In my previous article two weeks ago, I detailed the dangerous movement that is the Anti-Vax movement (check out the article here). I detailed how dangerous the movement could be and the likely effects of letting previously eradicated illnesses return to the community.

However, the effects have finally come to fruition. As of March 28, 2019, Rockland county in New York has declared a state of emergency. For the next 30 days, all unvaccinated minors are prohibited from public spaces.

Rockland county currently reports 156 cases of measles. While they will not actively patrol the streets asking for vaccination papers, parents of minors violating this declaration will face fines and possibly jail time.

Authorities confirm that there will be no religious or personal exemptions. They also report they are working with local Rabbis to urge churches to comply.

The county officials have also defined a “public space” as a “place where more than 10 persons are intended to congregate for purposes such as civic, governmental, social, or religious functions, or for recreation or shopping, or for food or drink consumption, or awaiting transportation, or for daycare or educational purposes, or for medical treatment.”

This is a scary time in our country. We are in a period where, due to the misinformation about vital medical supplies, children are being banned from public spaces. The Rockland county reports over 500 more vaccinations after this declaration was set in place.

Though there has been some success, the fact that a state of emergency is required for individuals to vaccinate their children of an eradicated disease is insane.

Vaccinating children should not be something done after the outbreak has occurred; it’s meant to prevent the outbreak from occurring in the first place.

This isn’t even the first state of emergency declared after a measles outbreak. Earlier this year, Washington state declared a similar status after 30 cases occurred at the beginning of 2019.  Rockland won’t be the last, as long as the anti-vax movement is given both grounds and validity.

It’s time to educate on vaccinations and health, as the community is at risk as long as preventable illnesses are allowed to repopulate.

This outbreak is clearly a direct effect of the refusal to vaccinate. An instance in which the county is policing the streets to keep wholly preventable diseases from destroying the populace should never even have had to happen.

Measles, mumps and rubella are all preventable and treatable, however, it could get a lot worse. This could be much more dangerous and life-threatening if diseases such as polio or smallpox resurface. Potential population ending diseases should not be allowed to return, and while the MMR vaccine is easily obtainable, others will not be and the quarantine required will be more heavily policed.

America is a free nation and we are free to make these decisions.Vaccinating, however, should not even be a questionable choice. For the sake of the wholistic people, individuals must vaccinate their children, otherwise we risk plague-like pandemics.