Vaccine debate plagues Legislature
Vaccinations inexplicably have been a hot-button topic.
Gone are the days when people across the U.S. marveled at the eradication of polio — a nasty virus that still plagues much of the developing world. Now, many parents are too worried about vaccines to consider the decades of science behind them.
Texas lawmakers have filed bills on both sides of the vaccine debate, stirring the pot of this never-ending controversy.
Some of those bills are simple: House Bill 120 changes the “of conscience” exemption from required vaccines, relabeling the step as “non-medical.” Others wade into more controversial areas of the debate.
One bill aims to make it easier to file for exemptions. House Bill 1124 would allow parents to file online. One pediatrician argued in a committee meeting that some parents will exempt their kids for convenience, not conviction.
Senate Bill 54 would allow “anti-vaxxers,” parents who decide against vaccinations, to opt out of a registry instead of opting in. House Bill 2249 does something similar, creating a report of how many students have vaccine exemptions.
Anti-vaxxers worry that these bills will “shame” them, a frustrating argument. Because of anti-vaxxers, parents of kids with suppressed immune systems, like kids with cancer, now have to be careful what schools they attend.
The “shame” of not wanting to vaccinate your kids should never outweigh keeping children healthy and safe in schools.
Some anti-vaxxers argue that children are being introduced to unnecessary chemicals to prevent already nonexistent diseases.
Bills like Senate Bill 479 and House Bills 126 and 241 would require extra steps for parents, like an educational module or counseling from a healthcare professional, before they can get the immunization exemption.
Only HB 1124 and HB 2249 have had committee meetings. Both were contentious. They will be the first of many.
These bills would help explain that these “nonexistent” diseases do actually exist — we just didn’t see them for decades because people got vaccinated.
It’s called herd immunity, and it keeps pathogens at bay.
More than 44,000 students had an immunization exemption last school year. This year, Texas had the most cases of mumps in the last 25 years.
That isn’t coincidence.
When half of the herd decides that vaccines are “against their conscience,” it starts breaking down everyone’s protection. Not vaccinating your kids not only puts your kids at risk, but any kid who comes in contact with them.
Although vaccines are extremely effective, they do not work 100 percent of the time. Children who were vaccinated could still contract a virus, and kids who have suppressed immune systems and/or are too young for vaccines are almost always at risk.
Texas might not be able to stop people from conscientiously exempting their children from immunizations, but it can make sure that parents fully understand the risk they are taking by doing so.
This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Vaccine debate plagues Legislature."