Forty states saw rises in parents citing religious or other personal concerns for not vaccinating their young children.

The number of kids whose caregivers are opting them out of routine childhood vaccines has reached an all-time high, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday, potentially leaving hundreds of thousands of children unprotected against preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough.

The report did not dive into the reasons for the increase, but experts said the findings clearly reflect Americans’ growing unease about medicine in general.

“There is a rising distrust in the health care system,” said Dr. Amna Husain, a pediatrician in private practice in North Carolina, as well as a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Vaccine exemptions “have unfortunately trended upward with it.”

  • @kWazt
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    81 year ago

    Maybe creating a health care system that won’t force you into bankruptcy if you break a leg?

    • GladiusB
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      41 year ago

      This is a huge part of it. The money is so big it gives them a motive and a reason for people to be suspicious.

      I mean I think they are wrong. But not everyone is going to agree and go along with rational thinking.