VACCINATIONS

[HairOfTheDog]

(continued)

The measles outbreaks were largely imported by unvaccinated travelers who were exposed to the disease in another country and returned to the U.S. where they exposed other unvaccinated people. If a community is highly vaccinated, then the outbreaks are minimal or don't happen at all.

"However, once measles is in an under-vaccinated community, it becomes difficult to control the spread of the disease," said the CDC.

One such community is in New York where there is a lot of misinformation about the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine. The CDC said some organizations there are deliberately spreading "inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines."

The states with reported cases of measles are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, and Washington.

The CDC will release new numbers on the measles outbreaks on April 29 as part of its campaign to encourage the lifesaving benefits of childhood immunizations.

Refs:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/heal...536904002/
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/24/716953746...-year-2000

[sally]

My daughter currently has fifth disease. It's a common, mild childhood illness that resolves itself, but it causes an itchy rash from head to toe. Shes constantly been sick with something or other since school started and then I catch it too. Fifth disease isnt common in adults, but if they catch it then it's more severe for them. So Im just waiting to break out in a rash now. If everyone stopped vaccinating their kids all those diseases that were once nearly eradicated would spread like wildfire.

[Duchess]

I thought kids had to be vaccinated in order to start school. Isn't that a thing?

When someone's bullshit affects your life in such a direct manner there needs to be some regulation or whatever the hell it would be called.

[Maggot]

Do immigrants have to be vaccinated when they go through the border?

[Blindgreed1]

Misinformation is the reason we are seeing mumps and measles again. People think what they read on Facefuck is real and it rarely is. I pick fights with anti-vaxxers on the reg and not once has any of them been able to produce one iota of factual data. You don't want to vaccinate your kids? Cool, maybe someday you can sit down with your kid and explain why he has polio and will never walk again after polio was completely wiped clean here in the US over 30 years ago. "Sorry your legs don't work Johnny, but your mom and I thought that if we got you vaccinated you'd be retarded. Turns out we're the retards."

[sally]

I thought kids had to be vaccinated in order to start school. Isn't that a thing?

When someone's bullshit affects your life in such a direct manner there needs to be some regulation or whatever the hell it would be called.

Vaccinations are mandatory to be able to start public school, but there are exemptions like religous beliefs for example. It's not fair to the people who can't be vaccinated for real excuses like medical problems and infants who can't get the vaccines yet.

[HairOfTheDog]

All 50 states now accept valid medical reasons as vaccination exemptions for school enrollment.

Most  states accept religious beliefs as valid reasons to exempt vaccination (47 states). 

And 17 states accept philosophical objections as grounds for vaccination exemption.

This is a good chart by state:  https://vaccines.procon.org/view.resourc...eID=003597

I don’t think the number of children with  valid medical conditions  or religious parents has grown much, if at all, over the years.  Seems more likely to me that the increased number of parents who are philosophically opposed to vaccinations based on ignorance and false rhetoric are responsible for the rise in measles cases.

[Maggot]

I will blame it on the ACLU

[HairOfTheDog]

Today, Politico is running an article written by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P. Kennedy II, and Maeve Kennedy McKean.  



In it, the authors profess their love for their brother and uncle RFK Jr (pictured above), but denounce his anti-vax posts and contribution to spreading misinformation.  They also highlight the work JFK, RFK, and Ted Kennedy did to promote vaccinations and eradicate disease, along with providing facts in favor of vaccinations.

Here's a piece of the article.

Americans have every right to be alarmed about the outbreak of measles in pockets of our country with unusually high rates of unvaccinated citizens, especially children. Right now, officials in 22 states are grappling with a resurgence of the disease, which was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. 

With over 700 cases already reported and indications that more outbreaks will occur, 2019 will likely see the most recorded cases of measles in decades. And it’s not just measles. In Maine, health officials in March reported 41 new cases of whooping cough, another disease once thought to be a relic of the past—more than twice as many cases as this time last year.

(continued)

[HairOfTheDog]

This problem isn’t only an American one. The World Health Organization reports a 300 percent increase in the numbers of measles cases around the world this year compared with the first three months of 2018. More than 110,000 people are now dying from measles every year. The WHO, the health arm of the United Nations, has listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019. Most cases of preventable diseases occur among unvaccinated children, because parents have chosen not to vaccinate, have delayed vaccination, have difficulty accessing vaccines, or the children were too young to receive the vaccines.

These tragic numbers are caused by the growing fear and mistrust of vaccines—amplified by internet doomsayers. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—Joe and Kathleen’s brother and Maeve’s uncle—is part of this campaign to attack the institutions committed to reducing the tragedy of preventable infectious diseases. He has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines.

It is understandable that parents may have questions about vaccines and health care procedures concerning their children. We need to be able to have conversations that address skepticism about the safety and efficacy of vaccines without demonizing doubters. The reality is that vaccines can have side effects. However, the public health benefits of vaccines to every citizen far outweigh any potential side effects, which, when they do occur, are overwhelmingly minor, rarely serious, and more than justified by the overall benefit to vulnerable populations.

(continued)

[HairOfTheDog]

The fact is that immunizations prevent some 2 million to 3 million deaths a year, and have the potential to save another 1.5 million lives every year with broader vaccine coverage, according to the WHO. Smallpox, which plagued mankind for thousands of years, has been eradicated through vaccines. Because of immunizations, no cases of polio have been reported in the United States since 1979. 

And countries such as Australia, with robust human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine programs, are on track to eliminate cervical cancer, a major killer of women around the world, in the next decade. This is the only vaccine we have that fights cancer. No matter what you might have read on social media, there is no scientific basis to allegations that vaccines against HPV pose a serious health threat. And numerous studies from many countries by many researchers have concluded that there is no link between autism and vaccines.

Those who delay or refuse vaccinations, or encourage others to do so, put themselves and others, especially children, at risk. It is in all our interests to make sure that immunizations reach every child on the globe through safe, effective and affordable vaccines. Everyone must communicate the benefits and safety of vaccines, and advocate for the respect and confidence of the institutions which make them possible. To do otherwise risks even further erosion of one of public health’s greatest achievements.

Full piece:  https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/...nes-226798

[Maggot]

At least the basic ones Polio, measles there are around 9 of them but many states only require 7.