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High Rate of MMR Vaccine Refusal in Bay Area Increases the Risk of Birth Defects
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AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese
The Bay Area has one of the highest rates of vaccine refusal in the United States. In some Bay Area schools more than 50% of children are unvaccinated (schools are considered at risk for outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases when vaccination refusal rates are above 7.5%). More than 10,000 Californian kindergartners are unvaccinated.
The MMR vaccine has a particularly high rate of vaccine refusal due to erroneous claims that it is linked to autism. Further investigation of the original report in the Lancet that claimed an MMR-autism link indicated that the author, Dr. Wakefield, falsified patient records and took money from lawyers planning to sue the MMR vaccine manufacturer to fund his research. The Lancet has since retracted Dr. Wakfield's article.
What are the ramifications of MMR refusal?
Rubella (the R part in the MMR) is the virus that causes German measles and it is a fairly innocuous infection for children. They may be unwell for several days and develop an impressive rash, but almost all recover. Adult women tend to have more serious infections. However, the big concern with rubella is the exposure of susceptible (non-immune) women during pregnancy, which can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and a grouping of birth defects called congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). The risks are real - 20% of all mothers who contract rubella during the first half of their pregnancy will deliver babies with CRS. Children affected by CRS may be blind, deaf, and mentally retarded. Bleeding problems may cause purple spots all over the body and the liver and spleen may also be damaged.
The more women who refuse the vaccine for themselves, the more who are at risk for contracting rubella. When more children are unvaccinated the chance of being exposed to rubella increases.
The risk of CRS is real. Clusters of rubella outbreaks among vaccine dissenters have been reported in several states including Arkansas, New York, and Nebraska. A rubella outbreak in the Netherlands affected 387 people, several who traveled to Canada infecting another 309 people. The result was 2 stillbirths and 14 babies with congenital rubella syndrome.
Numerous independent studies in top medical journals indicate there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The rate of vaccine refusal in the Bay Area indicates a rubella outbreak is a very real possibility with serious ramifications for pregnant women and their unborn children. It is becoming less a matter of if and more a matter of when.
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