Where Ocean City Schools Rank In Vaccination Rates, Exemptions

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — The measles outbreak in parts of the Jersey Shore has people asking: Is your child safe? And is he or she going to a school where children are disease free?

This past week, two more cases of measles were confirmed in the current outbreak of the virus in Ocean and Monmouth counties, the state Department of Health announced. Read more: Suspected Measles Case In Lacey School Comes Back Negative

Lacey Township Superintendent Vanessa P. Clark announced a Forked River Elementary School student had a suspected case of emails in an email on Monday afternoon. Clark announced Thursday that measles tests came back negative. Read more: Forked River Elementary Student May Have Measles: Officials.

Here are immunization rates in Ocean City schools, according to the Department of Health:

• Immunization rate: 93.60% (390th of 520 NJ municipalities)
• Religious exemptions: 6.00% (65th in NJ)
• Medical exemption: 0.30% (165th in NJ)
• Unknown status: not listed

Here is how the Department of Health has classified each case of immunization and non-immunization:

• Immunized: Students who meet all the minimum immunization requirements as set forth in the regulations.
• Provisional: Student has received a minimum of one dose of each required vaccine and is actively in the process of completing the series in accordance with health officials' recommended minimum interval catch-up schedule.
• Medical Exemption: A written statement, signed by a physician or advanced practice nurse, indicates that an immunization is medically contraindicated for a specific period of time, based upon valid medical reasons.
• Religious Exemption: A written statement, signed by the parent or guardian of the pupil, indicates that the proposed immunization interferes with the free exercise of the pupil's religious rights.

Here are a few things you should know:

• The state, which provided vaccination data after Patch made a records request, relies on data reported by schools for students typically in Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st grade and 6th grade.
• The data are self-reported by the schools and are not verified by DOH or the local health department.
• The data reflects public and private schools in each town. The Ocean City School District did not return comment on what their self-reported immunization rates were.

Read more: Every NJ Town's School Immunization Rate: Where Do You Rank?

With reporting from Tom Davis/Patch National Staff

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Ocean City Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com.