In the midst of a measles outbreak, the public continues to debate over the issue of childhood vaccinations. Actress Mayim Bialik has voiced reluctant expression of her personal position on vaccinations over the years, but most recently told the world in a Facebook post, “I would like to dispel the rumors about my stance on vaccines. I am not anti-vaccine. My children are vaccinated. There has been so much hysteria and anger about this issue, and I hope this clears things up as far as my part.”
When asked, “Reader N.S. remembers reading about your contemplating whether or not to vaccinate the kids. What decision did you reach?” in June 2009, Bialik told People Magazine’s Celebrity Baby Blog, “We are a non-vaccinating family, but I make no claims about people’s individual decisions. We based ours on research and discussions with our pediatrician, and we’ve been happy with that decision, but obviously there’s a lot of controversy about it.”
A recent study of the electronic medical records of California’s Bay area and Sonoma County children revealed higher numbers of under or un-vaccinated children among graduate-level educated and low-income communities. Consideration has been given to conducting a similar study in southern California.
Bialik herself received her doctoral degree in neuroscience from UCLA.
In a May 2012 article entitled, “Vaccinations, and Other Things I Don’t Want to Discuss,” Bialik wrote, “Children today get about four times as many vaccines as the average 35-year-old did when we were kids. Besides visiting the CDC website and finding out who gets diseases the medical establishment vaccinates for (and why and where and when), here are the books we used to research each vaccine and discuss each with several doctors before deciding what was right for our family.” She then referenced the books, The Parents’ Concise Guide to Childhood Vaccinations: Practical Medical and Natural Ways to Protect Your Child and The Vaccine Book: Making The Right Decision for Your Child.
Since her words on vaccination in 2009, Bialik seems to have amended her personal position regarding vaccinating her own children, posting “my children are vaccinated” to social media this week. On February 11, she posted heated words in response to public criticism of her vaccination practices, “honestly, people. do your research. do what’s right for you. let me live my life and you live yours. no one gets to know the timeline of my kids’ medical appointments because they are not celebrities and they are not your property.”
Since a measles outbreak began in mid-December, California Department of Public Health has confirmed 110 cases of the disease within California as of February 11, 73 of which have been connected to the Disneyland outbreak. Another 16 cases related to the same outbreak were previously recorded between six other states and Mexico before CDPH stopped reporting on cases outside California. 59% of those infected are over the age of 19.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana