I know everyone is
having their say about this Measles outbreak…so due to the fact that I have a
child too young to receive her vaccine, I wanted to add my thoughts to the
debate.
According to the CDC,
“Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. It
spreads through the air through coughing and sneezing. Measles starts with a
fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat, and is followed by a rash
that spreads all over the body. About three out of ten people who get measles
will develop one or more complications including pneumonia, ear infections, or
diarrhea. Complications are more common in adults and young children. Measles can be serious, especially for
children younger than 5 years old. It
can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and death” (http://www.cdc.gov/measles/).
Measles was considered
eliminated in the United States in 2000. This means that the disease had no
transmission for 12 months in the United States. Therefore, even if someone came to Disneyland
from another country who was not vaccinated, it shouldn’t have affected our
country like it is currently. The anti-vaccination movement that has taken
hold in the US has adversely affected us. The ones that are the victims
of this though, are the ones with no choice - those too young to be vaccinated
and those with immune deficiencies.
These people that are
either too young for vaccination (like my 4 month old daughter who cannot
receive her MMR
vaccine until she is 12 months old) and those with immune deficiencies
(either a specific immune disorder or due to receiving chemotherapy), have to
rely on what is called “herd immunity”.
This means that a majority of the population is immunized against
contagious diseases, leaving little opportunity for an
outbreak. Therefore, infants, pregnant
women, and immunocompromised
individuals have a level of protection even though
they can’t be immunized, because the spread of the disease is essentially
contained. If you’re still having
trouble wrapping your head around the concept of herd immunity, here is a picture from the CDC depicting scenarios of when almost none of the
population is vaccinated and when most of the population is vaccinated.
So why have so many
people become “anti-vaxxers”? I’m going
to talk about the reasons I’ve discovered and why or how we should help educate
the population that vaccinations work.
First, many people
have a fear of their child getting autism due to an article that was published
in 1998, stating a link between vaccines and autism. However, just doing a google search about
this, you will find all sorts of information showing that the article was
retracted and proven fraudulent in February of 2010 (12 years later). Here are the reasons that this article was
proven as fraudulent: 1) Facts were altered regarding the patients’ medical
histories, 2) data was picked and chosen which supported their case, 3)
scientific misrepresentation because it stated sampling was consecutive when it
was actually selective, and 4) Wakefield was financially supported by lawyers
who were pursuing lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers. See full information here. Therefore, this link to autism was an
elaborate fraud that has had a huge detrimental effect on our country. Fear broke out in parents and for 12 years parents
were not having their children vaccinated.
Now what we have is a large portion of our population un-vaccinated
against these contagious diseases (for disproved reasons), which means these
eliminated and eradicated diseases will now be making a strong comeback in the
United States. We’re taking 3 huge steps backward.
Speaking of fear leads in to my second reason for the anti-vaccination
movement. In the United States we are
very privileged. If you step foot outside of our country, you will see this in
many aspects. The United States
population has become so complacent in their views of vaccination because these diseases have been eradicated or eliminated (in the US). They haven’t
seen what Measles, Polio, Tuberculosis, etc look like. They haven’t seen
how people can die from them. Meanwhile, mothers in Africa will walk
miles and stand in line in the heat for hours to receive a vaccination against
any disease. This is because they can see these diseases and what they do
every day. We are fortunate in the United States to have been given immunity to
these diseases so we don’t have the constant worry about catching a deadly
contagious disease. So what does that mean? That means the people now
worry about silly things like “Oh my gosh, my child might get autism according
to a fraudulent article, so I’m not going to give them immunity against a
deadly disease”. Fear is what drives most people. I wish I had the
numbers for the amount of un-vaccinated people who went out and got their
vaccinations when the Measles outbreak occurred. Even if you use common
sense and just look at the facts: 1) Almost all people were vaccinated in the
70s and 80s and most of these diseases were eliminated or eradicated in the 90s and 2000s. 2) Now that people aren't getting vaccinated, these diseases are coming back. Even common sense
tells you the common denominator is VACCINATION! It works.
Finally, the most
obnoxious reason I've heard is that it is their “choice”. This enrages me because a) you’re making a decision for someone else (your child, not yourself) and b) the rest of the
population is affected by THEIR decision. My child, who at 4 months old,
is too young to receive her vaccine against Measles. So now, for the next 8
months, I have to worry about taking her to populated areas for fear that she
will catch the Measles. And do you know why she’s too young to get the vaccine?
Because it’s dangerous being so young and the complications (pneumonia, encephalitis,
etc) can be very severe in a child that young. This is the very reason that we
have herd immunity. But our herd is small now. And some else made the decision
not to vaccinate their child, and that child will walk around with Measles for
4 days expose MY child and others unable to receive their vaccine. That
is not fair. MY choice is for my child to not contract these diseases and have
her vaccinated – so doesn't my choice count too? As another argument I heard so eloquently
stated: “You can drink in your own house and that is your choice – but when you
get in a car, you are now putting others at risk…and that is NOT your choice.”
That is why you can be ticketed and put in jail for DUI or sued for
manslaughter if you kill someone while driving under the influence. The same is true for vaccinations. When you
choose not to vaccinate, you are also putting the population that does not have
the ability to vaccinate at risk. You should be held personally
responsible if my child contracts a preventable disease because you chose not to vaccinate – especially if there
are serious adverse effects from the disease – such as pneumonia or death. Another comparison is with peanut butter at
schools. My child won’t be able to bring peanut butter to school for fear of
exposing a child with a peanut allergy to it. So what is any different about an
un-vaccinated child coming to school and exposing my children to a PREVENTABLE
disease?!
Schools used to
require that children are up to date on their vaccinations prior to
attending. However, over the years, most
states allow exceptions to these rules for either medical reasons or personal
and religious reasons. I’ve researched
and found that there are only 2 states (Mississippi and West Virginia) in which
the only exceptions are for medical reasons (immune deficiencies). Arizona,
where I live, allows all the exceptions, and according to CNN, nearly 5% of
school aged children in Arizona were able to skip vaccinations last school year
due to any of those exceptions. I feel
that public schools should require all vaccinations, except in cases of medical
reasons (and those should be specifically stated and have to be proven). If parents want to object due to personal or
religious beliefs, then they can go to a private school. But if their children
are receiving a free education supported by the public, then they need to do
their part in supporting the public health and receive their vaccinations.
I’ve ranted about this
for a while, but I hope that it has given information and arguments that will
support vaccination. Perhaps we should
fund trips to Africa for parents who have “personal belief” objections to
vaccination so that they can see these populations where Polio and Measles run
rampant. They need a good reality
check. We also need to change the rules
in schools. For now, I’m going to be
fearful of public places for 8 months while my child cannot get her vaccine,
all because some other parents made the “choice” for her child not to
vaccinate. That parent made the choice for ME
and MY CHILD as well, and that’s just unacceptable.
