a dozen vaccines from a county health department. One of the vaccines is for chickenpox. The state only allows exceptions on two grounds -- one is for those with medical issues and the other is for religious reasons.

“We’re pro-life so we don’t partake in any vaccines that are grown on fetal cell lines,” a mother, Sarah Elvington, said.

[ALSO READ: 11-year-old boy suffers stroke after complications with chickenpox]

Elvington said she gets many of the recommended vaccines for her two daughters, but she doesn’t get all of them for religious reasons.

Medical experts said some vaccines were developed using aborted fetuses decades ago.

Many of the students at Asheville Waldorf School aren’t vaccinated because of their religious beliefs.

Nearly 2 percent of the students in Mecklenburg County's public, private and charter schools are not vaccinated, which amounts to 3,400 students.

Elvington said she gets many of the recommended vaccines for her two daughters, but she doesn’t get all of them for religious reasons.

Medical experts said some vaccines were developed using aborted fetuses decades ago.

Many of the students at Asheville Waldorf School aren’t vaccinated because of their religious beliefs.

Nearly 2 percent of the students in Mecklenburg County's public, private and charter schools are not vaccinated, which amounts to 3,400 students.

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Associated Press

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