Melinda Gates said, “Having children has made us look differently at all these things we take for granted, like taking your child to get vaccinated against measles or polio” (Paulson, 2003 ) I can agree with this. After the birth of our first child, Paxton, my husband and I knew we wanted to do everything we could to protect our children. Especially from easily preventable diseases and when there are vaccines readily available here in the United States. Living in the United States is truly a blessing thanks to the economy and infrastructure we have built. We have access to the most advanced technologies and drugs, as well as numerous doctors ready to treat us whenever we are sick. For a long time in America, measles was simply something that happened to every child once; now it's something that hardly happens thanks to vaccinations. Some places in this world are not so lucky and measles is a killer affecting young people. Many of these places have weak economies and lack infrastructure. Doctors are in short supply and medicines are second choice or completely unavailable. How is it possible that such different worlds are so close? According to the World Health Organization, more than 95% of measles cases and related deaths occur in low-income countries (WHO, 2009). Something we have effectively eradicated in the United States continues to devastate parts of the world. Knowing how measles ravages other parts of the world, I am shocked how parents here in the United States still choose not to vaccinate their children. Measles is a serious disease that threatens billions of people around the world. It is famously known as one of the most contagious diseases affecting humans. It looks like... middle of paper... United Nations Children's Fund/Organization. (2006). Joint statement WHO/UNICEF Global plan to reduce measles mortality 2006-2010. Retrieved from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2005/WHO_IVB_05_11_eng.pdf Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Possible Side Effects of Vaccines 3/13/2008 Retrieved July 18, 2011, from http://www. cdc.gov/ vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm#mmrUSA Today Liz Szabo 06/27/2010 Seizure Concern: Chickenpox Split, MMR Vaccines Retrieved July 18, 2011, from http://www.usatoday .com/news/health/ 2010-06-28-vaccini28_st_N.htmDr. Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD A User-Friendly Vaccination Schedule December 10, 2004 retrieved July 18, 2011 from http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller15.htmlMedicaid and Childhood Immunizations: A National Study by Joseph Tiang- Yau Liu and Sara Rosenbaum 1992 retrieved July 18, 2011 from ERIC