You're Still An Asshole, Lady

[Minimalist]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/04/anti-...ing-cough/

Anti-vaxx mom abandons movement — after all seven her of her kids get whooping cough

Now Hills says that years spent “frozen” out of fear of vaccinating her kids has the whole family frozen: confined to their home by a quarantine.

She said she hopes her mea culpa will make other families who have held back from getting their children vaccinated rethink what they are doing.
“Right now my family is living the consequences of misinformation and fear.  I understand that families in our community may be mad at us for putting their kids at risk.

[Alex K]

all. seven.

Jesus!

[Foxaèr]

The saddest part is that it is legal to be a dumbass parent who puts one's children at risk.

[Pyrrho]

At least she has learned from her mistake.  Some people are so stupid that they don't learn from their mistakes.  So although she has been a fool, she is nowhere near being a top contender for the most foolish person ever.

But, of course, it would have been far better if she learned about the issue earlier so that she would not have unnecessarily endangered her children's lives, as well as endangering the lives of others (for those who need it, do a search for "herd immunity").

[Thumpalumpacus]

"Better late than never" doesn't cut it when it comes to kids.

[Exian]

That's the scariest thing about misinformation- not being aware of the concept of misinformation. Anti-vaxxers are idiots, but I wonder how many are just regular people being sold the misinformation without looking into it? Not trying to give them a pass, but I'm wondering if I dodged the bullet of becoming like them (less skeptical) by dumb luck alone.

[Minimalist]

Odds are the kids will grow up to be as stupid as their parents.

[Heywood]

The saddest part is that it is legal to be a dumbass parent who puts one's children at risk.

I haven't made up my mind on the vaccination controversy.  I have been thinking about it.  One of my conclusion is this:  There can exist situations where the parents behave optimally by not vaccinating their kids.  Vaccinations do convey some risk to those that receive them.  Its small but it is real.  A diligent parent should consider this risk before allowing their children to be vaccinated.  Of course not vaccinating your children also carries some risk.  Your child can become infected with a serious disease that they probably would not have contracted had they been vaccinated for it.  A diligent parent should also consider this risk.

If the risk conveyed by receiving the vaccine is greater than the risk of contracting the disease, then the best decision is not to opt for the vaccine.  

Now there is a very real phenomena called herd immunity.  Basically if every other member of the herd is immune to a disease, its not very likely at all you will get that disease even if you are not immune.  Non immune members of the herd gain some protection by the other members being immune.

Sionnach you are right, the parent here is a dumbass.  She is a dumbass because she is being results orientated.  But you are also wrong to conclude that she was putting her own children at risk.  Her decision not vaccinate may have been the optimal decision for her children(optimal meaning it minimized risk).

[Darkstar]

One of my conclusion is this:  There can exist situations where the parents behave optimally by not vaccinating their kids.  Vaccinations do convey some risk to those that receive them.  Its small but it is real.

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you mean something like sever allergic reactions (in which case you might be right) and aren't implying that vaccines pose a meaningful risk to the general population.

Now there is a very real phenomena called herd immunity.  Basically if every other member of the herd is immune to a disease, its not very likely at all you will get that disease even if you are not immune.  Non immune members of the herd gain some protection by the other members being immune.

The problem is, not every other member of the herd is immune.



As you can see, some of the state vaccination rates are dangerously close to, or have already, dropped below the minimum required to maintain herd immunity from certain highly contagious diseases. Unless there is a serious medical reason that an individual should not be vaccinated, to forgo vaccination is not only stupid by socially irresponsible.

[Pyrrho]

Darkstar, I think you are being overly generous in your "benefit of the doubt."

But you are quite right to emphasize the herd immunity aspect of this, as selfish assholes view this as an individual rights sort of thing, when what they do is something that very significantly affects others.  If you don't want to vaccinate, you need to fucking move to an island and never interact with others.  If you are a part of society, you need to not be endangering others.  Other people absolutely have a right to object to you endangering them.

Unfortunately, quite a few people with shit for brains have children, and make decisions that one would expect of people with shit for brains.  Vaccinations need to be required for everyone who does not have a legitimate medical exemption.