VASHON ISLAND, Wash. (AP) — Sarah Day is a school nurse with "street cred" when it comes to the polarizing issue of vaccines on an idyllic island in Washington state known for its rural beauty, counterculture lifestyle and low immunization rates.
1 / 8In this photo taken Wednesday, May 15, 2019, Gator Lanphear poses for a photo with his twin 6-year-old daughters Scarlett, left, and Leilani in Vashon Island, Wash. Lanphear said he not only immunizes his twin daughters but instills in them the importance of getting their shots as a heroic act. The number of philosophical exemptions in Vashon has decreased dramatically, but overall, there are still 11.6 percent of students whose families elect not to vaccinate. VASHON ISLAND, Wash.
She attributes the rising numbers to increasingly visible pro-vaccine information, expanded access to shots and media coverage of measles outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest and New York this year. The majority of Vashon parents say yes to some vaccines, particularly the tetanus shot for their kids who play outside on the forested island. But many still buck the formal schedule of shots recommended by health officials. They may select some but not all and space them out over a longer period of time.
Gator Lanphear says he's"very judgmental" about parents who don't vaccinate. He said he not only immunizes his twin 6-year-old daughters but instills in them the importance of getting their shots as a heroic act. "That's an important increase, but they still have a ways to go," Moss said."That's a vaccination rate lower than in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa."
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