2 weeks Ago
Another child has died of measles. That makes three deaths so far in the West Texas outbreak: two unvaccinated Texas children and one unvaccinated adult nearby in New Mexico. These deaths didn’t have to happen.
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to man. If an unvaccinated person comes into close contact with an infected individual, there is about a 90% chance that person will catch it. The virus even lingers in the air for up to two hours, so direct contact is not necessary for transmission.
And it’s deadly. About one in 500 patients will succumb to the disease, and some who survive will develop permanent brain damage due to encephalitis. A rare complication called SSPE can rear its ugly head years later, leading to seizures and death up to a decade after being sick! Most people survive the infection, but who wants to take that chance with their child? Fortunately, there is an easy solution — a safe and effective vaccine.
Two doses of the MMR are 97% effective against measles (and 88% effective against mumps by the way). Before the vaccine, 400-500 people died from measles every year, and 1,000 people suffered encephalitis. However, due to public health efforts with vaccination, measles was declared eliminated from the U.
S. in 2000. What an amazing victory for science! So why is it back? The answer is simple — not enough people are getting vaccinated.
Herd immunity requires a 95% vaccination rate. In Gaines County, where the outbreak originated, the vaccination rate is recorded at only 82% for kindergartners in public school. The actual rate is probably lower, considering the large number of homeschooled children.
There are a multitude of reasons that people don’t vaccinate their children, very few of which have any degree of validity. For instance, some people think that the MMR vaccine causes autism. To be clear, it doesn’t; that rumor has been soundly disproven by huge population studies (there’s a long story that I don’t have room for here).
Of course, there are a few valid reasons not to get vaccinated, including immunodeficiency syndromes and true allergies to the vaccine components. However, these conditions are exceedingly rare; there is usually no good excuse. People don’t remember how bad it used to be before vaccines.
There were wards full of iron lungs for children with polio, for instance. Childhood deaths are rare tragedies today, but they used to be much more common. Now, fear and ignorance are causing people to make poor decisions.
In this day and age of ubiquitous information access, there’s no excuse to be uneducated about vaccines. Just make sure your source is reputable. For example, the CDC has a wonderful website that explains them in great detail.
Unfortunately, the current Health and Human Services secretary, as well as others in this administration, are actively spreading false information. They disparage the measles vaccine and lie about treatment. We have even started to see vitamin A toxicity in West Texas children due to their malpractice (vitamin A doesn’t work)! The echoes of the botched COVID-19 response are uncanny.
Our state politicians are no better. Here in Texas, we’ve made it too easy to go unvaccinated. You don’t need a medical reason, or even a “strongly held religious belief.
” All you have to do is sign a waiver declining these routine vaccines as a matter of “conscience.” That’s why this outbreak happened. So what’s the solution? Vaccinate your children.
Just do it. That’s the best thing to protect them from measles (and other diseases). Also, for a healthier future, replace our politicians with some who understand science.
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