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A small but increasing number of children in the United States are not getting some or all of their recommended vaccinations. The percentage of children under 2 years old who haven't received any vaccinations has quadrupled in the last 17 years, according to federal health data released Thursday.
Overall, immunization rates remain high and haven't changed much at the national level. But a pair of reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about immunizations for preschoolers and kindergartners highlights a growing concern among health officials and clinicians about children who aren't getting the necessary protection against vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, whooping cough and other pediatric infectious diseases.
The vast majority of parents across the country vaccinate their children and follow recommended schedules for this basic preventive practice. But the recent upswing in vaccine skepticism and outright refusal to vaccinate has spawned communities of undervaccinated children who are more susceptible to disease and pose health risks to the broader public.
[...] The data underlying the latest reports do not explain the reason for the increase in unvaccinated children. In some cases, parents hesitate or refuse to immunize, officials and experts said. Insurance coverage and an urban-rural disparity are likely other reasons for the troubling rise.
Among children aged 19 months to 35 months in rural areas, about 2 percent received no vaccinations in 2017. That is double the number of unvaccinated children living in urban areas.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by driverless on Friday October 12 2018, @08:52AM (2 children)
Yeah, I know, that's the tragedy. The hope is that after a single serious outbreak that gets a lot of publicity, other parents will see sense. It'll suck if you're in the victim group, but someone has to be the canary in the coal mine, unfortunately. And I'm not being callous/flippant in saying that, unless the parents see the real consequences of their actions I don't think they'll ever change their minds.
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday October 12 2018, @01:38PM (1 child)
Parents see autistic children and they learn the lesson. Now it is you who have to earn the trust back. It will take you a few generations.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 12 2018, @07:49PM
It's a pity that these parents never learned about the post hoc fallacy. [wikipedia.org]
Considering that many of these diseases being vaccinated against have been nearly eradicated, I would think that doctors and epedemiologists should have already earned that trust long ago. Seriously. How old are you? My guess is that you can't be more than 30 years old, maximum. You may find this incredible but the (near) eradication of many of these diseases is within the living memory of many of us. These diseases used to be KILLERS. Now it mostly just a visit to the doctor to get a shot to prevent these diseases. That's quite an astounding rollback, if you ask me.
God, I would hope that it doesn't take more than a few years to put an end to this stupidity! But I guess this is just another case where the stubbornness of willful ignorance is almost limitless.