Measles

Measles Exemptions: The New Loophole in Washington State

While Washington lawmakers had good intentions, their actions were largely symbolic, because they overlooked a few issues that will interfere with this law having its’ intended effect. According to the Washington State Constitution, “absolute freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief and worship shall be guaranteed to every individual…” And to that end, the new vaccine exemption form replaced the philosophical exemption with a new box for parent-initiated religious exemption.

Mumps, Cheek Bumps, and Testicle Lumps

So what does this mean exactly? Most likely the mumps portion of the MMR vaccine is less effective in the Marshallese population in particular due to some genetic difference in their immune response. It is also possible this virus is “drifting” by changing a protein here or there or an H or N molecule as similar to the influenza virus. So all in all, there are likely small changes in the natural mumps virus altering the landscape for everyone; however those with Marshallese background are naturally more susceptible.

2020-05-04T01:42:27+00:00January 4, 2017|Categories: Patient|Tags: , , , , , |
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