The Online Newspaper of Lakewood High School

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Vaccinate Your Kids

    Vaccinate+Your+Kids

    Recently in the United States, there has been an outbreak of measles. Over 700 cases of measles have been diagnosed, and this has been considered the worst outbreak in decades. States like New York and California have been rushing to order parents to vaccinate their kids. Nineteen years ago in 2000 the Measles disease was considered eliminated. The two doses of the vaccine you get is considered to be 97 percent effective.

    According to the New York Times, about 100,000 children in this country below age 2 have not been vaccinated. This means these children are vulnerable. The measles disease kills about one out of every 1,000 victims. Even if you have modern medical care, the disease can still kill you or your children.

    Innocent kids who parents decided not to vaccinate them, could die. Innocent people who can not be vaccinated because they are too young, or because of medical issues, could die. This is why you should make sure you are vaccinated, and why you should vaccinate your children.

    Some states have more relaxed laws on vaccinations, making exemptions for religious reasons, or personal choice. Though, they might have $1,000 fines or bans put in place on the vaccinated kids going out in public. These states with relaxed laws have higher rates of people obtaining easily prevented diseases. If the United States had a strict federal ruling on vaccinations, more deaths could be prevented.

    Many people have strong opinions on vaccinations. Lakewood High School student Sam Gattarello says, “I think everyone should vaccinate their kids. It’s sad to see innocent children dying because their parents choose to not vaccinate.”

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