Since January, Clark County, WA declared a state of emergency after identifying 71 measle outbreaks, most of which were unvaccinated kids. The state has spent more than one million dollars battling the outbreak. Similarly, New York City has also declared a caution warning since more than 150 people have been diagnosed with measles since the fall.

A small portion of the United States has had outbreaks of diseases that were assumed to be gone. Washington was faced with a surprising measles outbreak, not knowing where it had come from. In the Washington outbreak, 62 out of those 71 kids were unvaccinated. This is a flashing sign to know that even when society believes some older diseases are gone, they can still resurface.

Vaccination is important because it protects an individual’s loved ones saves families time and money, as well as protects future generations. Most people want to grow up healthy and not question if some deadly disease will kill them. Vaccinating children is less costly since prefilled syringes cost an average of 136 dollars in the U.S.

Not vaccinating children is exposing them to deadly diseases and will most likely cost more. Many anti-vaxxers parents are commonly known to say that vaccinations will cause their kid to be on the autistic spectrum, but many cases have proven that said phenomenon is not factual.

The only ingredient that has been heavily studied is thimerosal, which is a mercury-based preservative used to prevent contamination of multidose vials of vaccines. Since 2003 there have been nine CDC funded studies, all which have found no link between thimerosal and Autism. A 2013 CDC study showed the number of antigens (substances in vaccines that cause the body’s immune system to produce disease-fighting antibodies). The results showed that the total amount of antigens from vaccines was the same between children with ASD and those without.

It is important to look after the health of children and avoid such diseases, like measles from spreading to children. Take action for the future and vaccinate children.

Contact Anna Baustert at [email protected].