Charleston, SC In Fear Over Rising Vaccine Exemptions

Vaccine safety is back in the news (as if it ever really left). Tattoo artist, Kat Von D, announced on Instagram that she favored a natural birth process for her upcoming delivery, which included skipping vaccines.

Since then, many former fans and, well, even those who had no idea who she was prior to her Instagram post, have taken the opportunity to attack her. Some have called for a boycott of her products. Liberal attacks on celebrities who don’t kowtow the party’s vaccine line are often scrutinized and served up for public hanging. Just see Robert Kennedy Jr. Just see Alicia Silverstone. Just see President Donald Trump. Even Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel came under fire for being rumored to have skipped out on vaccines for their child.

But as the mainstream media tends to go, the actual metrics and data tend to not be so influenced. The disparity between what seems to be massive public scrutiny against the vaccine safety proponent and the actual vaccine exemption metrics seems to be widening. This is likely another indication that America is ripe with silent majority and revolt.

Such is the case in Charleston, South Carolina, where local media and outspoken vaccine proponents are becoming more and more uneasy over risking vaccine exemptions. Since 2010, Charleston has seen a 315 percent increase in religious exemptions.

Because personal exemptions are banned in the state of South Carolina, the state has often held a thriving position with vaccine rates. Children must receive a medical or religious exemption in the state if they want to attend public school sans some or all vaccines. In order to get a religious exemption, parents simply fill out a form and take it in for notarization.

Let’s get deeper into the numbers.

During the 2010 school year in South Carolina, 2,996 filed for this religious exemption. Fast forward to the 2017 school year and that number inflates to 9,500 kids.

Either more people are getting religious, or a silent group of parents are becoming uneasy with vaccines. The government seems to rely on draconian measures as a way to “right the ship,” but often, it seems these harsh methods, such as mandatory vaccine laws, fail to influence the herd. In fact, it may be more likely that parents are growing more and more skeptical due to hysterical politicking over the matter. Additionally, seeing celebrities strung up in mainstream media for mass ridicule likely turns parents off from liberal logic.

South Carolina may now goe the way of the sword, however, and attempt to cut the head from the dragon by way of more laws. Because that’s how these things go. And it seems, that’s how they grow.

“Those populations are at increased risk for the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases,” a spokeswoman for the agency said. “At this time, South Carolina law recognizes religious and medical exemptions. For any changes to occur, the General Assembly will have to change the law.”

More laws are likely to equal deeper resentment and skepticism.