Vaccination Rates in Several CT Schools Below Federal Guidelines

The rate of Connecticut schools not adhering to vaccination guidelines continues to increase.

Is it wrong not to have your child vaccinated before they start kindergarten? Fox61.com. has reported that 134 Connecticut schools where measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations for kindergarten students have fallen below the federally recommended guideline of 95%.

Why could this statistic be a bad thing for some Connecticut parents with children entering kindergarten? Here is one of the worst-case scenarios. Two Connecticut mothers each have a 4-year-old son whose immune system has been compromised by the chemotherapy they have been receiving for their fight against leukemia. This adds up to serious life or death consequences for these two 4-year-olds if they come in contact with another child who hasn't been vaccinated.

Measles is highly contagious. So much so that it can spread easily through coughing and sneezing. According to cdc.gov., measles is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected. Why do some parents choose not to have their children vaccinated? According to Jennifer Reich, a sociology professor at the University of Colorado Denver who has spent a decade talking with anti-vax parents, here are some of her findings.

** Parents choose to make their own decision after completing their own research instead of feeling the pressure of adhering to an 'experts' opinion...

** Healthy lifestyle choices and prolonged breastfeeding would build up their child's immunity as well as a vaccine...

** A belief that vaccines are not safe because federal agencies are too involved with the pharmaceutical companies...

** Some parents believe in vaccines but don't want them for their children?!

** The concept of 'individualist parents' who insist they are responsible for their own children but not other children...

** Religious exemptions...

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