A measles outbreak has prompted officials of the Seattle Public Schools to take the drastic action of ordering thousands of students to get vaccinated immediately or risk being barred from returning to classes after the winter break.
The school district sent out a letter to 2,274 students warning they will be kept out of school if they fail to provide a medically verified record they received their immunization shots by the time classes resume on Jan. 8.
“If a student is excluded from school because of immunization requirements, the missed days will be recorded as unexcused absences,” according to a statement on the school district’s website.