Lack of vaccinations cause concern amongst parents, doctors

The state of Colorado has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation, and as students head back to school, that worries some parents.

In many states, you can opt out of vaccinating your child for religious reasons but in Colorado you can opt out for personal reasons as well.

Fears that vaccinations can lead to side effects, specifically causing autism or ADHD, are blamed for many of the opt outs.

Many healthcare professionals say that vaccinations do not cause those conditions.

“Many people do not understand the difference between causation and association, and we know that autism is not caused by vaccines, particularly the MMR vaccine, measles, mumps, rubella,” said Dr. Chris Nevin-Woods, EPC Public Health Director.

Statistics from the state show that Colorado parents are not using the formal opt out process when choosing not to vaccinate.