Officials Hope to Change Minds amid 'Exquisitely Contagious' Measles Outbreak

Anna Normand

Mr. Ippolito

AP Biology

13 February 2019

Watt, Nick. “Officials Hope to Change Minds amid 'Exquisitely Contagious' Measles Outbreak.” CNN, Cable News Network, 13 Feb. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/02/13/health/measles-washington-oregon/index.html.

The article “Officials Hope to Change Minds amid ‘Exquisitely Contagious’ Measles Outbreak” discusses a new measles outbreak in the Pacific Northwest, due to lack of vaccinations. The outbreak is occuring in Clark County, Washington, where less than 85% of kindergarteners are up to date on their required vaccinations. In order to ensure herd immunity, at least 95% of the population must be vaccinated to protect those who are too young or too weak to be vaccinated. Measles is a deadly and extremely contagious disease, but was eliminated from the United States in 2000; however, the article states that “travelers with measles continue to bring the disease into the US. Measles can spread when it reaches a community in the US where people are unvaccinated.”The disease is especially dangerous for children, as the disease kills 2 out of every 1,000 children infected. So far in Clark County, where the outbreak began in January, there have been 58 infections, and the governor has declared a state of emergency.

I thought this article was extremely relevant in the face of the anti-vaccination movement that is popular in some communities in the US. While many decline vaccinations for religious or health reasons, a growing number are refusing to vaccinate their children based on inaccurate information. One reason cited, that the vaccinations cause autism, was based on an experiment done by a doctor who was later disbarred, and his findings debunked. It has been proven that vaccines do not cause autism, but inaccurate information has led to decision-making which not only affects individuals, but also affects those who are vulnerable to the measles due to age or health concerns, exposing them to an illness which could potentially be deadly. Vaccinations are not an individual choice, but one which affects whole communities.

Overall I thought this article was well-written and informative. The author described context for the contemporary history of measles, describing modern outbreaks and how they occured, which provided excellent context. However, I thought that a history of measles before vaccines might be helpful to inform the reader of the vaccine’s effectiveness. I also thought that the author could have provided more information on why people choose not to vaccinate their children, especially about those who make that choice based on false claims about the vaccine. Overall, this article helped me learn a lot more about measles and vaccines in general.