Follow-up: NY Times editorial on '05 measles outbreak

Following up on the report in last week's NEJM about a measles outbreak in Indiana -- the subject of our last post -- today's New York Times includes an editorial that takes a strong stand against parents declining vaccination. Titled "The Measles Vaccine Follies," the editorial points to 'irrational fears of vaccination' as being responsible for the outbreak that sickened 34. Noting that many of those exposed were home schooled, and thus unaffected by school vaccination requirements, the Times ends this way:

"Families that evade vaccination put themselves and their neighbors at risk. All young children, not just those attending school, should be required to get immunized."

(By the way, this is our 100th post and comes -- coincidentally -- on the 5-month anniversary of our launch back in March. Many thanks for your visits to the site; they have made this experiment far more successful than even our most optimistic expectations.)