Children are vaccinated against such diseases as measles, polio, whooping cough and tetanus to keep them safe.

An Oregon mother learned that, or at least she should have, when her unvaccinated 6-year-old son got tetanus, or lockjaw, in 2017. It was the first case reported in this state in more than 30 years. The boy cut his head while playing at a farm. He was later diagnosed with tetanus.

His mother took him to the hospital, where he spent 57 days, 47 of them in intensive care. He then was transferred to a rehabilitation center where he spent 2 1⁄2 weeks. The hospital bill alone was a whopping $811,929, and there were bills for an air ambulance and the rehabilitation center on top of that.

All because his parents believed the vaccine, which was used as part of his treatment, was somehow worse than the disease it prevents.

The current outbreak of measles in southwest Washington and Oregon was the driving force behind House Bill 3063, which would end Oregon’s nonmedical exemption from immunizations. There, the question was one of herd immunity, which is lost when too few people are vaccinated to assure a highly contagious illness like measles or whooping cough won’t spread.

Tetanus is not contagious. Children, most of whom are vaccinated, almost never get it in this country. Older people who fail to get tetanus boosters every 10 years do, and a few — 16 nationwide from 2009 through 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control — die from it.

The state of Oregon, like the other 49 states, has the right to ensure the safety of its children, be that through vaccination or prevention of child abuse. Lawmakers should remember that, and the 6-year-old who a couple of years ago nearly lost his life when his parents took advantage of the gaping “philosophical exemption” hole in state immunization law. Passage of HB 3063 will close that hole. It should be approved.