Coventry Schools: No Students Sent Home Due to HPV Vaccination Issues

COVENTRY, RI — A special interest group has accused the Coventry School District of sending home three youngsters who were not inoculated against human papillomavirus, a disease transmitted during intimate skin-to-skin contact, typically during sex. But the schools superintendent said this week the claims are unfounded. No students have been sent home because they did not have the HPV vaccination, Schools Supt. Craig Levis said.

The group, which calls itself Rhode Islanders Against Mandated HPV Vaccinations, sent out a press release on Monday headlined "Broken Promises; Coventry School District Throws Out Students For Not Complying With The HPV Vaccine Mandate." The story went on to quote a "Mrs. Testa," who said her daughter and two other girls "were removed from first period class and held in the office until someone came to pick them up, not allowed to go to the bathroom either. Two other girls stated they did receive the vaccine, but the school stated they didn't have the paperwork, and all three girls were sent home."

According to Aimee Gardiner, director, Rhode Islanders Against Mandated HPV Vaccinations, said it was ironic that this incident would occur in Coventry given the school committee's resolution asking the state to remove the HPV vaccination from the list of required immunizations.

But it didn't happen, said Schools Supt. Levis.

"No students were excluded from Coventry Public Schools for not having the HVP vaccination," he said in reply to Patch's questions. "We had 38 middle school students who had not complied with the RI General Law that requires up to date immunization records and/or a current school physical. Their families were notified by certified mail around March 15th that they must comply with the law by April 10th. I asked each family to contact the school nurse or building principal if they needed assistance. I also forwarded to each family a religious exemption form if they chose not to get their child immunized due to religious beliefs. These families had been contacted previously by the school nurse and administration several times throughout the year but still had not complied with the law."

Then, 35 of the families took steps to comply.

"Of the 38 students/families that received letters, only three (3) students were not in compliance as of Friday April 7th," he wrote. "These families were notified by the middle school on Friday that they needed to comply or develop a plan by Monday April 10th. No student was excluded for not having the HVP vaccination. As of tomorrow, only one student will have not complied with the RI General Law. This action was taken to ensure safety for all of our students.

Furthermore, he has not heard from any parents about this matter.

"I have not received one complaint from parents pertaining to receiving these letters," he said.

Joseph Wendelken, public information officer, for the state health department said he contacted Coventry schools after Patch inquired about the possibility students were sent home on Monday over the HPV vaccination.

Coventry told him no one was sent home, he said.

"I am not going to get into the specifics of any individual student’s situation because of health privacy issues," he said. "However, I will say that the Department of Health has consistently communicated to schools that they should not exclude students because of HPV vaccination status, and that we reached out to Coventry and have confirmed that they are following this direction."

Patch also asked about the why the HPV immunization is different than other vaccinations.

"HPV vaccine protects against a virus that causes cancer in boys and girls," he said. For example every year, about 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,000 women die from this disease in the U.S."

But similar to other vaccinations, the protection is long-lasting.

"In terms of the how long the vaccine lasts, research suggests that vaccine protection is long-lasting. Current studies have followed vaccinated individuals for ten years, and show that there is no evidence of weakened protection over time," he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the vaccine for children 11 to 12 years old.

Gardiner did not respond to follow up questions from Patch.

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