Protesters Rally To Protect Right To Not Vaccinate In The Midst Of Measles Outbreak
With Washington state looking at current legislation concerning the right to not vaccinate based on philosophical reasons, protesters have rallied in an effort to uphold the current laws.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, lawmakers in Washington state are now revising non-medical exemptions in the law that allow unvaccinated children to attend school. Currently, if parents or guardians express a personal objection to vaccinations, their children can still attend school.
However, with the current measles outbreak seeing 51 confirmed cases of measles, as well as other potential cases, lawmakers are trying to curb the spread of the dangerous disease. Washington is currently one of 17 states across the U.S. that allows for non-vaccination due to philosophical reasons. There are also 32 other states that have similar laws.
On Friday, those that are vehemently opposed to vaccinations based on philosophical reasons have stepped out to rally against these changes, CBS News reports. Anti-vaccination supporters wanted their voices heard regarding their belief that the vaccine for measles is more dangerous than the actual disease.
“I don’t feel I’m putting my child at risk,” said mother Monique Murray.
“There’s nothing that’s going to change my mind on this on that specific vaccination.”
Anti-vaxxers are out in force during Washington’s horrible measles outbreak to protest against strengthening vaccine rules. @bylenasun on @PostHealthSci https://t.co/bBlVPsHEJu
— Laura Helmuth (@laurahelmuth) February 9, 2019
In response to the proposed changes to HB 1638, hundreds of protesters showed up before the start of the hearing before the House Health Care and Wellness Committee, at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington, according to Fox News.
According to health experts, measles has a 90 percent transmission rate for those that are unvaccinated against the disease and come in contact with someone who has it. In fact, the virus can be viable for up to two hours in a room where an infected person has sneezed or coughed, making transmission easy among those who are unvaccinated.
Washington lawmakers are hoping to change the bill regarding philosophical objection to vaccination by April of this year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also advises that the two-dose measles vaccine is safe and 97 percent effective. According to the CDC, mild side effects from the measles vaccine (which also includes inoculation for mumps and Rubella), includes pain at the injection site, fever, mild rash, and temporary stiff joints. Another symptom can be a temporary low platelet count, which can lead to a bleeding disorder. This will correct itself, however, and is not considered life-threatening.
They do advise that in extremely rare cases, a person may have a serious allergic reaction to the vaccine.
“Anyone who has ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to the antibiotic neomycin, or any other component of MMR vaccine, should not get the vaccine,” the CDC advises on their website.
In addition to this, there is a very small risk of febrile seizures caused by fever. This risk increases with age, which is why it is advised to be immunized as soon as recommended.
Since the measles outbreak, there has been an approximate 500 percent increase in requests for vaccination doses in Clark County, according to a previous article by the Inquisitr. For those that are only just being vaccinated against measles now, the vaccine becomes effective 72 hours after inoculation.
