The anti-vax movement becomes a global threat

Why parents will not vaccinate their kids and save the lives of everyone around them despite the constant backlash.

By Alana Aimaq, Staff Writer

As the dooming anti-vax movement is bringing back deadly diseases, younger generations are fighting back to save the human population.

Allegations linking autism to vaccinations have been proven untrue time and time again, but the movement still trudges on, with anti-vaxxers risking the lives of everyone around them.

This top 10 global threat of 2019, as deemed by the World Health Organization, is detrimental to society and needs to be stopped. The conclusion that vaccinations do not contribute to autism is not new, and continues to be proven with new studies being released.

Annals of Internal Medicine recently released a population study with 657,461 children born between 1999-2010 that got the MMR vaccine in Denmark. The 6,517 kids that were diagnosed with autism during that study already showed a risk of autism due to sibling and family history.

This tedious notion causes parents to skip out on vaccinating their kids, which not only puts others at risk for diseases, but also has the potential to bring back diseases that were once eliminated. Now, millennials are taking a stand and getting themselves vaccinated.

One example comes from Ethan Lindenberger, an 18-year-old unvaccinated son who went to Reddit to find answers and advice after he found out his mother was against vaccinations, the Washington Post explains. He, like many children, have found information online that debunk what his parent taught him growing up.

“It’s important to understand that as I approached high school and began to critically think for myself, I saw that the information in defense of vaccines outweighed the concerns heavily,” stated Lindenberger as he testified before Congress on March 5, 2019.

Due to the anti-vaccination movement and people like Ethan’s mother, deadly diseases are becoming worrisome for modern society.

Measles, which was eliminated in 2000 according to the Washington Post, has made a vengeful comeback due to the decrease in measles vaccinations. CNN explained the state of emergency Washington’s governor declared in January due to the 17 cases that have emerged in 2019 alone.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains, “Once you start to dip below 95 percent vaccination, you start to lose the herd immunity”.

There is no treatment for measles, states the Washington Post, so the only way to eliminate this threat is getting everyone vaccinated.

Still, with the continuous proof against the link with autism and vaccinations, anti-vaxxers are finding a way to push their agenda through congress.

According to CNN, Arizona lawmakers advanced three bills in February that would require doctors to provide information to patients about the harm of vaccines. This law, if passed, would make it easier for parents to exempt their children from state-required vaccinations.

Thankfully, large online platforms are taking a stand against this to make sure scrollers are not ill-informed.

Amazon has taken down anti-vaccination documentaries from Amazon Prime, according to Buzzfeed news. As of March 1, free streaming of those documentaries are no longer available. Euro News also says Pinterest and YouTube have decided on a zero-tolerance policy for anti-vax content. Pinterest explains that this content is detrimental to public health.

“We have strict policies that govern what videos we allow ads to appear on, and videos that promote anti-vaccination content have been and remain a violation of our longstanding harmful or dangerous advertising policy,” YouTube stated.

As more and more younger generations take a stand, we can only hope that soon enough, the anti-vaccination movement will come to a complete stop.