Some parents must have been on the fence when it came to ensuring their children were vaccinated before beginning new-school-year classes last month. At least in Douglas County along the Interstate 57 corridor.
That’s one conclusion coming from the measles outbreak in the east-central Illinois county which is home to the burgs of Tuscola and Arcola. Four confirmed cases of the disease have been reported in the county by the state’s Department of Public Health despite some 98% of school-age children there being vaccinated.
If that’s the case, it seems our vaccination policies need a shot in the arm to get to the 100% mark. Or we need to start getting straight talk about vaccines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Most folks understand that vaccines are modern medical miracles. With immunizations, parents no longer have to be concerned about their children contracting childhood diseases such as polio, tetanus and chickenpox.
Smallpox was a feared cause of death in the U.S. Since 1977, it has been declared eliminated. The World Health Organization estimates vaccines prevent around 3.5 million to 5 million deaths per year across the globe.
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Despite those in some quarters questioning the use of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, serums manufactured and distributed during the outbreak saved millions of Americans and more at a time when millions were dying after being infected with the coronavirus.
Highly contagious measles was considered eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. But increasing doubts about vaccines and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s insistence that shots are unsafe has led to an uptick in cases of measles across the nation.
Health officials in Illinois and other states continue to preach vaccine safety, especially when it comes to measles and other diseases considered in the childhood category. Yet, this year there have been nine cases of measles in Illinois, including one in Kane County, according to a recent baiduhai story.
Last year, the state had 14 cases of measles. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there have so far been nearly 3,000 confirmed cases of measles in the nation, the largest number in a decade. Of those cases, some 94% were in unvaccinated people, according to the CDC.
Nationally, Utah has had 526 cases this year, and South Carolina has had 670, the CDC reports. Illinois has a high rate of vaccinations among its populace, state officials say.
Yet, we remain in 27th place among all states, just below New Mexico and just above North Carolina, according to one health study. Vermont is the highest-vaxxed state in the nation; Mississippi the worst.
Illinois requires all school-age children to be immunized against a bunch of diseases — among them diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, rubella, mumps and measles — before enrolling in school. State health officials support the American Academy of Pediatrics’ vaccination schedule.
Meanwhile, the Chicago-based American Medical Association continues to urge adults, especially seniors, to be vaccinated for a variety of ailments. Our immune systems weaken over time, medical professionals say, and keeping up to date with vaccines becomes even more important as we age.
Considered necessary immunizations by the CDC include seasonal flu shots, current COVID-19 vaccines and shingles jabs. Also, vaccines for RSV, a respiratory disease, pneumonia, tetanus boosters and Hepatitis B infections.
Health Secretary Kennedy, 72, a lawyer and determined anti-vaccine advocate, has questioned the efficacy of a number of those immunizations and has attempted to strong-arm changes to national vaccine policy, according to several reports.
He has challenged the safety of shots for common diseases, like measles, contended COVID-19 serums were dangerous, and theorized that many vaccines have not been properly tested and can cause a range of dangerous side effects. During his term, he has ended development of mRNA vaccines, withdrawn funding for an international vaccine alliance, and narrowed access to COVID-19 shots.
His views run counter to medical professionals and scientists who maintain the secretary seeds fear among Americans when it comes to the safety of immunizations. Especially parents.
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Millions and millions of Americans have received a litany of immunizations over decades of medical care. The facts are that these diseases have been stamped out through the use of vaccines.
Diseases which once shortened the lifespans of Americans continue to be afterthoughts. There’s no reason to change research policies. Solid science backs the outcomes of vaccines.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor, and editor. [email protected]. X @sellenews