The outbreak of measles among people who visited Disneyland over four days in December is startling because it shows how dangerously successful the anti-vaccine movement has become.
It’s shocking that more than 50 years after the first measles vaccine was introduced that California could see an outbreak involving, as of Friday, 41 individuals, including 10 in San Diego County. Virtually all of the victims were not vaccinated.
The anti-vaccination movement goes back a long time, but was jump-started in 1998 with a study by a British doctor that supposedly linked autism to childhood vaccines. It turns out the study was an “elaborate fraud.” Britain stripped the doctor, Andrew Wakefield, of his medical license in 2011, but the damage to public health was done.
This school year in California, nearly 11 percent of children aged 2 years to 4 years 11 months of age have not received all of the recommended vaccines, according to the Department of Public Health. Measles cases in the United States are at a 20-year high, and whooping cough is soaring in San Diego County.
“People who have been vaccinated are well protected against measles, but anyone who has not been vaccinated, or who has not had the disease, should take steps now to obtain the shot so that they are protected from future exposures,” noted Eric McDonald, medical director of the San Diego County Epidemiology Program, after three more probable cases of measures were reported Monday.
Nevertheless, the anti-vaccination movement continues to nurture paranoia. An instigator of anti-vaccination advocacy, the National Vaccine Information Center, located outside Washington, says its mission is “dedicated to the prevention of vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and to defending the informed consent ethic in medicine.” Surprisingly they participate in the United Way of the National Capital Area, adding an aura of legitimacy to their work.
But the movement is anything but gentle, as Carlsbad High School students found when they produced their award-winning documentary “Invisible Threat” last year. The students were criticized online and anti-vaccine groups threatened to picket screenings.
The media may be unwittingly contributing to the movement by presenting both sides when, from a public-health perspective, there is only one side: vaccines are safe and prevent disease.
Vaccinations are easily obtained in California. If a family is not covered by an insurance plan, county health agencies will vaccinate children at no charge.
Ironically, it’s the wealthy who often choose not to vaccinate their children. The Hollywood Reporter found recently that some of the lowest vaccination rates in California are among wealthy residents of Los Angeles’ tony west side.
Under state law, parents can choose not to vaccinate their children before entering school, although beginning in 2014 parents must first receive information from a licensed healthcare provider about the benefits and risks of vaccinations and the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This change was intended to stem the decline in vaccinations.
The anti-vaccination movement is based on as much fantasy as Disneyland, but let’s hope the reality of the latest measles outbreak brings a dose of reality to the debate.
Chris Jennewein is editor and publisher of Times of San Diego.
