Major
chickenpox outbreak hits anti-vaxxer town
A North Carolina town known as a
stronghold of anti-vaccination activists is dealing with the largest outbreak
of chickenpox in two decades.
According to the Washington Post,
the Asheville Waldorf School in Asheville, NC has reported seeing 36 separate
chickenpox infections this year, the highest number the school has ever seen
since the chickenpox vaccine first became available in the United States in
1995.
Asheville is home to many families
who claim religious exemptions from vaccinating their children, the Post reports, and it cites Centers for Disease
Control statistics showing that “the percentage of children under two years old
who haven’t received any vaccinations has quadrupled since 2001.”
In total, just 42 of the school’s 152
students — roughly 28 percent — had received the chickenpox vaccine.
Despite this, some parents in
Asheville are not concerned about the impact their decisions are having on
public health.
“What’s the big deal with
chickenpox?” Asheville resident Amy Gordon
told the Asheville Citizen Times.
“If I was a parent with a kid
who wasn’t vaccinated, I’d want to send my kid to the Waldorf School to get
chickenpox.”