L.A. Vaccination Rates Still Plummeting Amid Pertussis Outbreak

This map, interactive at the site, shows the vaccination rates for schools in Los Angeles. Thirteen schools in Los Angeles have opt out rates of 50% or more. That means more than half the children who attend are not following the prescribed schedule of immunization against measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, diphtheria, or pertussis (whooping cough). Many more schools have opt out rates just under 50%. That means that there is insufficient herd immunity at these schools, and children can contract these diseases and transmit them to babies and those with compromised immune systems -the people most likely to die from them. Children who have been vaccinated are also at risk, because some vaccines take years to gain peak immunity, and even then it’s not 100%. Being vaccinated will reduce the risk, however, and the best way to reduce the risk of disease is to vaccinate as many children as possible to reach herd immunity -the point where diseases hit roadblocks in contagion.

Keep in mind that the statistics on the map are for the percentage of parents who filed a “PBE,” or Personal Belief Exemption for immunizations. In many cases, that doesn’t mean the child is completely unvaccinated, but instead means that certain vaccines are skipped or delayed from the standard immunization schedule. But the current outbreak of pertussis is real. So far this year, almost 8,000 of cases of pertussis have been reported in the Los Angeles area, 267 people have been hospitalized, and three babies have died of the disease. The rate of measles is higher than it’s been for 20 years. The Hollywood Reporter has an extensive article about vaccinations and the parents who opt out. -via Metafilter

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"I believe those risks are largely speculation" No. They are not "speculation," Drug certification and safety is very carefully monitored in the US by the CDC and the FDA. Adverse reactions are carefully documented by the HHS and are available to doctors and the public through the VAERS: https://vaers.hhs.gov/index.

Drug interactions, preexisting interrelating health issues, and off label administration of vaccines leads to much unnecessary illness and death. These are largely avoidable.

It is well understood and documented that the VAERS misses many adverse events, this is due to many factors and will improve over time. Infant illness/fatalities are the most frequently under reported.

When an infant takes ill/dies from a vaccine related adverse event often nobody considers that the vaccine could be responsible even though the risk was clearly detailed in the vaccine insert which neither the parents nor medical staff read. Often another health factor or medication is present and is known to interact with the vaccine, and which should have lead to a delayed vaccination, alternative formulation, or non vaccination.

People think vaccines are either a magic potion or an evil poison, but the reality is that they are effective, though at a rate greatly overestimated by the populace, and they do have known risks, which are much greater than the populace thinks.

Read the VAERS and package insert for your vaccines and INSIST the doctor administer it within label guidelines.
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I understand there may be risks with immunizations, but so far I believe those risks are largely speculation. The risks of not being immunized are proven, if only by by virtue of this Pertussis outbreak. Immunizations for children should be required for admission to public school. This is a case where personal belief should not be directly accommodated since such beliefs contribute to the direct harm of others. People can always send their children to private school or home-school their kids.
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