Anti-Vax chickens come home to roost

[morepork]

It would appear that a couple of decades of anti-vaccination social media campaigning is finally paying off for flat earthers. There has been a 3-fold increase in measles world wide, with over 100 000 deaths. Misinformed crusaders in developed countries are spreading propaganda throughout the world that is having a real negative impact on health. Samoa is in the grip of a measles epidemic (~60 children dead) and is having to fend off attacks on their government's efforts to contain it (this stupid cunt, for example: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real- ... 74a6de0b1d). The content of online outlets run by these people follow the same formula and contain very comparable central conspiracy themes. This has been the result of a very concerted effort by a relative small number of groups (healthy, financially comfortable and insulated) acting to spread misinformation like, well....a virus, through facebook (https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... wo-groups/). There are still people that peddle Polio being caused by a vaccine and covered up by science and that herd immunity is a thing made up by the man.

It's only a matter of time before relatively more developed countries are hit by this current resurgence of preventable disease. Good luck eliminating HIV in this climate. We really, really fucked up by letting social media get so massively unwieldy. I don't think weird-forehead geek boy Zuckerberg is the man for the job of fixing it up either.

[Sandydragon]

Social media is manna from heaven for those bar room bores or butters who used to walk the street claiming the end is nigh.

No one wants to take risks with their kids but I don’t know how the anti vaccination community live with themselves with the dangers they are promoting.

[Galfon]

I thought this type of chicken was something prevalent in US, like the chlorine-washed things we might be enjoying more of post-Brexit..
UK no longer has measle-free status and cases are rising as MMR uptake continues to fall, year-on-year.
There must be a reason for the parental reluctance - there are certainly enough stories of 'fine until mmr'..'not the same child- always poorly after mmr...' 'bright as a button until mmr..'
but if course no scientific data to support any of this.

[morepork]

I thought this type of chicken was something prevalent in US, like the chlorine-washed things we might be enjoying more of post-Brexit..
UK no longer has measle-free status and cases are rising as MMR uptake continues to fall, year-on-year.
There must be a reason for the parental reluctance - there are certainly enough stories of 'fine until mmr'..'not the same child- always poorly after mmr...' 'bright as a button until mmr..'
but if course no scientific data to support any of this.

“Enough stories” is not an empirical foundation for strategy. For a less US-oriented reference, see “Andrew Cunting Wakefield “.

[Banquo]

I thought this type of chicken was something prevalent in US, like the chlorine-washed things we might be enjoying more of post-Brexit..
UK no longer has measle-free status and cases are rising as MMR uptake continues to fall, year-on-year.
There must be a reason for the parental reluctance - there are certainly enough stories of 'fine until mmr'..'not the same child- always poorly after mmr...' 'bright as a button until mmr..'
but if course no scientific data to support any of this.

Stupidity is the root cause of parental reluctance, spread by an awful virus called social media

[Sandydragon]

We have become a world fascinated by conspiracy theories that linger like the unflushable turd even when facts are presented.

[Son of Mathonwy]

We have become a world fascinated by conspiracy theories that linger like the unflushable turd even when facts are presented.

If people can't apply critical thinking, or are unwilling to examine their own opinions, facts are useless. They have no way of distinguishing truths from half-truths, from outright lies. Contrary facts often just entrench views.

[Digby]

We don't help ourselves by being too slow to penalise families who are retarded. Any child not immunised shouldn't be allowed into school, and child not in school should see the parents prosecuted . I am in the first instance willing not to sterilise any parents not making sure their children get the required jabs (absent of actual valid reasons), but they only get once chance to avoid such fate.

Basically if you don't want your kid getting their jabs don't have kids

[morepork]

I would suggest perpetrators of misinformation are more culpable, and that media services hosting these perpetrators be held accountable.

[Digby]

By all means castrate them too.

[Son of Mathonwy]

By all means castrate them too.

Humour?

[Digby]

By all means castrate them too.

Humour?

Or what passes for it, probably.

[morepork]

can you hear me know?

[Coco]

I would suggest perpetrators of misinformation are more culpable, and that media services hosting these perpetrators be held accountable.

I am not anti-vax by any means, but I do admit not wanting my daughter vaccinated for Chickenpox... hoping she would get chickenpox naturally like we all did back in the day (me being a little sceptical about the vaccine). She did not get chickenpox so I ended up getting her vaccinated the next year.

My only concern with vaccinating children is the age they start. I have a hard time with believing its ok or extremely safe to give a newborn HepB shots before leaving the hospital. Why not wait a year to start first vaccinations? Give them a little chance to get their own immune systems going first. It is something that does not settle well with me.

[Digby]

I would suggest perpetrators of misinformation are more culpable, and that media services hosting these perpetrators be held accountable.

I am not anti-vax by any means, but I do admit not wanting my daughter vaccinated for Chickenpox... hoping she would get chickenpox naturally like we all did back in the day (me being a little sceptical about the vaccine). She did not get chickenpox so I ended up getting her vaccinated the next year.

My only concern with vaccinating children is the age they start. I have a hard time with believing its ok or extremely safe to give a newborn HepB shots before leaving the hospital. Why not wait a year to start first vaccinations? Give them a little chance to get their own immune systems going first. It is something that does not settle well with me.

By all means raise the concern and seek to address it, but having researched concerns and having evidence to draw conclusions. A belief based system, whether for or against something isn't especially useful

[Coco]

I would suggest perpetrators of misinformation are more culpable, and that media services hosting these perpetrators be held accountable.

I am not anti-vax by any means, but I do admit not wanting my daughter vaccinated for Chickenpox... hoping she would get chickenpox naturally like we all did back in the day (me being a little sceptical about the vaccine). She did not get chickenpox so I ended up getting her vaccinated the next year.

My only concern with vaccinating children is the age they start. I have a hard time with believing its ok or extremely safe to give a newborn HepB shots before leaving the hospital. Why not wait a year to start first vaccinations? Give them a little chance to get their own immune systems going first. It is something that does not settle well with me.

By all means raise the concern and seek to address it, but having researched concerns and having evidence to draw conclusions. A belief based system, whether for or against something isn't especially useful

Oh.. pardon me... my apologies for contributing a thought that isnt especially useful.

[Puja]

I would suggest perpetrators of misinformation are more culpable, and that media services hosting these perpetrators be held accountable.

I am not anti-vax by any means, but I do admit not wanting my daughter vaccinated for Chickenpox... hoping she would get chickenpox naturally like we all did back in the day (me being a little sceptical about the vaccine). She did not get chickenpox so I ended up getting her vaccinated the next year.

My only concern with vaccinating children is the age they start. I have a hard time with believing its ok or extremely safe to give a newborn HepB shots before leaving the hospital. Why not wait a year to start first vaccinations? Give them a little chance to get their own immune systems going first. It is something that does not settle well with me.

I would imagine it has something to do with the horrible effect that having HepB has on a child of under 1 year.

Also, I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding how vaccines work. They're not a medicine that stays in the bloodstream, fighting off disease, and preventing the immune system from working. They expose the immune system to the virus so that it forms antibodies. A vaccine doesn't weaken an immune system, it strengthens it.

Basically, the only difference between vaccinating for chicken pox and getting chicken pox is the latter comes with symptoms. The body's going to be in exactly the same state after both; the child will just have had 2 weeks of misery beforehand with the latter.

Puja

[morepork]

What is it going to take for people to accept basic biological fact? Not anti-vaccination? I would suggest the current context is one hell of a time to make that statement. Nuff said. Jesus.

[Coco]

I would suggest perpetrators of misinformation are more culpable, and that media services hosting these perpetrators be held accountable.

I am not anti-vax by any means, but I do admit not wanting my daughter vaccinated for Chickenpox... hoping she would get chickenpox naturally like we all did back in the day (me being a little sceptical about the vaccine). She did not get chickenpox so I ended up getting her vaccinated the next year.

My only concern with vaccinating children is the age they start. I have a hard time with believing its ok or extremely safe to give a newborn HepB shots before leaving the hospital. Why not wait a year to start first vaccinations? Give them a little chance to get their own immune systems going first. It is something that does not settle well with me.

I would imagine it has something to do with the horrible effect that having HepB has on a child of under 1 year.

Also, I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding how vaccines work. They're not a medicine that stays in the bloodstream, fighting off disease, and preventing the immune system from working. They expose the immune system to the virus so that it forms antibodies. A vaccine doesn't weaken an immune system, it strengthens it.

Basically, the only difference between vaccinating for chicken pox and getting chicken pox is the latter comes with symptoms. The body's going to be in exactly the same state after both; the child will just have had 2 weeks of misery beforehand with the latter.

Puja

True... I do know that much... and I understand a small percentage of mothers run the risk of passing on hepB to their baby during childbirth... I get that. I just wish vaccines were spread out a bit more and started at first or second wellcheck. Thats my mom brain.

[cashead]

You know what anti-vax jokes and anti-vax kids have in common?


They never get old.



"Im not anti-vaxx but I'll try not to vaccinate my kid!"