Editorial | Choice versus health

Published 10:13 am Tuesday, February 10, 2015

As more families decide against immunizing their children, more people will get sick — ill with diseases that can be extremely serious.  For many, having the choice whether or not immunize their children is central to their beliefs and to their right to determine what is best for themselves and their families. Some individuals are simply not able to receive the vaccines. But the question remains, how can we protect those rights along with the health of everyone.

As we have seen from recent news reports, the impact of exposure to a disease like the measles can travel far and wide. How strange it is that a person in Pennsylvania might happen to encounter a person who had stood in line behind an ill child at a theme park in California then becomes sick?  The risk is small but real. The repercussions are widespread.

Measles can be serious, especially for children younger than five years old. It can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, and death. Older adults are at risk too.

Distressingly, this discussion seems to focus on the decisions made by parents who opt out —  rather than on the risks those decisions present to everyone else.

According to data from the Washington State Department of Health – so admirably tallied by Gene Balk at the Seattle Times, 153 students enrolled in the Mercer Island School District have not been vaccinated. Of those students, all but 24 were exempted for personal reasons.