The anti-vaccine movements continue to cling to pilgrim arguments to defend their "choice." A dangerous option, not to vaccinate children, even supported by proven fraud. But there they continue and Measles figures speak for themselves: something happens, and a lot, for not vaccinating children.
And not only is it that your children can get sick, with all the risks that this entails, it is that other children, still unvaccinated babies and adults who did not receive the vaccine can get sick. The increase in measles cases in the United States in recent years is alarming as we discovered in these graphs, but I fear that this line in vertiginous ascension would be the same in many other countries, including Spain.
According to data from CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), last year there were no less than 644 new cases of measles in 27 states of the country. We see it in the bar chart that collects figures since 2001. It would be necessary to go back almost 25 years ago to find as many cases of measles as in 2014.
A disease that, on the other hand, was considered eradicated in the United States in the year 2000, from that to the previous year they warned of the spread of measles in the country.
The vast majority of people who contracted the disease were not vaccinated, and cases related to the measles outbreak in Disneyland, California, of which we have spoken to you today and that is putting the focus on the responsibility of the anti-vaccine groups.
If we take into account a survey conducted in 2014 among the American population that indicated that only 51% were convinced that vaccines are safe and effective, we realize the extent of the problem and fear that the figures will only continue to increase, putting more and more people at risk.
And we already know that it's not about Ebola, but measles is also a serious thing and, leaving aside the discomforts that the patients may suffer (or the expenses that they cause to the health system), it can even be the case of death or serious sequelae in small babies, immunocompromised people ...
Measles figures had declined since the inclusion of the vaccine, with various outbreaks and rebounds from time to time, but with a downward trend, something that can no longer be said.
Not vaccinating children threatens everyone's health and play with unnecessary risks. Measles figures roll us back a few decades back in time. We can also see it in this line chart, remarkable because it shows the impact of only three years, the great rise in cases of the disease (which triples) between 2011 and 2014, which triples.
Recall that it is estimated that all vaccines have prevented more than 700,000 deaths, 21 million hospitalizations and 322 million diseases among American children born in the last 20 years. Why go back?
What has to happen so that people who are against vaccinating their children are aware of the dangers? It seems to me that to play with this issue is to play with fire and we have already seen that even in some countries tax measures have been proposed not to benefit the anti-vaccines or, on the contrary, to pay parents to vaccinate their children.
What will it be in 2015? Will we continue to see measles cases increase? Looking at these figures in the clarifying light of the graphics, we get, more than a scare, the confirmation that the anti-vaccine movements are ravaging, and also some pessimism because it seems that the worst is yet to come.
