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An ongoing measles epidemic – one of the most infectious diseases known to man – in the state of Washington prompted the governor to declare a public health emergency.
As of Saturday, there were 31 cases in Clark County, Washington, which borders Portland, Oregon. Most cases involved children aged 1 to 10 years who had not been vaccinated. There is also an adult case in nearby King County, whose largest city is Seattle.
"The measles virus is a highly contagious infectious disease that can be fatal in young children," said Washington Governor Jay Inslee in his statement. The fact that it has spread to Washington since the epidemic was identified on January 18 creates an "extreme risk to public health that can quickly spread to other counties."
The reason for urgency is simple: Measles is one of the most infectious diseases known to man. A person with measles can cough in a room, leave and – if you are not vaccinated – hours later, you can catch the virus by the droplets in the air that they left behind. . No other virus can do it.
During the outbreak of Clark County, people infected with the virus had visited public places including health facilities, schools and churches, as well as Ikea and Dollar Tree, likely to transmit the virus to other people.
This brings us to another fact that makes the epidemic in the Northwest particularly troubling: there are more children at risk in these public places than anywhere else in the country. That's because Oregon and Washington are more permissive than other states when it comes to allowing parents to opt out of vaccines for reasons that have nothing to do with health.
The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which American children are supposed to be vaccinated before entering kindergarten, can be easily prevented. Most people who receive both doses will never get measles, even if they are exposed.
Yet on the other side of the river In Oregon, the vaccine exemption rate has increased sharply recently, from 5.8% in 2015 to 7.5% in 2018. And in Clark County, Washington State in In particular, 7.9% of children had benefited from a vaccine exemption for kindergarten entry starting in 2017-2018. school year, according to the Washington Post. This is much higher than the national average, suggesting that 2% of children are not vaccinated for non-medical reasons.
These derogations have made Oregon and Washington more vulnerable to entirely preventable outbreaks, said Peter Hotez, an infectious disease researcher at Baylor College. "[They] are now a major anti-vaccine hot spot due to exemptions from non-medical vaccines that have nothing to do with religion. Although Oregon has not yet reported any cases, the geographical proximity of the Washington outbreak is worrisome, Hotez said. And "because it's such a large unvaccinated cohort," he added, "this outbreak could last for a while."
States with stricter immunization laws have higher vaccination rates
Vaccines fall under state jurisdiction in public health. And there is currently a lot of variation between the United States in terms of vaccination requirements.
The 50 states currently have legislation requiring vaccines for students – but almost all states allow exemptions for people with religious beliefs against vaccination and 18 states grant philosophical exemptions to opponents of vaccines because of personal or moral beliefs . (The exceptions are Mississippi, California, and West Virginia, where the country's strictest vaccine laws do not allow for any philosophical or religious exemptions.)
"States expect that, in order to access public resources, such as schools, camps or crèches, individuals must give up some autonomy to ensure that everyone in the community is safe, "said sociologist Jennifer Reich, of Colorado University in Denver. vaccine movement, said Vox previously.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, areas of the country that facilitate the withdrawal of vaccines tend to have a higher rate of … people who choose not to be vaccinated. Thus, a lax regulatory environment can create a space for more parents to refuse vaccines. And that's what we're seeing right now in the Northwest.
Oregon and Washington are among the 18 US states allowing philosophical exemptions from vaccines for people who wish to withdraw because of their moral or personal beliefs. In 12 of the 18 Member States, the number of such exemptions has increased since 2009.
In 2015, Oregon State lawmakers made it a bit more difficult for parents to exempt their children from vaccines – by having them watch an online vaccination program or consult a doctor or nurse to obtain a certificate. But that did not deter parents, according to a recent badysis of the state. After an initial decline in the non-medical exemption rate, this rate has steadily increased in recent years.
"Measles was eliminated from the United States in 2000, but it was allowed to come back," said Hotez, in part because of "ignorant and cowardly legislatures and the failure of governments to organize a campaign." defense of vaccines ".
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