There were 102 reported cases of measles across 14 states in January. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 644 cases in 2014. Why would an illness that has been virtually eliminated in the United States be making such a comeback?
For an answer, look to the growing pockets of individuals claiming exemption from the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, among others. Although parents who choose not to vaccinate their children are mostly college-educated and privately insured, they may need to be reminded that you can not always trust the Internet.
The anti-vaccine conflict has been a topic of mommy blogs since a 1998 study linked the MMR vaccine to autism. Since then, the author of the study, Andrew Wakefield, lost his medical license, and dozens of studies involving millions of children have failed to replicate his admittedly falsified results. Although truth has come to light, denial, fear and mistrust run deep, and, according to a 2011 study by the U.S. Public Health Service, 57 percent of anti-vaccinators still have concerns about vaccines and autism.
Many parents acknowledge that vaccines protect the health of their children, but they feel that they are over-vaccinated at too young of an age. The American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) realizes that children under the age of two are most vulnerable to illness and therefore develops its immunization schedule in order to best protect that age group with vaccines.
Some may argue that their unvaccinated children are healthy and pose no threat to the community. It doesn’t matter how healthy the kids are today, measles is contagious and infects 90 percent of those who aren’t immune and come close to an infected individual. With lower percentages of vaccinated children in various states, it’s becoming more possible for the illness to spread from one child to 15 more.
Honestly, it boils down to this: anti-vaccinators mistrust public health authority. The U.S. Public Health Service reported that parents who opted out of vaccinations were less inclined to believe that health professionals had their children’s best interest at heart. I am not a skeptic. I believe credible and unbiased sources like the CDC, AAP and hundreds of doctors. If anti-vaccinators can’t trust the majority of public health officials and continue to surround themselves only with material that supports their belief, then I am not convinced they can’t be reasoned with at all. I guess that would explain why they consider it a religious exemption.
