Month: June 2019 (Page 4 of 5)

Vera, Amir. (June 8, 2019) Texas governor signs law increasing the age to buy tobacco products to 21. Cable News Network (CNN). Available at https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/08/health/texas-new-tobacco-law/index.html (Accessed June 12, 2019).

a. What are the person/place/time trends described in the article?

This article focuses on teens in high school specifically Texas teens and the rise of e-cigarette smoking for individuals in this age group. At an attempt to lower the rates of addiction, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a bill that would increase the legal sale of tobacco to age 21 effective September 1, 2019.

 b. What is the significance/importance of these trends? What can we learn from them? What are the implications for planning public health strategies?  

According to Riegelman, 90% of adults, primarily females, who smoked began before the age of 18 or even younger (2019). Recently, interventions included the discontinuation of commercials directed towards minors and harsher penalties for those who sell to children under 18 (Riegelman 2019). As a result, studies have shown to reduce adolescent smoking. Increasing the age in reference to Riegelman will positively affect the prevalence pool and decrease the prevalence rate of those who are diagnosed with lung cancer in relation to smoking. Since lung cancer isn’t developed the instant someone begins smoking, this is an intervention at the primary level on behalf of Texas and other states likewise to limit tobacco use in the first place.

c. Pay attention to how the data are presented. Do you agree with the conclusions drawn by the authors of the article?

Amir Vera presents most of his information through the use of rates as percentages. He further solidifies his claims by quoting people who are experts in the teen smoking epidemic such as Shelby Massey who is affiliated with the American Heart Association and the CDC. To provide an even firmer claim, there are videos associated with his article that discuss the testimonies of teachers who are at the forefront of witnessing this issue and the explanation of the data of collected from The National Youth Tobacco Survey and the Surgeon General. Personally, I agree with the picture that the author is attempting to paint. Smoking has been proven to be a fatal addiction and not much can prove otherwise. With the invention of e-cigarettes and kid enticing vape flavors, more teens have picked up the habit over the past several years. Even in my high school, I witnessed how just from freshman year to senior year how more and more students were facing disciplinary actions for smoking e-cigarettes on campus.

d. What other information, not included in the article, would you want to better understand the implications and importance of these trends?

The video that was associated with this post was the only visual data that represented. Although the video hit crucial points of the article, it did not discuss what was going on in Texas but rather in Connecticut. Vera mentions in his article that supporters of the bill believe that raising the age would decrease addiction (2019). Specifically stating who the supporters are could have helped to understand the groups of people being affected or what experts have to say about teen smoking. More visual data such as graphs and charts that represent the percentages that Vera spoke about in comparison to a timeline could have shown just how much teen smoking has increased and why a need for the bill to go into action was crucial. Furthermore, I believe data presented on the DALYs –the Disability-adjusted life years– on teen smoking and its effect on the population could provide information on the health status of the country’s younger population (Riegelman 2019.)

 e. Do you trust this source? Why or why not? Provide specific details to justify your response.

CNN is a national news outlet and has been around for about 40 years. The author in the article used facts from respected sources such as the CDC to support his claim. In addition, personal fact checking has proved for the information to be factual. Vera included hyperlinks within his article that directed you to the specific content he was quoting and it led me to the specificity of the Bill that was proposed and the CDC website.

f. Comment on anything else that you want to talk about in the article.

Though this article was short and only a few paragraphs long. It is crucial information and a win in the field of Public Health. Tobacco companies have used many formats to target children to start smoking in efforts that these children will continue on in their adult life. Personally, just as the age of drinking was raised, applying the same efforts to smoking causes it to lose its appeal once the children have grown into adults. I also believe that at 21, the pressure of peer pressure isn’t as severe and that further adds to the efforts of preventing children from smoking in the first place.

References

Riegelman, R. K., & Kirkwood, B. (2019). Public health 101: Improving community health. Retrieved June 12, 2019.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/07/us/guam-abortion-legal-no-provider/index.html

Croft, Jay; Boyette, Chris. (June 8, 2019) Abortion is legal in Guam. But the closest provider is a long flight away. Cable News Network. Available at https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/07/us/guam-abortion-legal-no-provider/index.html ( Accessed June 8, 2019).

Questions:a. Person: Guan’s female governor, Lourdes Leon Guerero

Place: Main (Guan), Hawaii; mainland U.S. (Missouri, Alabama, Georgia and others); Northern Mariana Islands.

Time: May 2019 until now or even the future.b. 

Significant/Important:

Places and Governor showed the important of this abortion policy and how unpleasant and bad influences on some island. The first thing we learn from them is it is hard for people in Guam get abortion down in their country (last doctor was retried), also no help from nearby Northern Marianna Islands, because it is illegal to do the abortion in the Philippines. The closet help that Guam’s women can get is from Hawaii which is approximately seven hours away by plane.

     Implications:

1. The fact of Guam has a large amount civilian from U.S, U.S state needs to not only bring policy to state people, but also need to take care of island, especially there a large proportion of U.S people in the Guam.

2. Article pointed out the female governor Lourdes Leon Guerero, presents at this stage, perhaps there is no way to change state policy in today’s society, but female governor in some ways is willing and able to help women and know how to support them.

3. According to Governor Lourdes Leon Guerero, provide girls or young women knowledge or information of pregnancy and so on will be the next thing she can do to help them.c. In the article, there is no clear chart or diagram to show the data, but the number is presenting within the sentence.

1. Clearly to show the problem and giving the knowledge (information) E.g.Jayne Flores in the article said “Guam allows abortion in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy or up to 26 weeks in a case of rape or incest, a grave fetal anomaly, or to protect the woman’s life. 

2. Compare to other place, Guam’s women are hard to get abortion because it is far away, by using the number, shows the distance is hard for pregnancy women in Guam. E.g. Women in the US territory of Guam need to face the burden of crossing the state lines to do the procedure which is around seven hours flight. It is dangerous for a pregnancy women to take a long filght.

3. Numbers in English showed the importance to the whole article. E.g. “The land has its first female governor”. The word “first” shows the significance to the article because the number indicate the proportion of the female in the governor history is zero, expect for this one.

d. After reading the article, I did some researches on US policy about abortion, which turns out many people who agree with the idea of abortion policy are all male, so the implications I got from this information is why women’s right should let males to take over the power?

e. I do trust this source, first, it indicates the US state established abortion policy in the past six months, which is true. Also, Guam is part of US land. According to the article, the US federal laws are also applying to Guam, and Guamanians are US citizens.

f. In some ways, Guam’s idea of abortion shows US does not have a proper protection of every places in US, I would like to know will the US is going to put whole places under their policy.

Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-sex-related-infections-are-spreading-again-quicktake/2019/06/06/f32ac40e-8864-11e9-9d73-e2ba6bbf1b9b_story.html?utm_term=.a960c42a0c10

Gale, Jason. (June 7, 2019) Why Sex-Related Infections Are Spreading Again: QuickTake. Washington Post. Available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-sex-related-infections-are-spreading-again-quicktake/2019/06/06/f32ac40e-8864-11e9-9d73-e2ba6bbf1b9b_story.html?utm_term=.a960c42a0c10 (Accessed on June 9, 2019).

This article describes the recent rise in STI infections in rich countries due to inconsistent condom usage, abuse of illegal recreational drugs, and antibiotic resistance. Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis increased by about 10% in 2017. The annual rate of reported cases of syphilis in the U.S. has increased to 31.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2017 from 15.9 cases per 100,000 in 2012. The article draws attention to a similar pattern in other developed countries such as France, Belgium, Ireland, and the UK. Even though most syphilis cases are in low/middle-income countries, the largest increases in the rate of diagnosis are in wealthy countries. In these wealthy countries, syphilis has spread from high-risk groups to the wider community. The CDC says this increased incidence is associated with the rise of sexualized drug use.

On the other hand, the annual reported cases of gonorrhea have roughly doubled from 2013 to 2017 in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. The STI can be spread seemingly unknowingly through actions such as kissing. The increase in gonorrhea cases has been linked to a rise in antibiotic resistance.

These trends show that despite wealthy countries having the resources and money available to combat STIs, despite the perceived progress wealthy countries have made against battling STIs, the number of sex-related infections have been increasing. When we think of STIs HIV/AIDS come to mind. When we think of STI prevention condom usage comes to mind. The U.S.’s emphasis on HIV/AIDS research and awareness has produced great positive results such as the introduction of drugs that prevent the transmission of HIV. However, these developments have indirectly promoted the inconsistent use of condoms and ignorance of other STIs. There is no question that we need to continue to educate the public about safe sex. But it is not enough to just educate about condom usage. We also need to place more of an emphasis on other sexually transmitted diseases, not just HIV. Antibiotic resistance is also becoming an increasingly important topic in health. More research needs to be put into developing new medications, patients need to be educated about the importance of finishing medications, and we also need to address the issue of the overprescription of antibiotics. Finally, we need to put more effort into destigmatizing STIs so that those infected can receive proper treatment.

I agree with the conclusions drawn in the article, but for different reasons. A possible reason for this rise in STIs could be because of the increased education of the public and better methods of detection in developed countries. Furthermore, I think the U.S. has seen more cases brought to light because of the progress already made towards destigmatizing STIs.

I would like to know the statistics from the other countries mentioned in the article. How much has the incidence of STIs increased in these countries? Have these countries allocated as much money towards preventable health care as the U.S.? Maybe the rise in STIs in each of these countries are not linked to a common cause. More information about drug use and the LGBT community in the countries mentioned would help to see if those could be causational factors of the rise in STIs. Furthermore, the data supported the idea that the number of STIs has increased, but there was no data supporting the potential causes of these increases. Lastly, data on where in the rich countries mentioned are cases of STIs populated; rich countries still have poor areas within them.

I do trust this source, but not completely. Although I agree with the opinions and suggestions stated in the article, the statistics in the text are not linked to sources. The article references the CDC and WHO in the embedded graphs and the CDC for a possible explanation of the increased number of syphilis cases, but no study or journal was referenced for any other statistic listed. More data on this trend needs to be collected and analyzed. I think more articles discussing health trends in the news need to put a greater emphasis on this.

This article states that the incidence of STIs was originally focused in the gay/bisexual male community but have now spread to other communities. I feel like this isn’t emphasized enough, that STIs do not discriminate. Work should still be geared towards populations with a high risk, but the education of STIs and safe sex practices shouldn’t be limited to just those groups but everyone.

BBC News. (2018, September 18). Child vaccination numbers fall in England. BBC. Retrieved June 5, 2019, from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-45565674

Cai, W., Lu, D., & Reinhard, S. (2019, June 3). Largest U.S. Measles Outbreak in 25 Years Surpasses 800 Cases. New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/health/measles-outbreak.html (Reference purpose only)

a. This article discusses how the percentage of two-year old children in England who have been vaccinated for the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) have fallen for four consecutive years since 2014. Just over 9 out of 10 two-year old children (91.2%) had been vaccinated with the MMR in 2017-2018, which was a decrease compared to the 92.3% in 2012-2013.

b. The importance of this trend is that this could be the start of another outbreak of deadly diseases that have historically killed many people. Recently in the United States, we saw measle outbreaks in major cities, which surpassed 980 cases. This is the worst outbreak in the last 25 years within the U.S. (Cai, Lu, and Reinhard, 2019, para. 1).

In the case in England, the proof that vaccinations are effective can be seen when Britain was declared free of endemic measles in 2017- but with the increase of children being unvaccinated, the threat of measles coming back cannot be ignored.

At the end of the article, Jonathan Ball, professor of Molecular Virology in the University of Nottingham, claims it is important “to try to understand why people are not getting their children vaccinated so that measures can be put in place to overcome these barriers (“Child vaccination”, 2018, para. 19). The article claims that some parents, like Juliette Bryant, claim that they are not vaccinating their children because they don’t trust that vaccines are safe for them. The NHS (National Health Service), claims that the vaccinations have been thoroughly tested before releasing them for the general public. However, with the increase in people choosing not to vaccinate their children due to the fear that they are unsafe, further demonstrations that prove vaccines are safe must be done to get the vaccination rates back to where they were before or even hopefully higher than it ever was.

c. I do agree with the conclusions the article claim- something must be done with the declining vaccination rates, especially because we have seen outbreaks of measles in the United States due to the anti-vaccination movement. However, I do not agree with how data is presented in the graph provided by the NHS. The x-axis starts at 70, which creates a more close-up and dramatic looking graph. But in reality, the vaccination rate dropped by a mere 1.1% over the course of 5 years, which means if the graph was to start at the x-axis being 0, the graph would be very close to a straight line. I understand how the graph must be magnified in the 70 to 100 percent regions of the y-axis to see the significance, but I also feel that this could be a form of manipulation. In this case, the data depicted on the graph makes the public more likely to be inclined to take action to bring the rates back because the decline looks like it is a significant amount. Overall, I think it is important to remember how data can be presented in different ways and always be aware of what is being presented to you.

d. I would like to understand the details of the parents who don’t trust vaccines to be safe enough. The article does not go deep into why parents think vaccines aren’t safe- but I want to know what made them develop that idea. Was it because there are so many vaccinations that children are required to take? Were questionable information given to them? If so, where? Were there reliable studies presented that proves the dangers of vaccines? I would like to better understand these detail because as the article claims, it is important to understand why people are avoiding vaccines to increase the vaccination rate again.

e. Yes, I do trust the source. I trust this source because it cites information from NHS, or the National Health Service, which is a trustworthy source of information. Furthermore, I think this source is trustworthy because it cites other reliable articles and statements from experts in the Public Health field to backup the data and facts they are presenting. Many untrustworthy sources never cite any other sources or cite questionable sources. In this article, they are doing the opposite- so I do trust the source.

f. I did not have the opportunity to talk about this information in the article since the main issue the article talked about was the MMR vaccination- but they also talk about how the percentage of children who have been vaccinated with the five-in-one vaccination (diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) are decreasing as well. To make the process of vaccination more convenient, children are now offered a six-in-one vaccine which provides additional protection against hepatitis B. I wonder if combining all the different pathogens is done to make it easier and decrease the amount of visiting the doctor. This way, children are less likely to miss any of the required vaccinations, which can increase vaccination rates. I also personally think parents may be more relaxed about vaccinations if the number of shots their children are given decreases, which could potentially bring back the vaccination rate.

Hakim, Danny., Richtel, Matt. (June 7, 2019) Warning of ‘Pig Zero’: One Drugmaker’s Push to Sell More Antibiotics. New York Times. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/07/health/drug-companies-antibiotics-resistance.html (Accessed June 10, 2019).

A.) Because of an insurgence of bacteria and viruses that are immune to antibiotics, the World Health Organization is asking the farm industry to refrain from giving healthy animals antibiotics in fear of progressing the trend. However, at a world trade show for pigs this year, the organizers and drug companies behind it were pushing farmers to use their antibiotics for profit, regardless of the fact that the overuse of antibiotics is what is increasing immunity in the new string of viruses. They are also illegally marketing to these farmers by saying that their drugs are a way to fatten their livestock.

B.) The significance of this trend is that if this keeps up, then any new viruses that affect humans through under-cooked meat will be in grave danger as there won’t be a cure to rid of their illness. As the article states, “As bacteria develop defenses against drugs widely used in animals, those defense mechanisms can spread to other bacteria that infect humans; and, resistant germs are transmitted from livestock to humans — through undercooked meat, farm-animal feces seeping into waterways, waste lagoons that overflow after natural disasters like Hurricane Florence, or when farm workers and others come into contact with animals” (Hakim and Richtel 2019). Strategies that were put into place or were put into place by the Obama administration and the F.D.A were regulations that forbade farmers from lacing their animal feed with antibiotics to fatten their livestock. There is also rising consumer demand for the meat industry to provide antibiotic free meat to the market which help cut the usage of antibiotics in 2017. Unfortunately, the meat industry still feeds pigs and cattle loads of antibiotics by 80 percent, and the Trump administration is working with pharmaceutical companies to promote more drug usage and has in fact, appointed the CEO of Elanco, a huge pusher and seller of farm antibiotics, of the agriculture for foreign trade and cultural affairs. Given their slight hesitance to stop using antibiotics in farm feed in defense of the “growing food demands of the consumer”, Elanco plans to combat against this issue by creating alternatives to antibiotics such as, “enhancing the animals’ own immune function, immunizing them against particular pathogens or reshaping their gut bacteria to favor the good ones” (Hakim and Richtel 2019). Though there is still a favor of making a profit out of it over actually solving the issue, as it appears they plan to drag the antibiotic usage as long as possible before they start selling alternatives.

C.) The data presented in the article is accurate to me simply because they leave links towards the studies they are citing, and checking out some of the academic sources they left behind, they all seem to align with the claims they’ve left in the article. In the instance of manipulation, I don’t find it hard to believe that pharmaceutical companies are actively encouraging the overuse of antibiotics, as I’ve heard about this phenomenon before, and the business module of pharmaceutical companies is what we’ve essentially discussed last Sunday when talking about problems within the healthcare industry from the book The Upstream Doctors. Knowledge from the book really hones in the fact that the pharmaceutical module of American healthcare basis itself on profit instead of more social endeavors. Also, this is America: profiting despite ethical and environmental issues is what we’re known for.

D.) I suppose I would want to find out more about antibiotics in general, and how we as a species are going to combat the new incoming viruses. I’m really concerned about our population when the viruses eventually hits us like a truck, and on top of that, we also have diseases that are coming out of the melting icebergs. I would want to know if there was a way to upgrade antibiotics to combat these diseases similar to how the common cold or the flu “upgrades” itself after infecting us a couple of times a year.

E.) I would say that yes I trust the source, considering that the New York Times is usually accurate when reporting their news, at least in my experience. They also have the advantage of using peer-reviewed academic studies to back up their claims, and when it comes to political coverage, they report the same happenings as other general news sources do. For a specific example, the dangers of antibiotic-immune viruses effecting humans from animal contact comes from a peer academic study called Persistence of livestock-associated antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among industrial hog operation workers in North Carolina over 14 days, which is linked both on here and in the article itself.

F.) I would just like to add that this article honestly gave me more anxiety and fear for what is to come in the future, but it also made me think about ways we can prevent this disaster such as switching to lab-grown meat only, or creating new antibiotics on the diseases that became immune, as shouldn’t our bodies have ways to combat them by now with experience from the previous antibiotics? Or maybe I’m just being too hopeful.

Avramova, Nina. (June 6, 2019) One million STDs diagnosed every day, World Health Organization says. CNN. Available at https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/06/health/global-sti-cases-who-data-intl/index.html (Accessed June 9, 2019).

This article describes the time trend of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also known as STDs, of chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis and syphilis. More than a million of these STIs are contracted per day and 376 million a year. There are several determinants contributing to this epidemic. Dr. Melanie Taylor says that these trends show that “people are taking risks with their health” and that in worldwide figures these STIs show “no substantial decline,” since 2012. Treating these STIs is difficult. There are shortages of enzathine penicillin to treat syphilis and there is antimicrobial resistance to gonorrhea treatments. Because many of the STIs show no symptoms, people do not realize they are infected and need to be treated. Also, STIs are as Dr. Taylor says, “associated with shame and stigma” adding to this “hidden” epidemic. Public health strategies could try to find alternative treatments for these infections as well as encourage people to take less risks with their health. Public health strategies could also test for STIs more often as they do not present symptoms and try to stop the shame and stigma associated with these infections so that it will no longer be a “hidden” epidemic. I would want to know more about how this information varies by region and the different ways it is being handled in different places. That way it would be easier to identify which strategies are working for containing this problem and can be implemented successfully worldwide. I agree with the conclusions presented by the author from the data. It is specific in saying that this information is about 4 specific STIs and not all STIs. I trust this source. The information is straightforward and backed up by data from the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as other credible sources.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/03/mental-illness-is-there-really-a-global-epidemic

Rice-Oxley, Mark. (June 3, 2019) Mental illness: is there really a global epidemic?. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/03/mental-illness-is-there-really-a-global-epidemic (Accessed June 10, 2019)

This article is addressing the seemingly rising trend of mental illness globally. In terms of data, this field is a bit difficult to study due to the fact that researchers have been predominantly relying on self-reported surveys, which may not be completely accurate depictions of their emotional states. Nonetheless, the data in this article is derived from the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation (2017). Rice-Oxley finds that it is not necessarily true that rates of mental illness are drastically rising. However, with more education and destigmatization, people are more willing to seek the assistance of professionals in the field. Therefore, more young people are admitting signs of mental distress. The DALY metric shows that wealthy countries are still at the forefront of mental illness, with the United States in fourth place. In terms of public health strategies, it is important to recognize that we still need more professionals and more education, even in the United States, on this topic in order to assist people in alleviating their symptoms. There are not enough mental health professionals around the world, especially in more disadvantaged countries. I agree with the author of this article in terms of the data because people with mental illnesses have faced incredible amounts of stigma in the past, and it still hasn’t completely dissipated. It is difficult to compare the level of mental illness in the present with that of the past because it went unreported for so long. Plus, it also makes sense that it would slightly rise as our populations have also expanded. The author was thorough, in this case, because he briefly defined the major mental illnesses and described their prevalence. He also touched upon various medications and their possible effects, especially compared to placebos. I wish there was more information on the ratio of mental health therapists and counselors per 100,000 people, as there was about psychiatrists and mental health beds, because they represent another form of treatment. It could be interesting to see how rates of mental illness change over time as treatment options expand. This article may be difficult for someone who does not come from a public health background because the author uses terms such as DALY with only a brief explanation, so it may be confusing for others to see the graphic on the DALYs and attempt to discern what exactly they represent. Overall, I trust this source because they seem to be getting their data from reputable organizations, such as the World Health Organization, Oxford University, and Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation. The author also references the DSM-5 when defining the mental illnesses, so he seems to be aware of the case definitions. It seems like the author did his research and presented us with information that would mostly be accessible to the common public.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/health/us-measles-cases-1000-bn/index.html

Goldschmidt, Debra. (June 5, 2019) US Measles Cases Surpass 1,000 This Year. CNN.Available at https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/health/us-measles-cases-1000-bn/index.html (Accessed June 8, 2019).

The article focuses on the trend of measles cases in the United States within the year 2019. The article focuses on what the number of cases are and that a majority come from international travel. The article compares the number of cases and the surge of cases from the number of measles cases from the past nine years. Their graph shows that the measles have reached a the highest spike of the years shown, making a claim that it is the highest number of cases in nearly three decades. The second highest spike shown on the graph having been in 2014 where the number of cases was nearly half coming in at 667 compared to the 1001 cases of 2019. The article has a second graph that shows the number of cases reported each week by month. The highest spike being in late April with a dip in May. The article then talks about how New York has the highest number of cases with close to 700. After looking into the sections of New York with the highest outbreaks they saw a trend of high cases within primarily orthodox Jewish neighborhoods that have low rates of vaccination. Since the disease was determined to primarily come from international travel health officials are nervous about the summer with international travel being on the rise. The research done shows that the measles are making a come back primarily from those who are not vaccinated traveling to another country getting infected and then infecting those who are also unprotected that they come into contact with. With it noted that the current cases started out as international ad brought back the trend of the disease is now linked with international vacations and since summer is when most people go on long vacations public health and healthcare workers are trying to promote the safety and effectiveness of vaccines while also promoting other day to day aide such as disinfecting toys and other surfaces, not sharing silverware or drinks with those who are sick, washing hands, and avoiding touching ones eyes. They also gave a list of symptoms so those who may potentially have measles can identify any symptoms to then go to a health care profession to receive a diagnosis and medicine and rules to prevent from spreading the disease. It seems public health primary way of combating measles is to ensure the safety of vaccines and their effectiveness and that measles is preventable. Not only would the campaign, if effective, help with the quelling of measles cases but for other preventable diseases as well. This strategy can help them from having to repeat the same issue with another disease. I believe it will be an effective tactic because while many anti-vaxers do so either out of religious beliefs or simply ignorance, it would be difficult to argue with the data presented especially if more of the data was laid out into graphs such as the low vaccinated areas having higher case numbers. I agree with the data presented that the measles are on the rise as it is done so with clearly marked graphs and sources right underneath the graphs. However I would like to see more on the source that the measles are originating from international travel and a graphic representing the comparison of measles cases in orthodox Jewish neighborhoods compared with other communities within New York over a graph that showed the number of cases per week. They did have the source of their numbers about the Jewish communities however I feel that that graphic would of helped their argument for vaccinations showing that areas without high vaccination rates suffer more. I do trust this source as CNN has been a widely trusted news source for a number of years now and they talked with experts such as the US Department of Health and Human Services as well as collected data from the CDC and the New York City Health Department. With clear sourcing for all of their claims, direct quotes from the head of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the reliability of the CDC and CNNs reputation it would hurt them more to lie in this article or try to misrepresent the facts. I also believe this article more based on my personal knowledge of the effectiveness of vaccines. I feel that this article really helps not just as a way to track measles cases but to show, scientifically that preventable diseases are on the up rise right not while we have a huge anti-vaxxer movement. While it is clear the article chooses a side by making the claims about vaccine effectiveness, all the research backing the claim up comes from reliable sources. The reputation of CNN along with the reputation of the CDC and the unlikeliness of the US Department of Health and Human Services to falsify data, makes me feel that this article was well done and unbiased. I think this article shows how public health really is about more than just the report. The data about the surge of measles is not just focused on the numbers but on the dangerous of not being vaccinated.