Author: Aurélie Chuong, Vice-President and Treasurer – [email protected]
A year ago, I wrote a short blog post about immunizations. I mentioned parents’ concern of immunizations as a test their newborn’s immune system towards diseases they may never encounter. I asked what the right thing to do was as far as the well-being of the community and others was concerned. How would parents feel if their child fell sick because another parent made the same decision to not immunize?
Today, public health headlines are focusing on Disneyland in Anaheim, California and parents’ choosing to not immunize their children. The result: 87 confirmed cases of measles in seven (7) states, the majority of which are in California [1] and the number is likely to rise. Huntington Beach High School in Orange County, California, who had one (1) confirmed case of measles is even banning students who are not immunized to prevent the spread of measles [2], but did this school go too far as to violate parents’ right-to-choose?
One surprising fact is that these parents who choose to not vaccinate their children tend to be educated and are least easily persuaded of the benefits of immunization especially if they have already made up their mind that “vaccines are evil” [3]. According to Dr. Nina Shapiro, this may be due to a trend of avoiding putting chemicals, all-natural way of life [4].
I understand that parents want what is best for their child; my parents did for me and I am sure that when I have children of my own, I will want the same for them. However, these vaccines are under much more tightly regulated than pesticides, herbicides, and even some household products! The FDA requires drug manufacturers to demonstrate safety, toxicity, and efficacy of a new drug and/or vaccine. Except for a rare instance, such as an allergic reaction, these vaccines are safe! Also, I think that these parents are not aware of the true risks of not vaccinating their child because, thankfully, nothing bad or drastic has happened to them yet. Here are three (3) stories, one (1) personal and two (2) that have made headlines, which I hope will give you some food for thought.
First story I would like to share is that of a child in my entourage, C., who got bacterial meningitis while at daycare because another child was not vaccinated (their parents opted out). C. was too young to be vaccinated at the time, and spent innumerable days at the hospital. Today, years later, he has epilepsy, cannot speak, is partially deaf, has to be in a wheelchair as he has no motor control of his arms and legs, and will require someone at his side for the rest of his life. Despite these hardships, C. has an amazing personality. I am not sure what happened to the other child, I was just glad to hear that C. pulled through.
Second story is that of Carl Krawitt and his son Rhett, as it aired on NPR [5]. Rhett is in remission from leukemia but with his immune system slowly rebuilding, he still cannot be vaccinated. He also happens to live in Marin County, California, where there are 6.45% of children who have been exempted from getting vaccinated because of personal beliefs [5]. As Carl told NPR, "If you choose not to immunize your own child and your own child dies because they get measles, OK, that's your responsibility, that's your choice. But if your child gets sick and gets my child sick and my child dies, then ... your action has harmed my child" [5]. In order to protect his immuno-compromised son, Carl has asked the superintendent to “require immunizations as a condition of attendance” [5]. Since there have been no cases of measles in Marin county, the district is monitoring the situation but not taking action just yet.
Last but not least, Livia Simon and 30 other children were in quarantine for three (3) weeks due to potential exposure to measles at a local hospital [6]. Livia and these 30 other children were not able to be vaccinated because they were too young, as they are all younger than one (1) year of age [6]. In the interview, Livia’s mom, Jennifer, mentioned that the choice to not immunize could lead to catastrophic consequences, with the quarantine being an inconvenience but thankfully not a tragedy [6].
Taking all of these three (3) stories together, these children did not choose to get sick. Any of these parents would immunize their child if they could have. In the case of C., damage is done and even though, in Jennifer Simon’s words, there was no tragedy, there were consequences. The Simons and the Krawitts want to avoid these consequences which are preventable, so once again, I pose the question “What will it take for those parents who chose to opt-out to immunize their children?”
[1] Xia, R. 26 January 2015. “California measles outbreak is up to 87 cases in 7 states, Mexico.” Los Angeles Times. Accessed 28 January 2015. <http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-measles-outbreak-87-cases-20150126-story.html>
[2] “24 Unvaccinated Students Banned From OC High School After Campus Measles Exposure.” 20 January 2015. CBS Los Angeles. Accessed 28 January 2015. http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/01/20/24-unvaccinated-students-banned-from-oc-high-school-after-campus-measles-exposure/
[3] Nyhan, B., Reifler, J., Richey, S., and Freed G. “Effective Messages in Vaccine Promotion: A Randomized Trial.” Pediatrics 133 (2014): 835-842. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-2365.
[4] Seitz-Wald, A. 14 August 2013. “What’s with rich people hating vaccines?” Salon.com. Accessed 28 January 2015. <http://www.salon.com/2013/08/14/whats_with_rich_people_hating_vaccines/>
[5] Aliferis, L. 27 January 2015. “To Protect His Son, A Father Asks School To Bar Unvaccinated Children.” National Public Radio. Accessed 27 January 2015. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/27/381888697/to-protect-his-son-a-father-asks-school-to-bar-unvaccinated-children>
[6] “Measles outbreak: More than two dozen children quarantined.” 24 January 2015. CBS This Morning. Accessed 28 January 2015. <http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/measles-outbreak-more-than-two-dozen-children-quarantined/>
A year ago, I wrote a short blog post about immunizations. I mentioned parents’ concern of immunizations as a test their newborn’s immune system towards diseases they may never encounter. I asked what the right thing to do was as far as the well-being of the community and others was concerned. How would parents feel if their child fell sick because another parent made the same decision to not immunize?
Today, public health headlines are focusing on Disneyland in Anaheim, California and parents’ choosing to not immunize their children. The result: 87 confirmed cases of measles in seven (7) states, the majority of which are in California [1] and the number is likely to rise. Huntington Beach High School in Orange County, California, who had one (1) confirmed case of measles is even banning students who are not immunized to prevent the spread of measles [2], but did this school go too far as to violate parents’ right-to-choose?
One surprising fact is that these parents who choose to not vaccinate their children tend to be educated and are least easily persuaded of the benefits of immunization especially if they have already made up their mind that “vaccines are evil” [3]. According to Dr. Nina Shapiro, this may be due to a trend of avoiding putting chemicals, all-natural way of life [4].
I understand that parents want what is best for their child; my parents did for me and I am sure that when I have children of my own, I will want the same for them. However, these vaccines are under much more tightly regulated than pesticides, herbicides, and even some household products! The FDA requires drug manufacturers to demonstrate safety, toxicity, and efficacy of a new drug and/or vaccine. Except for a rare instance, such as an allergic reaction, these vaccines are safe! Also, I think that these parents are not aware of the true risks of not vaccinating their child because, thankfully, nothing bad or drastic has happened to them yet. Here are three (3) stories, one (1) personal and two (2) that have made headlines, which I hope will give you some food for thought.
First story I would like to share is that of a child in my entourage, C., who got bacterial meningitis while at daycare because another child was not vaccinated (their parents opted out). C. was too young to be vaccinated at the time, and spent innumerable days at the hospital. Today, years later, he has epilepsy, cannot speak, is partially deaf, has to be in a wheelchair as he has no motor control of his arms and legs, and will require someone at his side for the rest of his life. Despite these hardships, C. has an amazing personality. I am not sure what happened to the other child, I was just glad to hear that C. pulled through.
Second story is that of Carl Krawitt and his son Rhett, as it aired on NPR [5]. Rhett is in remission from leukemia but with his immune system slowly rebuilding, he still cannot be vaccinated. He also happens to live in Marin County, California, where there are 6.45% of children who have been exempted from getting vaccinated because of personal beliefs [5]. As Carl told NPR, "If you choose not to immunize your own child and your own child dies because they get measles, OK, that's your responsibility, that's your choice. But if your child gets sick and gets my child sick and my child dies, then ... your action has harmed my child" [5]. In order to protect his immuno-compromised son, Carl has asked the superintendent to “require immunizations as a condition of attendance” [5]. Since there have been no cases of measles in Marin county, the district is monitoring the situation but not taking action just yet.
Last but not least, Livia Simon and 30 other children were in quarantine for three (3) weeks due to potential exposure to measles at a local hospital [6]. Livia and these 30 other children were not able to be vaccinated because they were too young, as they are all younger than one (1) year of age [6]. In the interview, Livia’s mom, Jennifer, mentioned that the choice to not immunize could lead to catastrophic consequences, with the quarantine being an inconvenience but thankfully not a tragedy [6].
Taking all of these three (3) stories together, these children did not choose to get sick. Any of these parents would immunize their child if they could have. In the case of C., damage is done and even though, in Jennifer Simon’s words, there was no tragedy, there were consequences. The Simons and the Krawitts want to avoid these consequences which are preventable, so once again, I pose the question “What will it take for those parents who chose to opt-out to immunize their children?”
[1] Xia, R. 26 January 2015. “California measles outbreak is up to 87 cases in 7 states, Mexico.” Los Angeles Times. Accessed 28 January 2015. <http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-measles-outbreak-87-cases-20150126-story.html>
[2] “24 Unvaccinated Students Banned From OC High School After Campus Measles Exposure.” 20 January 2015. CBS Los Angeles. Accessed 28 January 2015. http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/01/20/24-unvaccinated-students-banned-from-oc-high-school-after-campus-measles-exposure/
[3] Nyhan, B., Reifler, J., Richey, S., and Freed G. “Effective Messages in Vaccine Promotion: A Randomized Trial.” Pediatrics 133 (2014): 835-842. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-2365.
[4] Seitz-Wald, A. 14 August 2013. “What’s with rich people hating vaccines?” Salon.com. Accessed 28 January 2015. <http://www.salon.com/2013/08/14/whats_with_rich_people_hating_vaccines/>
[5] Aliferis, L. 27 January 2015. “To Protect His Son, A Father Asks School To Bar Unvaccinated Children.” National Public Radio. Accessed 27 January 2015. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/27/381888697/to-protect-his-son-a-father-asks-school-to-bar-unvaccinated-children>
[6] “Measles outbreak: More than two dozen children quarantined.” 24 January 2015. CBS This Morning. Accessed 28 January 2015. <http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/measles-outbreak-more-than-two-dozen-children-quarantined/>