Kids who are not vaccinated for measles are also not vaccinated for mumps and rubella–two more preventable diseases with possible complications and permanent damage.
Read 'em and weep.
According to the CDC, in the decade leading up to the 1963 licensure of the measles vaccine, the United States an average of 549,000 measles cases and 495 measles deaths were reported annually, with the number of yearly unreported cases estimated at 3 to 4 million. By comparison, from 2001 to 2011, a total of 911 cases were reported, an average of 62 per year during a span when measles vaccinations hovered above 90 percent nationally.
More recently, as increasing numbers of parents have chosen to eschew science, the number of cases has jumped; in 2014 the CDC reported 644 cases of measles, and more than 100 cases were reported in January of this year alone. The CDC explains how this can happen, despite responsible vaccination schedules being observed by most people:
Outbreaks of measles most commonly occur in communities with pockets of persons who were unvaccinated because of philosophic or religious beliefs. Pockets of unvaccinated persons also occur in states with high vaccination coverage, highlighting the importance of state health departments assessing measles susceptibility at the local level.
Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, but in the same year, just73 percent of children worldwide received at least one vaccination by their first birthday, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). By 2013 that number had increased to84 percent, causing measles deaths to drop by 75 percent — from an estimated 544,200in 2000 to 145,700 in 2013. Still, about 400 people die every day from measles, an average of 16 deaths every hour. Between 2000 and 2013, the WHO estimates the global number of deaths avoided because of the vaccine at 15.6 million people, roughly equal to the populations of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco combined.
http://blogs.reuters.com/data-dive/2015/02/03/measles-by-the-numbers/
Rubella, or German Measles is another problem. The immunization is usually given with measles and mumps vaccines. If a pregnant woman contracts rubella her fetus may contract congenital rubella.
Possible complications of congenital rubella
Complications may involve many parts of the body.
Eyes:
Cataracts
Glaucoma
Retinitis
Heart:
Patent ductus arteriosus
Pulmonary artery stenosis
Other heart defects
Central nervous system:
Intellectual disability
Motor disability
Small head from failed brain development
Encephalitis
Meningitis
Other:
Deafness
Low blood platelet count
Enlarged liver and spleen
Abnormal muscle tone
Bone disease
Then there is mumps.
Most mumps complications involve inflammation and swelling in some part of the body, such as:
Testicles. This condition, known as orchitis, causes one or both testicles to swell in males who’ve reached puberty. Orchitis is painful, but it rarely leads to sterility — the inability to father a child.
Pancreas. The signs and symptoms of this condition, known as pancreatitis, include pain in the upper abdomen, nausea and vomiting.
Ovaries and breasts. Females who’ve reached puberty may have inflammation in the ovaries (oophoritis) or breasts (mastitis). Fertility is rarely affected.
Brain. A viral infection, such as mumps, can lead to inflammation of the brain (encephalitis). Encephalitis can lead to neurological problems and become life-threatening.
Membranes and fluid around the brain and spinal cord.This condition, known as meningitis, can occur if the mumps virus spreads through your bloodstream to infect your central nervous system.
Other complications
Hearing loss. In rare cases, mumps can cause hearing loss, usually permanent, in one or both ears.
Miscarriage. Although it isn’t proved, contracting mumps while you’re pregnant, especially early on, may lead to miscarriage.