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EDITORIAL: Put public health first

Joplin Globe - 4/16/2019

April 15-- Apr. 15--Under the influence of the viral spread of misinformation, Missouri lawmakers are considering bills that would move public policy on vaccinations in the wrong direction.

"Parents are getting bullied," Rep. Lynn Morris, R-Freemont Hills, said. "They're getting bullied by county health departments. They're getting bullied by schools. They're getting bullied by their doctors."

Requiring immunization isn't bullying. Vaccinations keep children safe from contagion. Parents who don't immunize their children risk the health and safety of their kids and others.

The primary purpose of public health policy should be to protect our health. Policies should be based on the best scientific evidence developed through a broad base of research.

Vaccination is one of the most effective, safe and successful health developments in history. Immunization programs have resulted in the elimination of a number of diseases that had been responsible for widespread suffering, death and disfigurement.

Immunizations prevent 2 million to 3 million deaths every year. But an additional 1.5 million deaths could be avoided if vaccination coverage improved worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Public vaccination programs also help counter increasing antibiotic resistance.

Many of us remember the days of mandatory smallpox and polio immunizations administered in schools. Vaccinations made Americans so safe from these diseases that the programs were no longer necessary.

Our nation was on the same path with measles. The United States declared that measles was eliminated from this country in 2000. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. accomplished this "because it has a highly effective measles vaccine, a strong vaccination program that achieves high vaccine coverage in children, and a strong public health system for detecting and responding to measles cases and outbreaks."

Yet we are seeing a measles outbreak in New York City in addition to earlier bouts of contagion in California and Minnesota. Decreasing vaccination rates driven by anti-vaccination disinformation have made these outbreaks much worse.

The benefits of vaccination programs far outweigh any downside. Yet in Missouri, all one needs to opt out of vaccinations is to provide a notarized statement that immunization is contrary to the beliefs of the signer. There are people who can't be immunized -- infants and those with certain medical conditions -- who are endangered by anti-vaxxers.

The Legislature should require consultation with a health care provider to obtain any exemption. The best approach would be to eliminate all nonmedical exemptions from mandatory vaccinations.

Failing that, vaccines should be required for admission places where contagion is likely and the young are at risk.

Your beliefs should not give you the right to risk the lives of our children.

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(c)2019 The Joplin Globe (Joplin, Mo.)

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