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Old 02-18-2015, 07:56 AM
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Default Measles outbreak: should parents be forced to vaccinate their kids?




Measles outbreak: should parents be forced to vaccinate their kids?

Read more: http://www.theweek.co.uk/health-scie...#ixzz3S6JL9qjx

Balancing individual choice with public health concerns ? mandatory immunisation remains controversial
LAST UPDATED AT 15:55 ON Wed 4 Feb 2015
See related:
Disneyland measles: health alert issued in California
Health officials in 14 states in America are struggling to contain the worst measles outbreak in over a decade, reigniting the public debate on vaccination.

At least 102 people have been infected, with many blaming the anti-vaccination movement. The majority of cases can be traced back to several unvaccinated children who visited Disneyland last year.

The outbreak has prompted widespread debate, particularly among politicians. "The science is clear: The earth is round, the sky is blue, and vaccines work," said Hillary Clinton "Let's protect all our kids."

Because of successful vaccination efforts, this potentially deadly disease has largely disappeared from the developed world ? but some are concerned that the anti-vaccine movement could reverse this. Is forced immunisation the answer?

The rise of the 'anti-vaxxers'
The anti-vaccine movement began in earnest in 1998 with a fraudulent report which linked the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism and bowel disease. Extensive tests have since disproved the study and its author, Dr Andrew Wakefield, has been struck off the medical register for serious professional misconduct.

However, this hasn't stopped some parents from continuing to believe that vaccines pose a risk to their children. There are several high-profile celebrity "anti-vaxxers" who still link vaccines to autism. Some of the most "visible and reckless voices on the subject" include Jim Carrey, Charlie Sheen and Bill Maher, according to the Daily Beast.

Other simply wish to raise their children in a natural, organic environment and are suspicious of large pharmaceutical companies and being told what to do by the government. "It's a little bit cool, it's a little bit of a trend," Nina Shapiro, a professor at UCLA medical school told Salon. "It's that whole natural, hybrid car community that says 'we're not going to put chemicals in our children'".

The fight-back
"Sometimes, I feel like we're practicing in the 1950s," paediatrician Dr. Eric Ball told the New York Times. He works in area of Orange County where up to 60 per cent of pre-schoolers are not vaccinated. "It's very frustrating. It's hard to see a kid suffer for something that's entirely preventable," he said.

Roald Dahl, whose young daughter died from complications arising from measles, once said it was "almost a crime to allow your child to go unimmunised".

So, should parents be forced to do it?
It is a matter of balancing individual choice with public health concerns, say health care professionals, who remain divided on the issue. In the UK, the NHS cannot force parents to vaccinate their children. In the US, immunisation is mandated, although parents can apply for religious or personal exemptions.

Yes ? for public safety
"Vaccines work by protecting individuals, but their strength really lies in the ability to protect one's neighbours," argues paediatric infectious diseases physician Kristen Feemster. "When there are not enough people within a community who are immunised, we are all at risk." She argues that parents should be forced to immunise their children, as it protects others who are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons and depend on them to provide "herd immunity".

Former surgeon general of the US, Jocelyn Elders agrees. "Not getting a child immunised is child abuse. When you choose not to have your child immunised, you're cheating other kids."

No - it's a personal choice
Others argue that it is not up to the government to mandate what medication a person takes. "This is a basic human right," one mother who fought against having her child vaccinated told Fox News. "To be able to decide what is injected in our bodies, in our children?s bodies, is everything."

It won't work
"In an era when people are less accepting of authority and do not expect to do something because the government says so, trying to enforce immunisation may actually make matters worse and create martyrs," argue British paediatricians David Elliman and Helen Bedford in the New York Times.

They argue that forced immunisation will not work, as people who possess such strong religious or personal beliefs will carry on refusing to allow their children to be vaccinated, regardless of the penalty.



Read more: http://www.theweek.co.uk/health-scie...#ixzz3S6JDf7Mg
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Old 02-18-2015, 07:56 AM
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Can't force vaccines on people: Aetna CEO

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102394508#.


With more than 100 reported cases of measles across the United States, the debate is heating up over whether vaccines should be mandatory.
Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini told CNBC on Tuesday that he believed it was a "big public health issue" but said there are other ways to handle the matter other than mandating vaccines.

"I don't think we can force people," Bertolini said in an interview with "Closing Bell."

"I think we have options in both the workplace and the schools to enforce some regimen around vaccines. I think that's where we ought to handle it."

Read More Public health officials: Get measles vaccines
Bertolini noted that he and his children have been vaccinated and that he personally "believes in it strongly."

Vaccines have become a hot-button political issue, with politicians and presumable presidential hopefuls on both sides of the aisle weighing in.

President Barack Obama has urged parents to vaccinate their children, but the White House would not say whether a federal law should mandate vaccinations. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, said it should "absolutely" be mandatory. However, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, told CNBC Monday he believes vaccines should be voluntary, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has called for choice and balance.

Read MoreVaccines should be voluntary: Rand Paul
The current measles outbreak is linked to California's Disneyland and has spread across several states. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 102 people from 14 states reported coming down with the disease in January and most of those cases were part of the outbreak linked to the amusement park.
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