A recent online survey revealed that more than 1 in 10 parents do not vaccinate their children according to the vaccine schedule advised by the U.S. government. The reasons cited indicated general mistrust of the government because of safety concerns circulating through erroneous online and media reports about the vaccines.
This puts close to estimated 2 million toddlers and infants at risk for deadly and disabling diseases. A larger federal survey showed that 1 in 10 toddlers and preschoolers delayed or did not have important vaccines like those for chickenpox and MMR.
Not only does this have repercussions today this various outbreaks of easily preventable diseases like mumps and measles among the general population but means that more and more people (including the misinformed parents) are not getting the vaccinations they need and therefore are themselves not protected against typically vaccine-preventable diseases.
Altogether, this survey puts the spotlight on the CDC, American Academy of Pediatics and American Academy of Family Physicians to re-evaluate their vaccine information communication to the general public and their patients. They ultimately need to revise their strategy and focuse on directing parents to valid sources in order for the parents to become fully informed before making decisions about their child's health.
-Victoria Anikst
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Update:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/29397458/detail.html
Berkeley Campus: has an outbreak of the mumps. Most students have had their two doses of the MMR vaccine. However, officials at the CDC are recommending getting a third dose.
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