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.”

  • ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    For those wondering genuine reasons to support this statement, remember the horrific things the US government did to black people and native Americans.

    The CIA and such were having a field day doing whatever unethical shit they wanted.

    Tuskagee experiment? (Giving black people syphilis) https://www.history.com/news/the-infamous-40-year-tuskegee-study

    MK Ultra? (Drugging black people with cocaine and mishrooms) https://chacruna.net/cia_research_exploited_black_americans_mkultra/

    Mass sterilization of Native American women: https://time.com/5737080/native-american-sterilization-history/

    It goes on and on. Yeah, we have good reason to distrust the US Government. Unfortunately, we also have lots of reasons to trust them as well. This isn’t a post “gubbmint bad”. This is just “we can understand why some people think the way they do because of the actions of others”.

    • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      This isn’t a post “gubbmint bad”.

      Oh, but it IS.

      What would ‘trustworthy’ look like? Kinda like now. What are you doing? Still distrusting. Why try to be trustworthy if it’s a no-win equation?

      • kWazt@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

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

        • GladiusB@lemmy.world
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          1 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.

      • TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Too many people ignore the fact that the government isn’t 1 entity, but several. Each division has its own goals, and some of those divisions care more about the people they’re supposed to serve than others.