CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The World Health Organization (WHO) released their top 10 threats to global health for the new year. Included on that list, people who choose not to vaccinate.
“Vaccine hesitancy -- the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines -- threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases,” the report said, adding that vaccines prevent 2 million to 3 million deaths a year.
The list comes as a measles outbreak makes headlines near Portland, Oregon where health officials confirm 23 people have been infected with the disease, and two additional cases are being investigated.
They say a majority of those infected are unvaccinated children ages 1 to 10.
Health officials are also declaring an emergency for an area in Washington State deemed an “anti-vaccination hot-spot.” Scientists say they define hot-spots as areas that have more than 400 unvaccinated kindergarten-age children who are not medically exempt.
According to WHO, measles has seen a 30 percent increase in cases globally. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there were 349 confirmed cases in 2018 -- the second-highest since the disease was eliminated from the U.S. in 2000.
The CDC reports several of those cases were right here in the Carolinas.
Data from the 2017-18 school year shows in North Carolina, the number of parents opting out of childhood shots has doubled since 2012. Out of 130,000 kindergartners, more than 2,000 did not receive vaccines due to religious reasons.
In Mecklenburg County, more than 7 percent of the over 13,000 kindergartners are not vaccinated, according to the report.
In North Carolina there are two types of exemptions: medical and religious. Medical applies to children who, due to a valid medical condition, can’t receive vaccines. For religious exemptions, state law only requires the parent to submit a written statement.