Anti-Vaxxer Sympathy

[Bob Kelso]

There's a point here somewhere... 

Now where'd I put my...

Ah! Lovely! 



Now I'll find it!

...

Fuck.

[Spooky]

I just read this article about anti-vaxxers, it's somewhat sympathetic. Wondering what you think.

If it weren't for the fact that it puts everybody at risk, I'd say let the jackasses kill themselves off.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Read this, thought of this thread:

Results Of 95 727 children with older siblings, 994 (1.04%) were diagnosed with ASD and 1929 (2.01%) had an older sibling with ASD. Of those with older siblings with ASD, 134 (6.9%) had ASD, vs 860 (0.9%) children with unaffected siblings (P < .001). MMR vaccination rates (≥1 dose) were 84% (n = 78 564) at age 2 years and 92% (n = 86 063) at age 5 years for children with unaffected older siblings, vs 73% (n = 1409) at age 2 years and 86% (n = 1660) at age 5 years for children with affected siblings. MMR vaccine receipt was not associated with an increased risk of ASD at any age. For children with older siblings with ASD, at age 2, the adjusted relative risk (RR) of ASD for 1 dose of MMR vaccine vs no vaccine was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.49-1.18; P = .22), and at age 5, the RR of ASD for 2 doses compared with no vaccine was 0.56 (95% CI, 0.31-1.01; P = .052). For children whose older siblings did not have ASD, at age 2, the adjusted RR of ASD for 1 dose was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.67-1.20; P = .50) and at age 5, the RR of ASD for 2 doses was 1.12 (95% CI, 0.78-1.59; P = .55).

Conclusions and Relevance In this large sample of privately insured children with older siblings, receipt of the MMR vaccine was not associated with increased risk of ASD, regardless of whether older siblings had ASD. These findings indicate no harmful association between MMR vaccine receipt and ASD even among children already at higher risk for ASD.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx...d=13589745

Yet the Jenny McCarthys of the world yammer on.

[MTL]

Sure, they're not that bad. They just purposefully deny their children treatment for nasty and otherwise easily preventable diseases, putting hundreds of other children at risk. No fucking biggie -_-

I'm all for having your own opinion. But when your opinion gives someone else's child measles, it's time to shove it up your ass.

Maybe people should tell people that if your kids are not vaccinated I don't want them around me or my children.

Hell, my dog-groomer won't even take dogs that haven't had their shot for Kennel-Cough.

[Pyrrho]

Maybe people should tell people that if your kids are not vaccinated I don't want them around me or my children.

Hell, my dog-groomer won't even take dogs that haven't had their shot for Kennel-Cough.

Your dog groomer sounds like he or she is not a total moron.  If I were a dog groomer, I would insist on all appropriate vaccinations or I would not touch the dog at all.  Even forgetting the diseases that a person can get from a dog, spreading diseases from one dog to the next is not going to be good for business.

My advice is to never use a dog groomer who does not have such requirements.

[brewer]

Vermont removes philosophical exemption for vaccination. For religious exemption no proof is required.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/vermo...w-34083541

[Mermaid]

This is a frighteningly pervasive phenomenon in our country. I guess it's a symptom of good health, people don't remember or understand what measles is like, nor have they lost family members to smallpox or the flu. If I read one more comment like "If your kid is vaccinated, why are you worried?" or "Measles and the flu aren't bad diseases" the top of my head will pop off.

[Cecelia]

This is a frighteningly pervasive phenomenon in our country. I guess it's a symptom of good health, people don't remember or understand what measles is like, nor have they lost family members to smallpox or the flu. If I read one more comment like "If your kid is vaccinated, why are you worried?" or "Measles and the flu aren't bad diseases" the top of my head will pop off.

It's easy to forget how deadly these diseases used to be.  How far we've come. 

I remember someone saying "I'd rather have an autistic child than a dead one."  And they're right.  But I don't think people realize just how bad these diseases are, and it's difficult for them to understand because they'll quickly dismiss the decline of these diseases to other things such as hygiene.

[ApeNotKillApe]

Willfully endangering your child's safety violates the ethical and legal principle of guardianship, they are not qualified to protect a child.

Unless of course the child needs life saving medical treatment and the parents are wretched slaves who will sacrifice their child so their master will deem worthy of eternal sniveling praise.

[brewer]

As a young child (3 to 4) I remember what felt like the whole town turning out for a vaccination at the Jr. High. I think it was for polio. The line extended for 3 blocks.