Measles- Vaccinate

Click Above for Forbes Article: "Should Doctors Fire Their Anti-Vaccine Patients"

Recently, there has been an outbreak of measles within the U.S at Disneyland and other places. This has struck numerous Americans by surprise since there's a vaccine that helped almost completely annihilate measles after 1982. But when individuals, especially children, are not vaccinated for this and other diseases it puts not only themselves but the surrounding individuals at risk. Some reasons for not having a child vaccinated can be religious beliefs, mistrust in medicine such as thinking it will cause autism (which it has been proven not to "click for link of study"), and children simply being too young to get vaccinated. 

Unfortunately, this non-vaccinated group is more susceptible to catch measles and other diseases at a 90% infection rate after exposure. This puts vaccinated children and adults at risk, which many people may think how does that happen, how can people who are vaccinated get the disease from which they were vaccinated for? Well, since the purpose of a vaccination is to introduce a weaker version of a virus as to set up the immune system to design antibodies specifically for that virus it would be a common thought that the body would be ready for pathogens that the U.S has vaccinations for. 

Yet, some people do not have the reaction of their immune system that is required to produce specific cytokines (response callers to white blood cells) that would help monocytes and macrophages (cells in the immune system that "digest" foreign pathogens) to develop in order to fight off a measles exposure. The current measles outbreak has a possibility of naturally being stopped with a combination of high quality health care in the U.S and the high numbers of vaccinated individuals. 

Attached below is a link to the WHO (World Health Organization) with facts and statistics on the measles virus.

WHO (MEASLES)

Health Insurance Deadline

With an effort to make the American population an insured population, the government has worked on a health insurance individual mandate for in recent years. With this work, it is essential that individuals who are financially able to have health insurance finally buy it if not already personally purchased.

February 15, 2015 is the deadline under the ACA and if health insurance is not purchased by then there will be either a $325 per person ($162.50 per child under 18) penalty with a maximum of $925 worth of penalties or a 2% yearly household income penalty that is maximized at the national average for premium on a bronze plan (Fees & Exemptions, 2015).

Unless under one or multiple of the categories below, it is essential to seek individual/family health insurance before the February 15th deadline:

• Income is below the tax filing limit

• Suffer a hardship that prevents you from being able to buy health coverage

• Health coverage is unaffordable for you

• Currently incarcerated

• Time without coverage is less than three months

• Religious objection

• Undocumented immigrant

• Member of an Native American tribe

With expansion in government programs such as Medicaid there are more ways to become part of the insured population! Provided below is a link in which can help guide individuals towards choosing a health insurance plan!

HEALTH INSURANCE INFORMATION

Reference

Fees & Exemptions. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2015, from https://www.healthcare.gov/fees-exemptions/fee-for-not-being-covered/