A Los Angeles Times report released early Wednesday morning reports that many child care facilities in Los Angeles have alarmingly low vaccination rates–some reportedly as low as 51%. The report indicates that private schools have lower vaccination rates than public schools, as wealthier parents opt out of inoculation for communicable diseases like measles.
The problem is not limited to Los Angeles. “Mirroring the situation at kindergartens, the analysis found that preschools in affluent areas like the Westside, southern Orange County and the South Bay tended to have lower vaccination rates,” the Times reports. The vaccination rate in privately-run facilities is a shocking 87%, and in public facilities only 90%.
Some of the child care centers with the lowest rates of vaccination are located in the wealthy liberal communities of the west side of Los Angeles. One Santa Monica day care center had a reported rate of 51%, though it has recently risen to 76%.
A father of a two-year-old from the beachfront community of Venice, who was shocked at the 51% figure, is quoted by the Times as saying: “Santa Monica has so many great things going for it, and this is really a black eye for the community….It has a lot of progressive ideas, most of which I support. But not vaccinating your children is not progressive.”