If you pay attention to the news in the last few weeks, you've heard about the measles outbreak in Lakewood and other towns related to the Orthodox Jewish Community. The issue is not only in these communities, but several other towns around the state as well. Parents use the religious exemption with or without serious beliefs rooted in their faith. But their serious beliefs mean just as much to them when it comes to the safety and health of their children.

If you choose not to vaccinate your children, you're looked down upon as some kook who doesn't believe in modern medicine or science. That is not the case in the number of parents we've spoken to, on and off the air, about the serious consequences related to the high number of vaccines given to children and adults. Many parents have horror stories of their older children injured by vaccines, that choose not to vaccinate their other kids. Some have seen first hand cases in other families and also choose not to or limit the number.

I recently ran into a friend from my town who is just now starting to walk again after receiving the flu vaccine in June of this year. After weeks in the hospital he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. One of the causes is yes, VACCINATIONS! Not one of the doctors or nurses would come out and say it was definitely the cause, but there was nothing else to point to. He has an attorney and is seeking relief, but he isn't hopeful.

People in the medical community and in our government are reticent to point to these vaccines causing injury. The same government that has a "vaccine court" that has awarded billions to vaccine injured people around the country. We need to have an open and honest discussion about the risks and dangers of vaccines, and not just dismiss people who avoid them, as nutjobs.

If you feel better judging people who are suspicious of the vaccination process in this country, you're free to do so. But also do some hard research and learn more. In the meantime, as more measles cases pop up in New Jersey, you can feel smugly reassured if your kids have gotten them.

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