In 2000, the United States officially declared measles to be eradicated after a widespread outbreak. However, in late 2014, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) began tracking an outbreak of measles in California.
According to the California Department of Public Health, “At least 40 people who visited or worked at the Disneyland theme park in Orange County in mid-December contracted measles and has now spread to at least half a dozen states.”
This latest outbreak of the disease, once thought to be almost dead, has raised serious concerns about the practice of non-vaccination, making the choice to use the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine one of the most highly debated topics of 2015.
According to historyofvaccines.org, the debate over the safety of the MMR vaccine began in 1998 with a British doctor named Andrew Wakefield.
Wakefield suggested a link between the vaccine and autism/bowel disease, also stating that the drug was put into use before proper testing was finished. However, The General Medical Council, a third party regulator, found that Wakefield had been financially compensated to find evidence in favor of a lawsuit involving parents who believed that vaccinations had harmed their children.
Also, in 2011, London Times journalist Brian Deer presented evidence of Wakefield falsifying data and expecting to profit from his earlier allegations.
While Wakefield’s credibility was destroyed (he was barred from practicing medicine in the UK indefinitely), his message struck a chord with many in the United States, most notably former Playboy centerfold Jenny McCarthy, who became the face of the anti-vaccination movement after her 2008 appearance on Larry King Live.
According to CNN, in 2015, 26 states did not reach the government goal of having a 95% vaccination rate. While that number of children is quite low, it is a dangerously high percent as it increases the number of individuals who are available for infection.
New Trier nurse Colleen Sheridan said in the state of Illinois there are only two acceptable reasons the state will accept for a parent foregoing vaccinations. “These [reasons] vary from state to state, but one reason is a religious objection, so parents can write a letter with a specific religious exemption from immunization. If it is a written letter we do accept these but they are very rare.”
“Occasionally we will have a student with a medical exemption. We would get a letter from a doctor saying that this student has a medical exemption from immunizations. [Some examples have been] students who have had chemotherapy and immune system disorders. There are some students with developmental issues as teens but were born a traumatic birth and some of those students will be contraindicated for immunization,” added Sheridan.
Sheridan is not worried about measles showing up at New Trier. “It’s highly unlikely, it’s almost impossible because almost all our students are vaccinated. However, we do not mandate our staff to be vaccinated, nor do we oversee that. So if one of our staff did bring the disease in the building they would get sick themselves but all of our students should be protected.”
When asked for a rough estimate of the number of vaccinated New Trier students, “I actually have an exact number, over 99% of our students are fully vaccinated.”
As a healthcare professional, Sheridan always recommends vaccination to those who are able,
“Vaccines are really an important part of life. In 2000, it was considered that measles was not an issue for the United States. However because of our travelers and those pockets of people who choose not to vaccinate, it is now becoming a problem.”
These diseases can lead to long term effects. Measles cause hearing loss, pneumonia, and lead to encephalitis.
“Vaccines are important and essential to prevent disease, and I think the measles outbreak, if we learn anything from it, is in support of everyone getting the proper vaccinations,” remarked Sheridan.