Remember the chicken pox? Everybody got them once. Some kid would come to school and play with the other kids, stopping occasionally to scratch some spot on his arm, and two days later half the class was out sick with the chicken pox. It was a right of passage, part of growing up.

But that was 20 years ago. Ever since 1995, children have been immunized for chicken pox before they’re two years old. Now no one gets all itchy and risks scars or missing school.

What about polio? A bit more life-threatening than chicken pox, but dealt with during the same early years of life. As are hepatitis b, diphtheria, tetanus, rotavirus, whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella; all viruses that a century ago could have cost you your life, now eliminated by vaccinations that start before the age of two.

The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that giving children immunizations like these prevents 14 million infections, saves 33,000 lives and saves $10 billion in medical costs. Not to mention wipes out diseases that dominated life and medicine for generations.

But there is one flaw in the effectiveness of this strategy: vaccines only work if everyone gets them. Scientists call this “herd immunity.” The idea is that an immunized community protects everyone, including the tiny portion of the population unable to get be vaccinated, such as cancer-weakened patients with no immune systems or newborns. Without anyone to catch the virus and grow it, even the shot-free people are safe.

Safe, at least, until their numbers grow. A recent trend in parenting and a few medical offices has been to stop immunizing children. Supporters of this idea have many well-researched reasons, most of which have been proven wrong by further research.

Thanks to a 1998 study by British gastroenterologist Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a growing number of people started to believe that the mercury levels in immunizations, especially measles, could cause autism. Thimerosal, the mercury compound, was removed from vaccines in 2001. Mercury exposure dropped, but autism levels didn’t.

Other supporters of not immunizing worry that pumping 28 vaccines into a child before the age of two isn’t compatible with helping a healthy immune system develop. But the vast majority of problems don’t come from vaccines; they come from a lack of vaccines.

Just ask Matthew Lacek. After a friend warned 2-month-old Matthew’s mother of mercury levels in vaccines, Matthew didn’t go in to get them anymore. Three years later, he almost suffocated when his airways swelled with meningitis, a virus he could have been immunized for two and a half years earlier.

Some people receive waivers from vaccine requirements on religious or philosophical reasons. But this number is growing, and studies indicate that many of the people opting out of immunizations are superstitious, not morally opposed. This practice endangers everyone, not just the unvaccinated children.

Unimmunized pockets of a community are breeding grounds for viruses that are extinct in vaccinated homes. Thanks to these sections of society, the measles are making comeback in western United States, bringing a total of 64 cases this year; that’s the highest count since 2001. Some of these cases had links to other countries, but a growing number were children who never received their immunizations.

If a true religious or philosophical reason dictates against it, then abstain from vaccinations. But otherwise, act on behalf of society and stay current on preventing disease. Why live with the risk when the cure is available?

Perhaps when weighing the needs of a single individual against an entire community, we should rely more on carefully calculated scientific evidence than rumors and fear. Otherwise the chicken pox might be back after all, and this time they won’t be alone. Missing school would be the least of our worries.

This editorial represents the opinion of The Daily Universe editorial board. Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of BYU, its administration or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.



Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Aug 2008