Did you know a recent study described Arizona as a “hot-spot?” Not because of our record-breaking summer temperatures, indie music venues, Roosevelt Row, open-air wine bars, or beautiful people mingling in Old Town. Nope nope nope. The Public Library of Science – Medicine journal published an article in June 2018 naming Arizona as a “hot-spot” for non-medical vaccine exemptions. What is that exactly? A non-medical exemption is one that allows a parent or guardian to refuse vaccinations on the basis of religion or philosophy. In the 2016-2017 school year, Maricopa County alone issued 2,947 non-medical vaccine exemptions to Kindergarten students; the most of any metro area in the United States. Salt Lake County came in a distant second at 956.
The anti-vax movement may be just as old as vaccines themselves, but many people associate the modern-day movement with the famous, or rather infamous, report by Andrew Wakefield published in the Lancet in February of 1998. The report, in a nutshell, linked the MMR vaccine to autism. Jenny McCarthy, a TV personality who has a son diagnosed with autism, stated on public television: “Without a doubt in my mind, I believe that vaccinations triggered Evan’s [her son] autism.” That same Lancet article was retracted in 2010 and Andrew Wakefield lost his medical license for fraud. McCarthy has since been on record as saying that she is actually pro-vaccine and that she was misquoted in every interview that stated otherwise.
But this is old news, right? Except, it’s not. It’s “now” news. The anti-vaccine movement has moved on and is growing, without Wakefield and McCarthy. Websites and Facebook groups have sprung up all with quotes and horror stories of the terrors of vaccines. These are just two I came across on an anti-vax website (I cannot authenticate the credentials of the quoted individuals):
“My suspicion, which is shared by others in my profession, is that the nearly 10,000 SIDS deaths that occur in the United States each year are related to one or more of the vaccines that are routinely given children. The pertussis vaccine is the most likely villain, but it could also be one or more of the others.” –Dr. Mendelsohn, M.D.
“There is no evidence whatsoever of the ability of vaccines to prevent any diseases. To the contrary, there is a great wealth of evidence that they cause serious side effects.” — Dr. Viera Scheibner
This graphic shows just how much the movement has grown in the more prevalent states from 2009-2017:
Table 1: Increasing nationwide trend in kindergarten NME rates from 2009 to 20171.
In Arizona, we can expect these numbers to increase even further should two recently passed Arizona House Bills be approved by the Senate and signed by Governor Ducey. At the hearing last month, Irene Pi, director of the National Vaccine Information Center, was given the floor before the Republican-controlled Arizona House Health Committee for an hour-long presentation that argued against imposing vaccinations. The bills would require that physicians provide informed consent for vaccinations,and introduce a new “religious objection” exemption. Despite opposing testimony from physician after physician and public condemnation by the Arizona Medical Association, the bills sponsored by Rep. Nancy Barto passed 5-4 along party lines.
In our next issue, I will discuss common fears of vaccinations and provide any updates on the bills as they make their way through the Arizona Senate. We’ll also hear from UA COM-P faculty on the issue and how they would recommend approaching the topic of vaccination with patients and their families.
- Olive JK, Hotez PJ, Damania A, Nolan MS (2018) The state of the anti-vaccine movement in the United States: A focused examination of nonmedical exemptions in states and counties. PLOS Medicine 15(6): e1002578.
- Lewis, K. (2018) Vaccine Hesitancy Puts Arizonans At Risk For Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Arizona Pulse, A Magazine of the Arizona Medical Association. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- McCarthy, C. (2016) The Inconvenient Truth of Vaccine Refusal. Harvard Health Publishing: Harvard Medical School. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
Kristina Yancey is a member of The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, Class of 2022. She graduated from The City University of New York-Staten Island in 2008 with a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry & Chemistry, earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Arizona State University in 2017 and completed a Graduate Certificate in Health Sciences through the Pathway Scholars Program at The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix in 2018. She enjoys research, community activism, singing Karaoke, dancing, and cracking up at her own jokes. But most of all, she enjoys spending quality time with her husband and daughter.
Email: kyancey@email.arizona.edu