Vaccination rates triple in Washington State county following Measles outbreak
As more cases of the Measles are reported across the country, many doctors are concerned we could see the resurgence of other preventable diseases as well.
Most of the kids infected with the Measles were not vaccinated and that's the concern. If fewer people in a community are vaccinated, it makes it easier for diseases to come back and to spread.
Right now, vaccines helps protect you from the mumps, flu, meningitis, chicken pox, polio, HPV and other diseases.
But many states allows parents to opt out for medical, religious or philosophical beliefs.
A recent study at Dartmouth College shows that could include concern about side effects or concern the vaccine may not provide complete protection.
But that's also what makes a community as a whole more vulnerable if fewer people are vaccinated.
The good news is that vaccination rates in Washington State County have tripled. That's been the center of one measles outbreak.
Many families who didn't vaccinate their children are re-thinking that decision.
Kristen Cheatley's 11-month-old son is too young to get the measles vaccine, but he's quarantined now because he was exposed to the virus in his pediatrician's waiting room by an un-vaccinated child.
"For the longest time I always said, 'Well, if they don't want to vaccinate, that's not my problem.' It's become my problem," she said.
Washington state lawmakers are debating changing the law letting parents opt out of vaccines for 'philosophical' reasons.
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