JURAVIN RESEARCH discovered that laws forcing parents to vaccinate their children are common around the world. Vaccinations provide a barrier between horrible, life-threatening diseases and the world’s population. However, some parents believe they shouldn’t vaccinate their children, for fear of major side effects and some, for religious reasons. The consequences have been severe.
Don Juravin discovered that the United States is struggling when it comes to preventable diseases. Anti-vaxx communities and religious communities are spreading deadly misinformation across the country.
Measles, a completely preventable disease, is on the rise in the United States of America. And it shouldn’t be in the 21st century.
Don Juravin
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there have been a total of 764 individual cases of measles reported in the U.S. this year.
23 out of the 50 states have been impacted, with Pennsylvania being the latest one. The state most impacted is New York. However, other states are already tallying cases in the double digits.
The number of measles cases reported in 2019 already broke the previous recent annual record, beating 667 cases reported in 2014. At the time, that was the highest number of cases reported since the disease was eliminated in the U.S.
The new number of measles cases means that so far this year, there have been nearly 100 more cases than there were in all of 2014. In Juravin’s opinion, this epidemic must be addressed.
California has reported 40 cases in 12 counties. New Jersey has reported 14 cases so far this year, and the state’s department of health said there were currently 12 cases in two counties.
The outbreaks in New York — in both New York City and in suburban Rockland County — first began in the fall of 2018, and have continued into this year.
As of May 3, there were 214 cases of measles in Rockland County, according to the health department. Of those cases, 79.7% of infected individuals were unvaccinated.
In New York City, there have been 423 confirmed measles cases in Brooklyn and Queens between the start of the outbreak in October 2018 and April 29, 2019.
This crisis could threaten the homeless population in cities. People who are not vaccinated or haven’t had booster shots who live on the streets are targets for contagious diseases.
Measles can lead to deadly symptoms. People with low immunities can develop pneumonia and inflammation of the brain, which could lead to death.
The city’s health department states that “most of these cases have involved members of the Orthodox Jewish community.”
Of the 17 measles outbreaks that occurred across the country in 2018, three contributed the highest number of cases, and those cases “occurred primarily among unvaccinated people in Orthodox Jewish communities,” according to the CDC.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in early April that he was putting an emergency order in place that will fine people in certain zip codes in Brooklyn if they are not vaccinated.
Don Juravin asked Isaac Abraham, who is involved with Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn and frequently speaks to the media on the groups’ behalf, believes that he felt the blame being attributed to the Jewish communities is unfair.
Abraham pointed to de Blasio’s order, saying that the mayor mentioned the Orthodox Jewish community more than a dozen times in his press conference.
Abraham said that there were multiple reasons why some in the community do not vaccinate their children, including skepticism of government orders, frustration with how the city government has approached the issue, and not believing that the vaccine will work. He added that the community has noticed an increased sense of anti-Semitism, as people, he said, appear to attribute the spread of the disease to the Orthodox Jewish community.
Thousands of independent studies show evidence in favor of vaccines. These studies also confirm that there are no mass side effects that come with vaccines.
Having a public health campaign with excellent, well-respected champions from the community that can disseminate vaccination facts and squash myths might solve a few problems.
According to Juravin, the force will not replace the power of public knowledge and personal autonomy. It is crucial for people to know that many children are unable to be vaccinated and will always be at risks, such as children with immune problems or cancer. Of course, these children want a normal life too, to go to school, to the movies, and to parties. The choice to avoid vaccinations does put these kids at risk of getting sick or worse.
The ongoing spate of measles outbreaks in the United States has shown that many parents remain convinced, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that vaccines are unsafe.
Don Juravin’s opinion: while science always seems to be the logical decision and “the right way to go”, belief and religion can’t be ignored. We can’t be repeating “in God we trust” and observe religious holidays and turn our back on the very same beliefs. The question is, is the Bible really “against” vaccination or it’s another misinterpreted or outdated order of religious leaders? One should not expect to try and convince believers on a one to one basis. The smart and practical way is to talk to those religious leaders and have them support the vaccination or some form of it. For example, have their own doctor, whom they trust, explain it to them.