A recent story in the Washington Times highlights one of the very few positive outcomes from last summer’s Disneyland transformation from the “Magic Kingdom” to the “Measles Kingdom.”
The Times observes: “Months after a Disneyland measles outbreak cast a harsh light on the 'anti-vaxx' movement, the Obama administration said Thursday that childhood vaccination rates remain high across the country and that less than 2 percent of kindergarteners were exempt from the shot requirements for the 2014-2015 school year.”
This is particularly good when you recall the Center for Disease Control found a majority of the 147 people that came down with mouse measles were not vaccinated.
What’s more, I liked the report because it is one of the few statistical analyses of the United States where often put–upon Mississippi has a chance to shine. The Magnolia State had the lowest incidence of nonvaccination in the nation with a paltry 0.1 percent dodging the needle.
The state with the most unvaccinated people — and where it would be a good idea to avoid large crowds, if there are any — is Idaho with 6.5 percent ready to play host to any passing germ.
The fact is all states require vaccinations for children, but it’s the loopholes that differ. The Times reports 20 states provide exemptions for those that object on religious or moral grounds, and unsurprisingly granola–addled legislators in California and Vermont allowed “philosophical” exemptions.
When one considers what passes for philosophy in California, it’s a wonder anybody has their shots. But that comes to an end next year after both states saw the light or the Petri dish and ended that fuzzy loophole.
I’ve written in the past about the strange concentration of unvaccinated in the very low–income and very left high–income areas. (For more detail
click here.) The low-income areas may not care and the high–income folks are suspicious of “Big Pharma” offering vaccines.
Maybe if immunizations were offered by small, hanging–on–by–the–skin–of–their–teeth pharma the lefties would be more amenable to going disease–free.
That good news is the one step forward. The two steps backward happened in the GOP presidential debate at my father’s library. There Donald Trump channeled Jenny McCarthy and resurrected the long–debunked “vaccinations cause autism” horror story. And unfortunately, Ben Carson, the only doctor on the stage, failed to set Trump and America straight.
Now over 20 million people have been exposed once again to this urban legend that is harder to kill than The Master in The Strain. We can only hope this infection doesn’t take.
Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan. He is president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation and chairman of the League of American Voters. Mike is an in-demand speaker with Premiere. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.