Target: United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden
Goal: Implement stricter requirements for childhood vaccinations
Although the hypothesis that childhood vaccines cause autism or other chronic diseases has been repeatedly and soundly debunked by science, uninformed celebrities, media hype, and fear have led parents to increasingly opt out of vaccinating their children. This anti-vaccine frenzy has been linked with the recent measles outbreak that has infected over 593 people across 21 states. Urge the CDC to require that all children be vaccinated against such lethal, highly contagious, but preventable diseases in order to attend school.
The recent measles outbreak is the worst the country has seen in the last 20 years, before the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine became standard in 1994. It’s centered in Ohio, where authorities believe unvaccinated travelers from the Philippines brought it back to the United States with them. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory infection. It can cause moderate to severe complications, and can also be fatal. Before 1994, about 500 people a year died from measles. Since then, it’s been basically zero. The anti-vaccine movement could change that.
Even in the face of increasingly infections, many anti-vaccine advocates continue to refuse to immunize their children. By doing so, they not only endanger their own children, but those around them who have not been vaccinated because they are too young or have compromised immune systems. Although certain vaccinations are supposedly mandatory for children to enter public school, too often, parents are allowed exemptions for religious or philosophical reasons. There are no federal requirements regarding vaccination, but states that make it easy for parents to get exemptions are at increased risk for disease outbreaks.
It’s been proven time and again that vaccines do not cause autism. Instead, the introduction of a vaccine usually reduces incidence of a disease by 99%. In rare cases, children may be allergic to something within a vaccine or have compromised immune systems due to cancer or a chronic disorder. These children should indeed be given medical exemptions in order to attend school. But parents’ issues with “personal belief” should not be given consideration. One unvaccinated child is a risk to his or her entire community.
Sign this petition to end outbreaks of dangerous and easily preventable diseases by requiring that all children be immunized in order to attend public school, except for certain medical reasons. Get rid of exemptions on the basis of personal beliefs.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Dr. Tom Frieden,
The recent measles outbreak in the United States demonstrates why getting childhood vaccinations is so important for your child’s health and the health of those around him and her. Rampant fears of vaccinations’ rumored ill health have caused some parents to forgo them entirely, leaving their children and communities at risk for infection. Please ensure that federal guidelines are put into place to require vaccinations for all children entering public school.
With almost 600 people infected so far this year, the current measles outbreak is the worst the United States has seen in the past 20 years. Since the vaccine became standard in 1994, incidence of the disease has fallen by 99%. Unfortunately, misinformation has led to an anti-vaccination movement among parents who are able to opt out of schools’ vaccination requirements on the basis of “personal beliefs.”
I urge you to refuse to pay lip service to the rumors and fear. End parents’ ability to claim exemptions from vaccination on either a religious and philosophical basis. Their decisions put the entire school community at risk, especially children who are not able to receive vaccinations due to medical reasons. Require that all children vaccinate their children before they are allowed to enroll in public school.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Grook Da Oger via Wikipedia Commons
I am a school nurse and I am a firm believer in state mandated immunizations. Kids need to be immunized PERIOD. Unless you are medically compromised in some way you need to have your immunizations up to date. Almost all immunizations have a 95% success rate. So lets say I fall within that 5% that the vaccination did not take in my system and I come in contact with you who is not immunized because YOU DON’T WANT TO and you happen to be within the contagious but not showing symptoms phase of having measles, small pox or polio. Not only are you infected but now I am and so is everyone else you come into contact with. Even though I tried my best to protect myself, but since you decided not to get a simple immunization you have now infected loved ones and strangers who either their vaccination did not take or they are too sick to get immunized. So these diseases will always be around in some small pocket around the world because vaccines are not 100% effective (95% is still 95% better than 0% protection). So if less people are immunized just because they don’t feel like going to the doctor, believe their health care providers are working with big phrama/government to harm children or believe in some article that has been disproved over and over again the likely hood of an epidemic or pandemic will grow exponentially. Please get your kids vaccinated against easily preventable diseases. Your doctors and nurses are not working for the government and they are not getting kick backs for the immunizations they provide. We are here to take care of sick people and to make the community safer. So my question to you is if you believe that your healthcare providers are knowingly administering immunizations that can harm you or your children why would you ever take them to see the doctor at all?
The antivaxxers are a strange crowd.
They quote statistics I can’t substantiate. Quote studies that are farces.When I given data and facts to help them understand I get vitriol spewed my way. Pure emotion