Grandparents need to tell of life without vaccines [View all]

By Dale Heisinger / Herald Forum

I am a grandparent of five grandchildren and a retired pediatrician and I advised my two sons to get their children vaccinated, which they did. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should receive 12 vaccinations by age 6, protecting them against 16 preventable infectious diseases, including measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR). The MMR vaccine was released for use in 1971 and two doses provide 97 percent protection.

When 95 percent of children are vaccinated, the risk of spreading measles is non-existent. However, with declining vaccination rates nationwide and in Washington state, there is now an increase in measles cases throughout the U.S. In 2000, measles was declared eliminated in the this country, but as of Feb. 18, there have been 1,004 confirmed cases reported in 24 states, with 30 children being hospitalized. Most of these cases have been in unvaccinated children.

When I was growing up in California, I remember occasionally seeing quarantine signs posted on doors in my neighborhood and when I asked my parents what that meant, they told me that someone in the house either had a contagious disease or was exposed to someone that did. We learned that there was one classmate who had polio, which was a disease that was greatly feared by every parent. I don’t recall this child’s outcome, however I never saw him in school again.

Public health surveillance no longer posts signs but it does monitor infectious diseases, a fail-safe and necessary service designed to protect us. However, the greatest protection comes from vaccinations.

Read more at: https://www.heraldnet.com/2026/03/15/forum-grandparents-need-to-tell-of-life-without-vaccines/