Certain vaccinations are required for school attendance in Massachusetts. The vaccinations provide immunization against diseases, such as measles, mumps, chicken pox, as well as polio.
States do have exemptions for medical, as well as religious, and sometimes philosophical reasons.
The Centers for Disease Control devotes pages to information for parents on the safety of vaccines, stating:
"Vaccines contain the same germs that cause disease. (For example, measles vaccine contains measles virus, and Hib vaccine contains Hib bacteria.) But they have been either killed or weakened to the point that they don’t make you sick. Some vaccines contain only a part of the disease germ.
"A vaccine stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies, exactly like it would if you were exposed to the disease. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease, without having to get the disease first.
"This is what makes vaccines such powerful medicine. Unlike most medicines, which treat or cure diseases, vaccines prevent them."
Still, growing numbers of parents, particularly those who home school, are opting out of having their children vaccinated.
We would like to hear from parents on both sides of this issue. You can email be at firstname.lastname@example.org, visit my Facebook page or comment below.