There has been an increasingly significant outbreak of measles all across the country over the past several months, and President Donald Trump has finally weighed in on the alarming developments.
Trump said of parents with children who have not been immunized against the disease, “They have to get the shot.”
Importance of immunization
The remarks from the president about measles vaccinations came as he spoke with reporters outside the White House prior heading to Indianapolis, Indiana for an address the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting.
The president was asked with regard to the measles outbreak, “What do you tell parents about getting their kids vaccinated?”
Trump replied, “Oh. They have to get the shot. The vaccinations are so important. This is really going around now. They have to get their shot.”
Record number of cases
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been at least 695 recorded cases of measles in no fewer than 22 states across the nation so far this year.
That represents the largest number of measles cases at any one time since the year 2000, when it was thought that measles had been all but eradicated throughout the country.
Director of the CDC Robert Redfield said, “This current outbreak is deeply troubling and I call upon all health care providers to assure patients about the efficacy and safety of the measles vaccine.”
Outbreaks linked to unvaccinated children
Health officials believe they have tracked a majority of the measles cases around the nation back to a handful of major outbreaks on both the east and west coasts, two of which centered in New York, and another originating in Washington state.
The New York outbreaks have been traced to predominately Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, among whom there is a traditional resistance to immunizations. It is thought that there is a connection between the outbreak in those Jewish communities in New York to a similar outbreak in a predominately Orthodox Jewish community in Michigan.
As for the outbreak in Washington state, health officials there have suggested that the spread of the disease stemmed from the growing population of purposely unvaccinated children whose parents are members of the loosely-knit “anti-vaxx” community, or those who have expressed skepticism about vaccinations and the potential side effects and long-term harm they believe are caused by the shots.
Another possibility left unmentioned by many media outlets is a different, yet growing population of unvaccinated children spreading around the country — the children of recently arrived illegal immigrants from Central America and other parts of the globe where child immunization shots aren’t always standard procedure.
Trump’s history of skepticism
Interestingly, President Trump seemingly used to count himself among those who are skeptical of childhood vaccines like the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shots, suggesting in a 2014 tweet that there may be a link between the series of booster shots for kids and autism, an increasingly common, if disputed theory.
However, Trump later clarified that he wasn’t completely opposed to such immunization shots for children, but was merely concerned about the short window of time in which multiple shots are administered, suggesting instead that the shots be spread out over a longer time period.
For the overwhelming majority of people, childhood vaccinations are crucial for long-term health, and while asking honest questions and researching the facts surrounding vaccinations is perfectly acceptable and legitimate, proceeding with the shots is vitally important and goes toward ensuring the overall safety of the nation.
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