Failure to Vaccinate!

The recent outbreak of measles has spread to eight states and infected almost 100 individuals. Measles is an airborne virus that infects almost 90% of those which are unvaccinated if they are exposed. Many vaccine preventable diseases have dwindled through the years so parents have less understanding of the devastating results of these illnesses and, as a result, are more inclined to concentrate on potential adverse effects of vaccination. Unfortunately, deceitful studies, celebrity opinion, and anecdotal evidence, frequently repeated by the media, have gotten lots of people to jump on the "anti-vaccination" bandwagon. Children can receive an exemption for religious or philosophical beliefs, or medical exemptions although vaccinations are supposed to be required to enter school in the USA. Forty states now permit philosophical exemptions and those states have a higher vaccine exemption rate than states that simply allow religious exemptions. They also have a higher rate of the illness.
In 1998, the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) came under fire after a small study supposedly illustrated damage to the intestinal lining causing autism. This study was retracted in 2010 and attested to be fallacious in 2011. But, the media reports and hearsay continue to feed this inaccuracy. The risk of an adverse event associated with a vaccination is slight. The danger of acquiring measles for an unvaccinated person during an outbreak is nearly 35 times that of a vaccinated person. The disease is preventable by vaccination.

The problem is not going away.  We would love to hear what you think!