Herd at risk

摘要

They hang out in pockets, says Rich-A ard Pan, a Sacramento paediatrician and member of California's legislature. He is referring to parents who, invoking a philosophical exemption, opt not to give their children the state-recommended vaccinations. In some pockets, such as the rural foothills of California's Sierra Nevada, they may belong to the conservative don't-tread-on-me crowd that distrusts all government recommendations simply because they come from the government. In others, such as the liberal organic-food-and-yoga belt along the coast, parents may forswear vaccines because they see the shots as dangerous, and the diseases they protect against as mild.