Measles Outbreak in Ohio, Allegedly Due to Growing Vaccine Hesitancy

Growing vaccine hesitancy allegedly is the cause of the measles and chickenpox resurgence in America.

The measles outbreak is rapidly growing in Columbus, Ohio, and unvaccinated children are largely involved, the Washington Post reported.

Health officials are expressing great concern over the outbreak, declaring that the more parents resist routine childhood immunizations, the more the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases will intensify.

Parents' resistance

Since the outbreak's start in November 2022, there have already been 81 cases. Out of the 81 cases, 76 were unvaccinated; three were partially vaccinated, only having one dose; none of them were fully vaccinated, having two doses; and there were two whose vaccination is unknown.

According to the Measles Public Report by the City of Columbus, 67 percent of these children are between the ages of 1 to 5 years old, already old enough to be vaccinated, yet their parents chose not to do so. Officials declare this is the reason behind the "country's largest outbreak of the highly infectious pathogen this year."

The director of the Columbus health department, Mysheika Roberts, declared that parents' hesitancy and decision not to vaccinate their kids is why the outbreak spread like wildfire.

Read Also: American Research Reveals Most Indian Children Get Delayed Vaccinations

Unvaccinated kids increase their health risk

This outbreak adds to the "heightened worry" about the public health consequences of the anti-vaccine sentiment. This long-standing problem has resulted in an alarming decrease in child immunization rates across America. Concerns have been magnified due to the controversies and "politicization" around COVID-19 vaccines and the mandate of school vaccines.

According to a new poll by a healthcare research nonprofit, Kaiser Family Foundation, more than a third of parents with kids under 18 years old and 28 percent of all adults want parents to have the right to choose not to vaccinate their children for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and take it away as a prerequisite requirement to attend public schools. This is despite warnings that unvaccinated students can create and start health risks for others.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging parents and recommending children to get two doses of the MMR vaccine. The first dose can be given to babies as young as 12 to 15 months, while the second dose can be between 4 and 6 years old.

One dose of the vaccine has an effectiveness rate of 93 percent against measles, which is reported to be "one of the most infectious pathogens on the planet" that can cause serious harm, including death. On the other hand, two doses have an effectiveness rate of 97 percent.

A father of three from the Detroit suburbs, Adam Moore, informed the local media that none of his children, ages 9, 12, and 17 and currently enrolled in a private school, have received routine childhood immunizations. His kids are also not vaccinated for COVID-19 or the flu. He expressed that the government cannot instruct parents on what to do with their children's bodies.

"I find it a hard argument when the government says we're all for individual liberty on abortion rights and all this other stuff, but when it comes to vaccinations, there's no such thing as 'my body, my choice,'" declared Moore.

Related Article: Open Communication Between Doctors and Parents May Help Encourage Vaccination Among Children