Inoculation decision

The measles outbreak in the Philippines isn't isolated --it's also happening in other parts of the world. The World Health Organization's published data shows a sudden spike in world cases at the end of 2018, with the highest being in January of 2019, triple even compared to other months in 2018.

The Philippines is in the top ten in terms of number of cases, together with such countries as India, Pakistan, and Brazil. But beyond that data, what is surprising is that even in first-world countries like the US, measles outbreaks are also occurring.

Supposedly, the measles virus was eradicated in America in 2000, but surprise, surprise! It's back! With similar controversies like we have seen in this country on the issue of vaccinations, with vocal critics claiming that vaccines cause autism or cancer, less Americans have been going to the doctor for shots. Plus, some parents are allowed to claim religious exemptions from getting vaccinated, so their children don't get pricked by any needle.

The result: Measles outbreaks, such as the one in Rockland County, New York, where more than a hundred cases were reported in the past four months. What to do with many kids unvaccinated and therefore susceptible to getting sick?

Well, a school district took the unusual step of banning them from school for the meantime. The position taken by the district (and the Health Department) was that these children were at risk because they weren't immune, and so it was better for them to stay home where they had less risk of catching the virus.

We know how litigious American society is, and so the natural result was a lawsuit by parents of banned kids. They thought their children were missing out on school, and even if they were theoretically exposed to measles, a disease that can lead to severe complications like pneumonia, encephalitis, and even death, they still wanted their children to go to school. They also argued that it was a violation of their religious freedoms (because it prevented believers of certain faiths that distrust medicine from receiving their educational right!)

Ah, America, land of liberty!

Unfortunately, a federal judge disagreed with the parents, and blocked their application for an injunction. In that case, health concerns prevailed over religious or other freedoms, and the judge let the ban on unvaccinated kids continue.

This might be a model we can copy from. We can take the position that parents have the freedom of choice whether or not to vaccinate their kids, but if they choose not to, then for their own protection (or rather, for their children's protection), these kids cannot come to school.

Admittedly, this is paternalistic, but the other choice would have been to mandate vaccination whatever the parents say, think, or believe. In other words, force the vaccinations upon citizens. Now that alternative would be less considerate of what the parents think, and therefore, less palatable?

There is even pending legislation in New York that would allow minors to get vaccinated over and above their parents' objections. A case of the state is taking the parental authority over that decision away from parents, and giving it to their children. A gradual recognition that indeed, father (or mother) does not know best?

With more than 4,300 measles cases since January this year (and counting) in this country, we cannot dither and wring our hands in helplessness. Regardless of what happened in the Dengvaxia controversy (which involved a new generation of vaccines), we need to put our foot down with the tried and tested vaccines that have been around for generations.

As the UNICEF says, child deaths and illnesses from measles are unacceptable. If we do not accept that, then what are we prepared to do?