Source: KCUR
Missouri is suffering some of the lowest vaccination rates in the US, and now parents of children who are vulnerable are concerned that their health – and lives – could be at risk.
Data from 2017 from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that Missouri had some of the lowest rates for vaccinations for children 19 to 35 months, with an approximate 85.8 percent of children vaccinated.
Children are then at risk because “herd immunity” doesn’t work effectively when the percentage of vaccinated children is below 90 percent, according to health experts.
“We’re at risk. It’s just a matter of time for that wind to blow our way and to make that fire catch,” says Dr. Barbara Pahud, infectious disease specialist at Children’s Mercy Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, as reported by KCUR.
Religious exemptions have been growing in the state, up to 2.4 percent from 2018 to 2019, putting more children at risk.
Read Full Story: KCUR