(VitalNews.org) – Childhood vaccination was at an all-time low in 2023. It’s the lowest it’s been in 10 years and this could mean a lot for 2024 and the coming years in terms of illnesses.
Due to this hesitancy and lack of childhood vaccinations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that this puts 250,000 kindergarteners at risk for measles.
Measles is a serious disease that can be rapidly spread. Recently, a daycare in Philadelphia had an infant and two children hospitalized due to Measles.
It’s dangerous as children are not being vaccinated and parents are rejecting years of research and science that proves the effectiveness of the vaccines. With this being said, states have begun adjusting these rules and loosening the regulations on what vaccines kids need in school. These regulations are adjusted based on spiritual, religious, and philosophical beliefs.
Many experts are worried that this will be the start of many rejecting other scientific-backed expertise and other medical treatments. This could cause further outbreaks, pandemics, and other spread of diseases.
Peter Hotez, a vaccine researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas said, “This is an organized political movement, and the health and science sectors don’t know what to do.”
The percentage of people who are following vaccine laws and regulations is decreasing. In 2019, 80% of Republicans were on board with vaccinations, whereas recently only 60% of Republicans backed it.
Many experts are tying climate change beliefs and vaccination beliefs together in saying that libertarians and conservatives like to jump onto trends that limit government regulation. Sort Reids, a vaccine policy researcher said, “Even if people weren’t anti-vaccine to start with, they move that way when the argument fits.”
The discussions surrounding vaccines for COVID-19 and other viruses will become more and more prevalent as the election approaches. An independent runner, Robert F Kennedy Jr, is pushing against vaccines in his campaign and has repeatedly spoken out regarding the supposed ineffectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The risks involved with the political world running into the medical and pharmaceutical realm are prominent, and they can already be seen taking effect even in the upcoming presidential elections.
COVID-19 heightened the politicization of vaccines especially since information surrounding it led to controversy. Representative Brad Winstrup of Ohio said, “We were promised that the vaccine would stop transmission, only to find out that wasn’t completely true, and America noticed.”
Many are worried about the sources we’ve listened to in the past regarding vaccines and them being discredited.
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