MARYSVILLE, Mich. (WWJ) - Nearly 20 students at Marysville High School have been ordered to stay home from class for several weeks, or get the chickenpox vaccine.
The St. Clair County Health Department sent out letters to 37 families amid a chickenpox outbreak at the school, north of Port Huron.
Medical Health Officer Annette Mercatante said only about half of those families complied with a order to get their children vaccinated.
Now she's fielding calls from upset parents.
"They clearly have a lot of misconceptions about what vaccines are. You know, what they are and aren't," Mercatante told WWJ's Sandra McNeill. "We have a great deal of evidence, time and history and science that supports the fact that vaccines are very effective, very safe and very important as far as improving the health of our community."
Mercatante said her duty is to protect the public from the chickenpox, which can lead to health complications; and, in some cases, even death.
"We hate excluding kids from school," she added.
"The solution is: Do your job, protect yourself, and protect the people around you by following evidence-based solid science. And if you choose not to, then you have to be responsible for staying home and not adding to the problem. It's a little frustrating when we're told that we don't know what we're talking about."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). It can cause an itchy, blister-like rash that appears first on the chest, back, and face, and then spreads over the entire body.
A fact sheet for parents that describes symptoms of infection as well as benefits and risks of vaccination is available from the CDC AT THIS LINK.