UUCY Vaccine Position
UUCY Vaccine Position
"Unless medically contraindicated, we expect that children and youth participating in our religious education program are vaccinated according to Center for Disease Control guidelines."
The health and safety of all children who participate in RE programming is important. We seek to maintain a positive and safe environment for all children and youth here at UUCY. We recently added vaccination status as a new question on our RE registration form. Confidentiality will be maintained as appropriate. You may discuss any concerns you have with our policy with our Lifespan Religious Education Director.
"Unless medically contraindicated, we expect that children and youth participating in our religious education program are vaccinated according to Center for Disease Control guidelines."
The health and safety of all children who participate in RE programming is important. We seek to maintain a positive and safe environment for all children and youth here at UUCY. We recently added vaccination status as a new question on our RE registration form. Confidentiality will be maintained as appropriate. You may discuss any concerns you have with our policy with our Lifespan Religious Education Director.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Is this a new requirement at UUCY? A. Vaccination is not a requirement of participation in our religious education program--it is an expectation. UUCY would like to provide the safest environment possible for children and youth participating in our Religious Education programming. Churches and congregations are prime areas for the rapid spread of infectious diseases because a large number of people are in close contact with each other. Vaccines can prevent the spread of many of the diseases responsible for outbreaks. Q. Does the UUA require this information? A. The UUA does not require that UU congregations obtain vaccination information; this is a UUCY registration question added through deliberation by both our Program Council and our Religious Education Committee. Q. Is vaccine status a mandatory question on our registration form? A. Answering this question is optional. Q. If my child hasn’t received all of the recommended vaccines can he/she still attend RE at UUCY? A. Yes. All children are welcome at UUCY. Q. Will this information be kept confidential? A. All health information is shared only as needed for the best interests of the child. Q. Would you ever provide this information to anyone? A. This information is kept confidential. In the event of an outbreak of a reportable condition at UUCY, UUCY staff and RE committee will cooperate fully with the Local, State, and Federal authorities. |
Vaccination vs. Immunization
Both immunizations and vaccines refer to a condition where the body is made indifferent against a disease. The difference lies in how you acquire this indifference. Immunization is the general term used for all types of indifference your body acquires towards a disease. You may acquire it naturally, by getting the disease at some stage. You may also acquire it through an artificial exposure to a controlled amount of the germs causing the disease. This is called a vaccination. In a sense, a vaccination is also a type of immunization. The only difference is that you do it artificially, in a safer manner. Even though you may find the term being used indiscriminately, they actually mean different things. Vaccines may contain weakened or dead germs that are capable of producing a disease. However, the germs are either dead or weakened to such an extent that they are incapable of causing the illness. When these are introduced into our body as a vaccine, it develops antibodies against them. If you are wondering what antibodies are, they are nature’s soldiers, fighting against any perceived ‘threat’ to the body. Once your body produces these antibodies, they live on. If you ever encounter the virus or germ again, these antibodies kill them off before they can harm your body. Read more: Difference Between Vaccination and Immunization |