Vaccine Refusal

NO Scripture today, just a thought.

The anti-vaccine rate is up in Texas due to the increasing number of parents that utilize the vaccine exemption clause.  Their decision not to vaccinate is attributed to the debunked belief that vaccines cause autism.  When vaccine rates decline, the likelihood of childhood diseases making its way back into the community increases exponentially.  This phenomenon is based on what is called herd immunity.  Herd immunity is a form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large percentage of a population has become immune to an infection through immunization, thereby providing a measure of protection for individuals who are not immune.  Non-immune people are infants not old enough for vaccines, children with cancer on chemotherapy, people born without an immune system and the elderly.  If the majority of people around them are not immunized then they are vulnerable to deadly infections. 

Lack of herd immunity may be why sin is running rampant in the world.  When believers begin to refuse teaching, challenge biblical authority, eschew church attendance and doubt church leadership, the power of the church body wanes.  The church becomes ineffective in the neighborhood.  The unsaved remain unsaved and spiral out of control because believers have become weak and impotent.  The rate of spirit-filled, enthusiastic bold believers willing to evangelize the lost is on a precipitous decline.  Our failure to witness leaves the world vulnerable to the most deadly disease of all, eternal death.