vaccination
6 pieces tagged “vaccination”, newest first.
Measles, Vaccines and Autism
The current controversy over whether parents should be forced to have their children vaccinated for measles is one of the painful signs of our times. Measles was virtually wiped out in the United States, years ago. Why the resurgence of this disease now? The short answer is that false claims, based on other false claims, led many parents to stop getting their children vaccinated against measles. The key false claim was that the vaccine for measles caused an increase in autism. This claim was made in 1998 by a doctor writing in a distinguished British medical journal, so it is understandable that many parents took it seriously, and did not want to run the risk of having their child become autistic.
The Consequences of Your Vaccination Decision
California is experiencing an entirely new disturbance in the Force. The Magic Kingdom has become the Measles Kingdom. Disneyland is ground zero for the largest outbreak of measles in the last 15 years. So far more than 100 cases have been reported since the initial exposure, some from as far away as Boston. (Rest assured, Mickey and Goofy are still fine.) This makes last year's fear of an Ebola outbreak spreading across the nation look even more prescient and the sleepy, lethargic response of the CDC look even worse.