Well, this seems to be a popular subject these days, so I thought I’d throw my voice into the ring. I do think that vaccinations are a good thing. I’ll start off with that. Vaccinations keep you from getting sick with a disease that might have tragic ends. But, it should also be the parents decision on if they want to give the vaccinations to their kids, and when they want to.
This is where I think the argument gets a little weird. The people that are insisting that other people get their kids vaccination would more than likely already have their kids shots done. So if their kids are protected, what do you care about what another family is doing? Your saying that you are looking out for the healthcare of all the other children, right? Well, tell me where it is law that I have to have my kid (if I had one) vaccinated?
So before you go running off to Google to find one, I’ll get there first. Did you know that 48 states have an exemption for religious grounds? Sure, in some states you have to show that your a bona fied member of a religious organization, but I think that goes against the freedom of religion amendment. If that is so, then what’s to stop me from creating my own religion, call it Rantism, declare that we don’t believe in drugs and vaccinations? We will meet every Saturday afternoon at the Spaghetti Factory where we will break garlic bread, and drink marinara sauce.
But even easier than that, 22 states have personal belief exceptions. All you have to do is sign a form, maybe be required to take a class about the benefits of vaccinations, and then done. And if your like me and have your mind made up, sitting through a one hour class isn’t going to change my mind. That would be like me going to church every Sunday. Sure, I can sit and listen to you preach, and what the Bible mean to you because I love studying biblical history, but it’s not going to all of a sudden make me believe in Jesus.
And look what they are calling and outbreak. 155 cases in 16 states. Oh lets see. With 335,000,000 people in the U.S., that is a whopping 0.0000004% of the total population. Now if it was in the tens of thousands, I might be a little worried. But for the number of adults who were vaccinated when they were kids, I think the country is relatively safe. According to this chart, in 2013 91.9% of children were vaccinated.
The internet, news stations, and the government have a way of blowing things way out of proportion. Yes, I do think measles is a serious thing. I live in Southern California where the outbreak happened, so it makes you a little bit more aware. But I’m not going to go running around like a chicken with its head cut off (and for how many times I use that phrase for things, I never really want to see that happen).
So I think that everyone just needs to sit back, take a deep breath, and a chill pill. Yes, keep an eye on the situation, but let’s not scare the crap out of everyone before there is something to get scared about.
Love to you all!
~Ryan
[Originally Posted 2/8/15]
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