Medical community worried about report showing rise in cases of kids not being vaccinated

A new CDC report has the medical community nervous about possible disease outbreaks.

Of children born in 2015, 1.3 percent had not received any recommended vaccinations, according to the report released Thursday. That’s quadruple the rate of 2011.

Raj Naik, a pediatrician with Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, says parents are being duped.

“There are a number of myths that are propagated, that are spread,” Naik said. “People believe these myths and are scared about the vaccines, rather than scared of the diseases.”

States like Minnesota and Wisconsin are both non-medical exemptions, which creates more problems.

“When we have these states, including the ones that we live in, have these non-medical exemptions, it creates the possibility for a vaccine hotspots, where there are unvaccinated children and it can result in disease outbreaks,” Naik said.

Naik added that the positives for vaccines are quite obvious.

“When you look at the science, it’s clear that there are numerous benefits,” he said. “It’s probably the most important thing we do in medicine, saving people from significant illnesses.”

In 2001, the number of children without the recommended vaccinations was .3 percent. The survey also found that children were least likely to have received vaccinations for hepatitis A and rotavirus.