Vaccines keep children healthy
As the number of measles, mumps and whooping cough cases increases across the state, parents are becoming more aware of “anti-vaxxers,” parents who opt out of vaccinating their kids.
That number of unvaccinated kids is staggering, especially in Texas.
The 2014 National Immunization Survey shows Texas near the bottom of the list on both the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and “combined vaccine series” for children ages 19 through 35 months.
Parents in Texas may opt their children out of vaccinations for “reasons of conscience, including a religious belief” or if the immunization is medically contraindicated, state statutes say. Most states allow opt-outs for medical or religious reasons only.
About 40,000 exemptions were filed last year in Texas.
These numbers have been on the rise in recent years, mostly because some people believe the MMR vaccine is linked to autism spectrum disorder.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stresses “studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing [autism spectrum disorder]” and study after study after study has found no such link.
But some parents still adamantly believe it and don’t vaccinate their kids.
Now, school populations have to deal with the recurrence of unpleasant, once virtually nonexistent and sometimes-fatal diseases.
The CDC says “about 1 in 4 people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized” and “1 or 2 out of 1,000 people with measles will die, even with the best care.”
Though currently eliminated in the U.S., rubella could make a comeback if the anti-vaxxer movement continues to grow.
The CDC says the last outbreak of rubella was in 1965, “where an estimated 12.5 million people got rubella, 11,000 pregnant women lost their babies, 2,100 newborns died, and 20,000 babies were born with congenital rubella syndrome.”
Scientists made vaccines for these diseases for a good reason.
Parents have every right to worry about their children’s health, but those who do not vaccinate their kids put other children at risk.
This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Vaccines keep children healthy."