High Percentage of Amarillo Children Didn’t Get Vaccinated This Year

Vaccinations were the main topic of conversation at an Amarillo town hall meeting on Wednesday, June 8th.

The effectiveness and unwanted side effects of vaccines have always been called into question. In recent years, however, Texas has had an extremely high number of non-medical exemptions from vaccines. In fact, Texas was second-to-last for the lowest number of vaccines in the country.

In Randall and Pottery Counties, non-medical exemptions have risen a combined total of 55% in the past 5 years.

A non-medical exemption allows parents to not vaccinate their children, even if schools require vaccination for attendance.

Some of the vaccines required in Texas are the measles, a contagious viral infection, and pertussis, a highly contagious respiratory infection. Both of these diseases can cause other serious health problems and, in the event of complications, death.

Amarillo held a town hall meeting on June 8th to address these dropping numbers of vaccines in Potter County. President and CEO of The Immunization Partnership spoke to Amarillo citizens about the important of vaccinating children.

For more information, visit KAMR Local 4 News.