From Taliban fighters to California soccer moms, those who choose not to vaccina

te their children against preventable diseases are causing a public health crisi
s.
Disease outbreaks have killed millions of people, and scientists have spent gene
rations developing ways to save those in jeopardy. Still, many people don t think
it s a good idea to protect themselves or their children from preventable diseases
, and choose to forego vaccinations.
Even in 2013, the anti-vaccination movement continues to leave the door open to
outbreaks of diseases that have been all but eradicated by modern medicine. Thes
e diseases include measles, polio, whooping cough, and more.
In Pakistan, polio remains an epidemic because the Taliban has banned aid worker
s from vaccinating children. They say they fear that vaccination efforts are sim
ply a ruse meant to disguise espionage. Health workers attempting to distribute
vaccines there have been attacked and killed. A total of 101 polio cases have be
en reported in the country as of mid-November, and another 240,000 children have
not been vaccinated.
-Brian Krans