Kids Must Be Vaccinated

Although measles were declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, according to the World Health Organization 145,700 people died of this disease worldwide in 2013.

This is why the measles outbreak registered at a Disneyland park in Anaheim is especially worrying. So far 39 people who have contracted measles have been identified in four states, 35 of them in California. 13 of those cases were reported this week. In the large majority of cases, those were people who had not been vaccinated.

What happened in Disneyland is due to a mix of factors. Supposedly, a foreign tourist might have carried the virus and accidentally disseminated it in the park. The problem is that some people were not vaccinated.

Regrettably, this is the result of a dangerous tendency to consider childhood vaccines as causing such problems as autism. This theory was first formulated in a 1998 article written by Doctor Andrew Wakefield, who claimed that the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella harmed children. The study was debunked as a fraud and Wakefield lost his medical license as a result of this publication.

However, the lie of the study has survived, to the point that 48 U.S. states allow for exemptions to childhood vaccinations. More than 13,000 “personal beliefs exemptions” cases were registered last year in California. Fortunately, some courts, like the Mississippi Supreme Court, declared them unconstitutional in spite of the resistance of ignorant parents who, in refusing to vaccinate their children, endanger their health and everyone else’s.

It must be clear that the MMR has no relationship whatsoever with autism, according to a number of studies. Parents have an obligation to vaccinate their children and stop playing doctor dangerously. Doctors also recommend such basic measures as washing hands and cover your mouth when coughing.

You can rest assured when you vaccinate your children, and by doing so will also to contribute to the public health of all