HJBR Jul/Aug 2019

Healthcare Journal of BATON ROUGE I  JUL / AUG 2019 43 Rebekah E. Gee, MD, MPH Secretary Louisiana Department of Health column SECRETARY’S CORNER As of May 31, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed 981 individual cases in 26 states, outpacing the 963 cases reported in 1994. Our challenge at the Louisiana Department of Health is to educate against recent misinformation regarding vaccines, which remain our best defense against measles and other conta- gious illnesses . Debunking the Myths We have a vaccine for measles, but un- fortunately we don’t have a vaccine for misinformation. Tired oldmyths have been dispelled time and again, nevertheless continuing to circulate among those who choose to believe vaccines are dangerous. This so-called “anti-vaxxer” movement, fed in part by fears over unproven links between vaccines and autism, has resulted in the return of highly contagious illnesses previously thought to be contained, such as measles, whooping cough, and mumps. The claim that vaccines cause autism stems froma study British surgeonAndrew Wakefield published in The Lancet in 1997. In the years since its publication, Wake- field’s paper has been thoroughly discred- ited, and was retracted by The Lancet, and Wakefield lost his medical license. Further studies conducted after Wakefield’s article was published found no links between any vaccine and autism. Even so, the damage had already been done to the point that the World Health Organization has declared “vaccine hesitancy” among 2019’s top 10 most pressing global health threats. The Communication Challenge As public health officials, we are chal- lenged with making sure Louisianans have the best possible information available so they can make informed decisions about their healthcare. We are further challenged when incorrect information is circulating, making public education and awareness vital to our mission to keep Louisiana healthy. That’s why the Louisiana Depart- ment of Health has increased its efforts toward encouraging vaccination, most notably through our annual Fight the Flu campaign, but also more recently through our efforts to prevent measles as out- breaks move closer to our state. I can never say it enough—Vaccines are There is No Vaccine for Misinformation safe. Vaccines are effective. No medical discovery has saved more lives than vac- cines, preventing illnesses such as mea- sles, influenza, pertussis, mumps, chicken- pox, HPV, hepatitis, and diphtheria, among many more. Make sure you vaccinate yourself and your loved ones, especial- ly the very young, the very old, and those with weakened immune systems. I am pleased to say Louisiana’s vaccina- tion rate for children entering kindergar- ten is a very healthy 96.1 percent, though the exemption rate has risen slightly. Louisiana allows parents to exempt their children from vaccination for medical or religious/philosophical reasons, though I strongly encourage age-appropriate vac- cinations for children. Where misconcep- tions spread, so too does the chance to spread entirely avoidable illness. The Louisiana Department of Health follows CDC guidelines, and they offer a great online resource about vaccines. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/par- ents/resources/ultimate-babyproof- ing-plan.html n Louisiana remains free of measles even as the highly contagious disease sets a new milestone: the greatest number of cases reported in the United States since 1994.