[cookie_doh]

AP IMPACT: Fears of disease outbreak? Half of states see rise in kids skipping school shots

Health officials have not identified an exemption threshold that would likely lead to outbreaks. But they worry when some states have exemption rates climbing beyond 5 percent. The average state exemption rate has been estimated at less than half that.

Even more troubling are pockets in some states where exemption rates are much higher. In some rural counties in northeast Washington, for example, vaccination exemption rates in recent years have been above 20 percent and even as high as 50 percent.

“Vaccine refusers tend to cluster,” said Saad Omer, an Emory University epidemiologist who has done extensive research on the issue.

Parents who let their kids skip some vaccines put others at risk, health officials say. Because no vaccine is completely effective, if an outbreak begins in an unvaccinated group of children, a vaccinated child may still be at some risk of getting sick.

I didn't include the whole article, so here is the link if you want to read it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/ap-impact-fears-of-disease-outbreak-half-of-st...

Do you think it's fair for non-vaxers to put other children at risk for their choices?  Personally I feel pretty strongly about this after witnessing my nephew end up in the hospital when he was an infant after getting whooping cough.  He had a very close call; it's so sad that some babies have died because of this disease.

[cookie_doh]

AP IMPACT: Fears of disease outbreak? Half of states see rise in kids skipping school shots

Health officials have not identified an exemption threshold that would likely lead to outbreaks. But they worry when some states have exemption rates climbing beyond 5 percent. The average state exemption rate has been estimated at less than half that.

Even more troubling are pockets in some states where exemption rates are much higher. In some rural counties in northeast Washington, for example, vaccination exemption rates in recent years have been above 20 percent and even as high as 50 percent.

“Vaccine refusers tend to cluster,” said Saad Omer, an Emory University epidemiologist who has done extensive research on the issue.

Parents who let their kids skip some vaccines put others at risk, health officials say. Because no vaccine is completely effective, if an outbreak begins in an unvaccinated group of children, a vaccinated child may still be at some risk of getting sick.

I didn't include the whole article, so here is the link if you want to read it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/ap-impact-fears-of-disease-outbreak-half-of-st...

Do you think it's fair for non-vaxers to put other children at risk for their choices?  Personally I feel pretty strongly about this after witnessing my nephew end up in the hospital when he was an infant after getting whooping cough.  He had a very close call; it's so sad that some babies have died because of this disease.

[witch_power]

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cookie_doh wrote:

Do you think it's fair for non-vaxers to put other children at risk for their choices?  Personally I feel pretty strongly about this after witnessing my nephew end up in the hospital when he was an infant after getting whooping cough.  He had a very close call; it's so sad that some babies have died because of this disease.

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It really depends on your perspective. From my point of view, I wonder if it is fair for vaxers to put their children at risk by vaccinating them?

I feel pretty strongly about this too, due to my own experiences. My son had a severe reaction to his baby shots - uncontrollable fevers, high-pitched screaming and convulsions. My grandson stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated. Not to mention all the other things I have read about that vaccines have caused, including death.

It is sad that some babies die due to disease, it is also sad that some babies die due to vaccines. There are no guarantees - I don't want your baby to die from whooping cough, but I don't want my baby to die from getting vaccinated.

There are no easy answers in this debate.