Pamela Strohfus, associate professor in the School of Nursing, published a guest opinion in the Idaho Statesman on Feb. 8. Strohfus was able to give first person insight into the vaccine debate since she has provided care for people who have suffered from, and therefore been exposed to, preventable diseases.
Strohfus recognizes how far we have come as a society in preventing diseases through vaccines. But in recent years, parents have decided not to vaccinate their children, risking exposing themselves and others to these preventable diseases. Lower vaccination rates have resulted in a number of outbreaks of more than one of these preventable diseases.
Currently, providing an updated vaccination history is not required when enrolling into Idaho universities, and Strohfus is pushing for The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend that meningitis vaccinations be routine for college students. She believes that “preventable disease protection of college students is important, and routine vaccines should be required upon college entry, including both meningitis vaccines.”