The Measles outbreak in Washington has raised a lot of controversy about the need for vaccinations. Like any medicine, all vaccinations come with their own risks. However, the risks from not getting vaccinated are greater than the threat of getting minor side effects from a vaccination.
Parents refusing vaccinations for their children is becoming more common and has raised more and more concern following the measles outbreak in Washington. More recently, there have been a few cases discovered in Oregon.
Parents that refuse to vaccinate their kids are mainly concerned about the safety of their child. They are worried about what they are putting in their kid’s bodies at such young age. A lot of the parents believe that letting their kids gain a natural immunity is better than them getting vaccines. They think the possibility of their child getting the disease is very small and it will be better for them in the long run.
“I feel immunizations are very important in the sense that it helps prevent the spread of diseases that are preventable,”Dr. Jennifer Brown said.
By not vaccinating their kids, these parents are putting their kids’ lives at risk as well as all the people around them who are unable to receive vaccines for medical reasons.
Right now in Oregon, students are required to have their vaccinations to attend school, unless they have a medical or non-medical exemption. Exemptions are available for people who cannot get vaccinations because they have a medical condition that prevents them from being able to get them.
Non-medical exemptions are there mostly for religious reasons. A person can also claim non-medical exemptions for personal reasons.
“Yes, I think they should ban non medical exemptions because there is no other reason to not get vaccinated unless it is medical,” Sreyas Susarla ‘21 said.
Some Oregon lawmakers are pushing to ban non-medical exemptions in an attempt to prevent measles from spreading.
