Is this really a question?
The assertion, by Rita Palma, that the unvaccinated don’t spread disease any more than the vaccinated is simply absurd.
Do Unvaccinated Kids Spread More Disease?
Before we get to the studies, let’s just think about this for a second.
If you are vaccinated and aren’t getting sick, then how would you spread disease?
And if vaccinated folks spread so much disease, then how do we control and eliminate diseases when vaccination rates are high?
So yes, the consensus thinking would be, of course the unvaccinated spread disease more than the vaccinated!
And not surprisingly, the science confirms that idea:
- Association between vaccine refusal and vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States: a review of measles and pertussis – found that “a substantial proportion of the US measles cases in the era after elimination were intentionally unvaccinated” and that “vaccine refusal was still associated with an increased risk for pertussis in some populations”
- Religious exemptions for immunization and risk of pertussis in New York state, 2000–2011 – found that “counties with higher exemption rates had higher rates of reported pertussis among exempted and vaccinated children when compared with the low-exemption counties.”
- Nonmedical vaccine exemptions and pertussis in California, 2010 – found that clusters of non-medical vaccine exemptions were a factor in pertussis outbreaks
- Parental refusal of pertussis vaccination is associated with an increased risk of pertussis infection in children – found that intentionally unvaccinated children are “at high risk for pertussis infection relative to vaccinated children.”
- Geographic clustering of nonmedical exemptions to school immunization requirements and associations with geographic clustering of pertussis – found that “geographic pockets of vaccine exemptors pose a risk to the whole community.”
- Nonmedical exemptions to school immunization requirements: secular trends and association of state policies with pertussis incidence – found that “state policies granting personal belief exemptions and states that easily grant exemptions are associated with increased pertussis incidence”
- Individual and community risk of measles and pertussis associated with personal exemptions to immunizations – found an elevated risk for measles and pertussis in those who are intentionally unvaccinated
- Health consequences of religious and philosophical exemptions from immunization laws: individual and societal risk of measles – found that those with vaccine exemptions “were 35 times more likely to contract measles than were vaccinated persons”
- Parental refusal of varicella vaccination and the associated risk of varicella infection in children – found that intentionally unvaccinated children are “at high risk for varicella infection relative to vaccinated children.”
- Measles outbreak in a highly vaccinated population, San Diego, 2008: role of the intentionally undervaccinated – an unvaccinated child spread measles to 11 other kids, including an infant who was too young to be vaccinated and who ended up hospitalized
It is clearly the unvaccinated who are at greater risk to get vaccine-preventable diseases.
And it is clearly the unvaccinated who start and keep most outbreaks going.
And when they spread disease, it is often to those who are most at risk, including those who are too young to be vaccinated or fully vaccinated, and those with true medical exemptions, including cancer and immune system problems.
What else is clear?
Misinformation about vaccines is what likely scares parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids. Don’t listen to these folks anymore.
Vaccines are safe, with few risks, and are obviously necessary.
More on Unvaccinated Kids Do Spread More Disease
- I Don’t Have a Cookie, But I Can Still Give You Measles
- More Vaccinated vs Unvaccinated Studies
- Do More Vaccinated or Unvaccinated Kids Get Pertussis?
- Do More Vaccinated or Unvaccinated Kids Get Sick in Outbreaks?
- Can MMR Shedding Start a Measles Outbreak?
- Is My Fully Vaccinated Child at Risk from Your Unvaccinated Kids?
- How Can the Unvaccinated Spread Diseases They Don’t Have?
- Which Vaccines Don’t Prevent the Spread of a Disease?
- Vaccinated vs Unvaccinated – Measles Outbreak Edition
- A Legislative Guide to Advocating for Stronger Vaccine Laws
- Personal belief exemptions for vaccination put people at risk. Examine the evidence for yourself.
- What If You Don’t Vaccinate Your Child?
- Can vaccines cause or spread diseases?
- Can I spread whooping cough if I am vaccinated against it?
- One more time: Vaccine refusal endangers everyone, not just the unvaccinated
- Mixing unvaccinated children with vaccinated children: Whose rights prevail?
- To the Parent of the Unvaccinated Child Who Exposed my Family to Measles
- If You Choose Not to Vaccinate Your Child, Understand the Risks and Responsibilities
- The Rights of the Unvaccinated Child