As measles continues to spread throughout the U.S. in a way the nation hasn't really seen since 2000 (in January alone there were 102 confirmed measles cases), the debate about vaccines in general and the right to abstain from vaccination has continued to heat up.
Nationally, 91.9 percent of children aged 19 to 35 months have received the recommended dose of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. But some parents choose to not vaccinate their children against illnesses like measles, for various reasons.
Below are five things to note about the perception of the measles, current and changing vaccination laws and why the debate is so important in the U.S.
1. Many Americans do not see measles as a severe disease: In a survey conducted by the National Consumers League in which participants ranked diseases for severity, measles was near the bottom, despite the fact that it killed 500 children each year and hospitalized roughly 48,000 before a vaccine was invented. Many Americans (76 percent) also tend to believe more research is needed on vaccine safety and the risks they pose.
2. Many experts have tied the declining rate of vaccination directly to the current measles outbreak. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of people who get measles are unvaccinated and "measles can spread when it reaches a community in the U.S. where groups of people are unvaccinated." Additionally, in a survey of physicians, 92 percent said they believe the current outbreak is directly attributable to parents not vaccinating their children.
3. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, all 50 states have legislation requiring specific vaccines for students who are in school, and all states have an exemption for children who cannot get vaccinated due to medical reasons. Nearly all states (except Mississippi and West Virginia) allow for religious exemptions to vaccines, while 20 offer philosophical exemptions as well, for people who disagree with vaccinations for personal, moral or other beliefs.
4. Some states are looking to broaden their vaccine exemptions, even in the face of one of the largest measles outbreaks in recent history. According to USA Today, a bill in Mississippi would "put into law the state's existing practice of granting medical waivers to children whose doctors request them and prevent the Mississippi Department of Health from denying such requests." Additionally, the USA Today reports that a bill in the Colorado Senate would give parents the right to make all medical decisions for children younger than 18, including deciding whether to have them immunized. Colorado already has the lowest measles vaccination rate in the nation.
5. On the other hand, a bill in California — where this outbreak originated — would do away with the state's current philosophical beliefs exemption.