Unvaccinated students attend their last day of school
Two sisters attended their last day of school Monday because their parents chose not to vaccinate them.
New York passed a law in the summer that removed non-medical exemptions for vaccinations. Maureen Chapey says she and her husband were among the dozens of parents that lobbied in Albany after the law passed.
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The law allowed for children to get their shots 15 days before the first day of school, but Chapey says she doesn't believe in vaccinations.
Sisters 11-year-old Jane and 7-year-old Francis had their last day of school at Lloyd Harbor Elementary, and their mother will have to provide education for them at home.
Chapey says she has the support of other parents in her community.
Mother Michelle Doxsen from Sayville says she thinks the law isn't about health. "It's a discriminatory law. It's not about public health, it's about greed, corruption and domination," she says.
Parents say that the state acted abruptly by removing religious exemptions.
As a result of the law, 26,000 kids in the state may also be faced with their last day of school.
Anti-vaccine parents say they hope a judge will grant an emergency measure to allow their children to remain at school.
Doctors and lawmakers across the Island encourage parents to get their kids vaccinated.