In the year 2015, are Americans with access to a variety of life-saving vaccinations knowingly avoiding them? The answer is yes. While many parents and guardians choose to vaccinate their children, others oppose for a variety of reasons. Whether online research, religious beliefs or ethical positions have lead Americans to shy away from vaccinations, there are still many anti-vaxers fervently rejecting a variety of medical treatments. From a medical standpoint, many of these anti-vax arguments have no logical or provable standing. .
The controversy over whether or not to vaccinate yourself (or your family) can be largely attributed to a 1998 medical journal published in The Lancet, written by Dr. Andrew Wakefield ". who contended that his research showed that the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine may be unsafe (Harris)." He also pointed out in his research that vaccinations is a leading cause of autism. This was arguably the largest controversy surrounding the vaccination argument with parents and medical professionals alike. According to to a survey published by the Public Health Report, for parents who delay or refuse vaccinations, "70% say they believe the vaccines are necessary to protect the health of their children (compared with 96% of parents who vaccinate) (Levs qtd Public Health Report)." According to Jacqueline Howard, writer for The Huffington Post, another main proponent of the vaccination argument is, "Trust in government--or the lack thereof--has been identified as a key factor (Howard)." Nonetheless, both topics prompted a whole debate over whether or not the risks of vaccinations outweigh the benefits. .
Just this past January, anti-vaccinated students in various schools across Southern California were sent home due to a measles outbreak. Forbes magazine wrote, "Measles is now spreading outward from Disneyland in California, in the worst outbreak in years (Salzberg).
