Measles, an infectious viral disease, is far more harmful and deadly than the measles vaccine. So why have so many parents opted to skip this regular inoculation?
Bad information.
The so-called anti-vaxx movement advises against childhood inoculations, especially the one for measles, mumps, and rubella, the MMR, over concern that the vaccine could cause autism or some malady to befall their child.
In Western Mass there are pockets of children going without inoculations. Highland School in Westfield has a kindergarten immunization exemption rate of 14.5 percent, according to a recent state report on 2013-2014 immunizations in public schools. Sunderland Elementary’s rate is 19.4 percent. Morris Elementary in Lenox is 17.4 percent. For many schools across the state the exemption rate is 0.
The anti-vaxx movement is based on a widely debunked study that debuted in the ’90s. The doctor who took the lead on this lazy fantasy was disbarred for making up research. But that hasn’t stopped celebrities, selfish medical professionals who opt to skip MMRs for their own kids, and political turkeys like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul from using this slop to justify the risk at which they put children who cannot get vaccinated for sincere medical or religious reasons.
The likelihood of a child dying or developing a serious complication from the MMR vaccine is less than 1 in 1,000,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here are some things that are more likely to get you killed than getting vaccinated for measles:
Odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash 1:112
Choking on food 1:3,649
Dog bite 1:103,798
Lightning strike 1:136,011.
I understand the skepticism parents have toward MMRs. It can be hard to trust our data compiled by the citizen-spying, climate-change-denying, drone-bombing government. The relationships between doctors and drug manufacturers raise ethical questions. There’s plenty of well-deserved mistrust to go around. But the anti-vaxx movement has taken this mistrust and stuffed it with red herring.
Personal anecdotes from people who type in ALL CAPS, unsourced graphics showing measles infection rates, tirades from folks who don’t understand what a scientific theory is, Jenny McCarthy and Facebook memes are not credible sources of information.
Politifact, a reliable source of bullshit detection powered by the fine researchers at the Tampa Bay Times, found that of the 292 fact-checks of memes, chain emails and bloggers the team has completed, almost 75 percent received a rating of False or was deemed to be a “Pants on Fire”-level lie. Only 29 were rated True or Mostly True.
Good data comes from sources that show you their work and resources. They explain methodology, publish all findings, and are forthcoming with the financial support that made research possible.
There is not a single good reason to skip MMR vaccines. Doing so puts children unable to get this shot at risk of developing a disease that, prior to the vaccination being finalized in 1962, was infecting slightly fewer than 90 percent of Americans before the age of 15.
Prior to the MMR, about 1 in 1,000 people who contracted the disease would die. That’s about 450 people — mostly children — dying from measles-related causes every year, according to “Measles Elimination in the United States,” which appeared in the Oxford Journal of Infectious Disease, 2004. It’s true that in the ’50s, the death-by-measles rate was 26 times higher. The mortality rate was much improved by better diet and sanitary practices by the time the vaccine became available, but it was still necessary because serious complications following a measles infection — respiratory complications, encephalitis, neurological problems, and death — were harming more than 150,000 people in the U.S. each year.
Side effects from the MMR vaccine include temporary fever, achy joints, and/or rash. More serious complications such as seizures and deafness occur in such a small percentage — fewer than 1 in a million — it’s difficult to tell if the vaccine had anything to do with the maladies at all.
Get your fashion tips from Jenny McCarthy. Get medical advice from professionals who can tell the difference between a Facebook rant and a peer-reviewed scientific study. Get your kids vaccinated.•
Contact Kristin Palpini at editor@valleyadvocate.com.
