A measles outbreak reached the other parts of the Pacific north-west traveling all the way from south-west Washington. That region has low vaccination rates, and unvaccinated children are more likely to be affected by the disease.
As parents choose not to vaccinate their children, the epidemics can spread more easily. The reasons behind their choices are not based on scientific facts which can say that a vaccine will harm their children. Their choice can’t be understood.
Jay Inslee, the Washington governor, has recently declared that this is a state of emergency because the number of measles cases is growing in the city of Vancouver which is located in the south of the state within Clark County.
Clark County public health (CCPH) had identified by 29th of January 36 confirmed cases of measles and 12 suspected ones. Children under 10 were 25 of the cases, and the affected 32 were not immunized while the remainings’ vaccination status was unconfirmed.
The sites where the exposure is the highest include restaurants, schools, and health centers. In Vancouver, there were some Christian academies and evangelical churches.
By 29th of January, only one case of this disease was confirmed across the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon. The list of exposure sites there included the Moda Center where the NBA games are played by Portland Trailblazers, a church and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry where children go more often. In King County, there is another case confirmed, located in Seattle.
In Clark County, a lot of children had not been vaccinated, and decades ago the situation was even more severe. There was a difference of 14,9% between the vaccination rates among Clark county kindergartners between the 2004-2005 school year and 2017-2018.
Do you think parents who are not medically-trained have the right to decide whether their children should be vaccinated or not?
