by DONNIE VAPHIDES Section Editor
Over a recent string of weeks, more and more people are getting infected with the measles, a disease that was thought to be gone from America. One of the reasons it is coming back is parents are not getting their children vaccinated to prevent the illness.
There is no point in not getting your child vaccinated as there are proven positives you get from the vaccine, which can be life-saving.
Any kind of vaccination will help you fight off disease or illness, but there are many people who hesitate. A majority of the population becomes hesitant for many reasons, but a main issue they have is the rumor that vaccinations can give childen autism. Doctors and physicians have said time and time again that this is false and said that they found evidence that shows it is neither a cause nor a contributor of autism.
“I have been vaccinated and I believe that everyone should as well. It is a low risk, high reward kind of thing and it makes you and your family safer,” said junior Joesph Miller.
The measles outbreak in early 2015 was one of the worst in recent years, spreading to 102 people in 14 different states. The main outbreak took place in Disneyland in California that spread to 54 different people in the theme park. That number is only expected to go up from here as it considered a highly contagious disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, out of all the reported cases of measles, the majority of the people who have it were not vaccinated like they should have been, greatly increasing their chance of getting it.
“I do not know why people would not get their vaccination. There are no downsides to getting them done and it takes little to no time. It is better to be safe than sorry,” said junior Dean Grasso.
Of all of the people that have been infected with the measles, it is being found mostly in adults. Chances are, if an adult is not getting vaccinated, neither are their children, which can put the whole family at risk. For something so simple, it seems to be a hot topic of debate.
President Obama had some words for people on his opinion on vaccines: “I understand that there are families that, in some cases, are concerned about the effect of vaccinations. The science is, you know, pretty indisputable. We have looked at this again and again. There is every reason to get vaccinated, but there are no reasons to not.”
“You should get your kids vaccinated,” he added. “It’s good for them and the challenge you have is if you have a certain group of kids who don’t get vaccinated, and if it grows large enough that a percentage of the population doesn’t get vaccinated and they’re the folks who can’t get vaccinated, small infants, for example … they suddenly become much more vulnerable.”
Have you been vaccinated? What do you believe a person should do about vaccinations?