[quote]Measles cases have soared to a 20-year high in the US, with 288 cases reported since the beginning of the year — the most in a five-month period since 1994. Though measles was declared to be eliminated from the US in 2000, importation of the disease has continued, and in all cases this year where the source of infection could be determined, it was seen as stemming from international travel. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pins the striking rise in measles cases on unvaccinated people, who make up at least 69 percent of the reported cases. (In 20 percent of cases, the person's vaccination status was unknown. In only 10 percent of cases was the person actually known to be vaccinated.) Some of the unvaccinated people were too young to receive vaccination or said that they had missed opportunities to be vaccinated. [b]But the vast majority, 85 percent, had refrained from vaccination because of religious, philosophical, or personal objections.[/b] "The current increase in measles cases is being driven by unvaccinated people, primarily US residents, who got measles in other countries, brought the virus back to the United States and spread to others in communities where many people are not vaccinated," assistant surgeon general Anne Schuchat says in a statement. Though measles is reaching a relative peak in the US, it's still far lower in the United States than elsewhere across the globe. There's estimated to be around 20 million annual measles cases worldwide and about 122,000 deaths stemming from it. Still, the rise in the United States is sharp. The CDC reported that measles cases had spiked in 2013 too, and 2013 saw only 175 confirmed cases in total by early December. In that report too, the CDC said a failure to vaccinate was the issue, with 98 percent of cases being in unvaccinated patients. Elsewhere in the world, widely disproven concerns that vaccines are linked to autism are said to have been the cause of measles outbreaks. At least one isolated instance of this led to a small outbreak in Texas last year, though the CDC doesn't break down the exact reasons why measles patients turned down vaccination.[/quote] Idiots, er, I mean people, who choose to not get vaccinated are helping measles to make a comeback in the US. Now, most of you are probably thinking "That's just fine, only the stupid people get sick." Sadly that's not the case. Some people are genuinely allergic to certain vaccines. I am one of those people, I cannot be vaccinated for Pertussis, AKA whooping cough, since I would go into a severe fever and most likely die without treatment. Fortunately, I am vaccinated against measles, but I'm certain there are people out there who are have medically valid reasons for not getting a measles vaccine. People who do not vaccinate for personal reasons are putting other humans in danger, and I see no place for such persons in society. If everyone who chose to not vaccinate lived in isolated communities, like the Amish (though supposedly many Amish people have recently adopted vaccination for their children), we might not have these problems, but instead we have city hippies who claim that the shots will make them senile and easier for the government to control. I'm making this thread because I am changing my stance on forced vaccination. I used to think it would be proper to allow religious or concerned persons to be exempt from vaccinating themselves and their children, but I now realize that there is no valid reason to do something so harmful to the human species, and [b]the government should require vaccination, under penalty of child removal or confinement to a certain area.[/b] /rant