8 states highest skipping vaccinations: How many unvaccinated kids are OK in a class? Exemptions OK?
An Associated Press analysis has found that parents in eight states, mainly in the West and Mid-West, are opting out of immunizations for their kids at a much higher rate than in other parts of the country.
For its review, the AP asked state health departments for kindergarten exemption rates for 2006-07 and 2010-11. The AP also looked at data states had previously reported to the federal government. (Most states don’t have data for the current 2011-12 school year.)
Alaska had the highest exemption rate in 2010-11, at nearly 9 percent. Colorado’s rate was 7 percent, Minnesota 6.5 percent, Vermont and Washington 6 percent, and Oregon, Michigan and Illinois were close behind.
In some rural counties in northeast Washington, for example, vaccination exemption rates in recent years have been above 20 percent and even as high as 50 percent.
Mississippi was lowest, at essentially 0 percent.
Here is more from The Associated Press: (It’s a long story story so I bolded the big points.)
“ATLANTA (AP) — More parents are opting out of school shots for their kids. In eight states now, more than 1 in 20 public school kindergartners aren’t getting all the vaccines required for attendance, an Associated Press analysis found.”
That growing trend among parents seeking vaccine exemptions has health officials worried about outbreaks of diseases that once were all but stamped out.
The AP analysis found more than half of states have seen at least a slight rise in the rate of exemptions over the past five years. States with the highest exemption rates are in the West and Upper Midwest.
It’s “really gotten much worse,” said Mary Selecky, secretary of health for Washington state, where 6 percent of public school parents have opted out.
Rules for exemptions vary by state and can include medical, religious or — in some states — philosophical reasons.
Reasons for skipping some school shots vary. Some parents are skeptical that vaccines are essential. Others fear vaccines carry their own risks. Some find it easier to check a box opting out than the effort to get the shots and required paperwork schools demand. Still others are ambivalent, believing in older vaccines but questioning newer shots against, say, chickenpox.
The number of shots is also giving some parents pause. By the time most children are 6, they will have been stuck with a needle about two dozen times — with many of those shots given in infancy. The cumulative effect of all those shots has not been studied enough, some parents say.
“Many of the vaccines are unnecessary and public health officials don’t honestly know what the effect of giving so many vaccines to such small children really are,” said Jennifer Margulis, a mother of four and parenting book author in Ashland, Ore.
But few serious problems have turned up over years of vaccinations and several studies have shown no link with autism, a theory from the 1990s that has been widely discredited.
To be sure, childhood vaccination rates remain high overall, at 90 percent or better for several vaccines, including those for polio, measles, hepatitis B and even chickenpox. In many states, exemptions are filed for fewer than 1 percent of children entering school for the first time.
Health officials have not identified an exemption threshold that would likely lead to outbreaks. But as they push for 100 percent immunization, they worry when some states have exemption rates climbing over 5 percent. The average state exemption rate has been estimated at less than half that.
Even more troubling are pockets in some states where exemption rates much higher. In some rural counties in northeast Washington, for example, vaccination exemption rates in recent years have been above 20 percent and even as high as 50 percent.
“Vaccine refusers tend to cluster,” said Saad Omer, an Emory University epidemiologist who has done extensive research on the issue.
While parents may think it does no harm to others if their kids skip some vaccines, they are in fact putting others at risk, health officials say. No vaccine is completely effective. If an outbreak begins in an unvaccinated group of children, a vaccinated child may still be at some risk of getting sick.
Studies have found communities with higher exemption rates sometimes are places where measles have suddenly re-emerged in outbreaks. Vaccinated kids are sometimes among the cases, or children too young to be vaccinated. Last year, California had more than 2,100 whooping cough cases, and 10 infants died. Only one had received a first dose of vaccine.
“Your child’s risk of getting disease depends on what your neighbors do,” said Omer.
And while it seems unlikely that diseases like polio and diphtheria could ever make a comeback to the U.S., immunization expert Dr. Lance Rodewald with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it could happen.
“Polio can come back. China was polio free for two decades, and just this year, they were infected from Pakistan, and there is a big outbreak of polio China now. The same could happen here,” Rodewald said in an email.
He cited outbreaks of Hib, a disease that can lead to meningitis, among the Amish who don’t consistently vaccinate their children. Russia had a huge diphtheria outbreak in the early to mid-1990s, he said, because vaccine coverage declined. “Measles is just visible, but it isn’t the only concern,” Rodewald said.
For its review, the AP asked state health departments for kindergarten exemption rates for 2006-07 and 2010-11. The AP also looked at data states had previously reported to the federal government. (Most states don’t have data for the current 2011-12 school year.)
Alaska had the highest exemption rate in 2010-11, at nearly 9 percent. Colorado’s rate was 7 percent, Minnesota 6.5 percent, Vermont and Washington 6 percent, and Oregon, Michigan and Illinois were close behind.
Mississippi was lowest, at essentially 0 percent.
The AP found that vaccine exemptions rose in more than half of states, and 10 had increases over the five years of about 1.5 percentage points or more, a range health officials say is troubling.
Those states, too, were in the West and Midwest — Alaska, Kansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Arizona saw an increase that put that state in the same ballpark.
Exemption seekers are often middle-class, college-educated white people, but there are often a mix of views and philosophies. Exemption hot spots like Sedona, Ariz., and rural northeast Washington have concentrations of both alternative medicine-preferring as well as government-fearing libertarians.
There’s more to this story about how states record their data but I thought it was getting too long. So click on the link if you want to read even more.
I did postpone on some of the shots and spread them out some until I was comfortable giving them. I always discussed it with the doctor and while he encourage me to get them he was OK doing it on my schedule for a few of them. However, each child has had what was required by the schools by the time they started school. I think you feel a little better when they are older and you know they can walk and talk. It’s interesting that Arizona is listed as a state exempting a lot. Now I am wondering what is going on their classrooms — how many kids have them and how many do not.
So what do you think: Why do think states in the West and Midwest are rejecting the vaccinations at a higher rate?
How would you feel about your kids going to school with 5 percent of the population not immunized? What about 10 percent? What about 20 percent? Where is your comfort level? Should exemptions be given or should parents who want to opt out have to homeschool or go to non-vaccinated schools?
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91 comments Add your comment
augustine
November 28th, 2011
9:35 pm
@Concerned: “who gives peanut butter to a 1 year old?”
Who gives Hep B vaccine to a 3 day old?
Parent
November 28th, 2011
9:37 pm
unless you are thesame person making your opinion look better by making people think its 2 people!
The Real Deal
November 28th, 2011
9:40 pm
non-contributing zero? i don’t really know what to say to that. augustine?
Diana Allen
November 28th, 2011
9:47 pm
@ ATL Mom: I could only wish that I would have the choice to not vaccinate at all. We have been kicked out of one practice already for not going by their schedule. By the grace of God we have found a ped. that respects our wishes and will let us take as much time as we want. And by the way… there are other ways to boost your immunity to diseases other than injecting yourself with the disease.
augustine
November 28th, 2011
10:07 pm
@Parent: “I don’t care what you pair of non-contributing zeros say! your two opinions alone mean nothing to vaccinations!”
What do you think about the dramatic decrease in infectious disease mortality before vaccination? Or did you even know that?
Fred
November 28th, 2011
10:41 pm
The Real Deal
November 28th, 2011
6:34 pm
i happen to be a doctor, and another thing, thats not a scientific law.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you are a “doctor” you are a PhD type ‘doctor with a degree purchased from an online degree mill.
78 percent of people who get a flu vaccine get sick my ass……………… Nice try “Doc.”
Fred
November 28th, 2011
10:45 pm
atlmom
November 28th, 2011
7:20 pm
I have been in the south for 17 years, almost half my life. I believe that to some people I will never be anything but a carpet bagging gold digging yankee.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LOL Pretty much the truth of the matter. But don’t tell MJG that, she thinks she has some fooled…………… :D
The Real Deal
November 28th, 2011
10:46 pm
Is a degree for UGA a “degree purchased from an online degree mill.”?
The Real Deal
November 28th, 2011
10:47 pm
Those are the only honest statistics ive ever seen.
Fred
November 28th, 2011
10:52 pm
augustine
November 28, 2011
10:07 pm
I don’t need a quote to say that you are an idiot and that Parent is correct on all counts.
Fred
November 28th, 2011
11:00 pm
Fred
November 28th, 2011
10:52 pm
augustine
November 28, 2011
10:07 pm
I don’t need a quote to say that you are an idiot and that Parent is correct on all counts.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wow, but you name to steal name name and pretend you are me right? How sad.
Fred
November 28th, 2011
11:03 pm
Real Deal: Sorry dude, you don’t pass the BS test. 15 years as a medic? Countless years as a CDC investigator? A fish doctor? How old ARE you? Like 158 or something?
one would hope that someone such as yourself, supposedly blessed not only with a higher education but also advanced degrees could express themselves better with properly formed sentences and spelling. I’m not talking about typo’s, I’m talking about huge ignorance in spelling, grammar and punctuation. I’m certainly not the grammar police and make my share of errors but you? Epic phail. You don’t advance your cause. nor do you when you name jack.
augustine
November 28th, 2011
11:09 pm
don’t need a quote to say that you are an idiot and that Parent is correct on all counts.
Really, Fred? The fact that you support such an absurd statement that the unvaccinated are a threat to society pretty much dismisses your opinion.
It’s apparent that you have never given a critical thought of the subject or you would never say such a thing.
So if my daughter doesn’t get the tetanus vaccine do you believe she is a threat to you or Parent’s kids. I hope you know that tetanus is rare and is NOT contagious.
You shouldn’t make ignorant and sweeping generalizations just because you blindly believe in someone else’s ideology.
I’d be happy to discuss specific diseases and vaccines with any of you blind sheep that can only go around calling people names like idiot and threats to society because you don’t actually understand the scientific, philosophical, and political issues at hand. You just have the simple minded, one tracked mind that “vaccine good”. People who don’t like vaccine bad”
Fred
November 28th, 2011
11:13 pm
But to comment on topic: I too think Parent and the other person, (forget her name) are a bit over the top in their views and posts. They sound kinda silly and hysterical to be honest. I read all the data when my child was born. I saw the risks. I talked to friends who also happen to be Doctors (MD type “real deal”) a couple are pediatricians, one’s a neurosurgeon, a couple more internal medicine along with a neighbor who actually DOES work at the CDC with a PhD in microbiology who goes out to combat outbreaks. Most importantly they ALL are parents. All of them with (at teh time) either babies or toddlers. They without an exception vaccinated. I had to go with the considered opinions of those who are far more educated on the subject and whom I know, like, respect, and trust. So we vaccinated.
Diana: I can’t believe they would kick you out of the practice because you didn’t follow their schedule, ESPECIALLY given the history of your first child. You are better off OUT of their quack practice. They are doctors, not gods. Sometimes doctors forget that. The good ones don’t well usually. Debakey always was rather impressed with himself…………..
Fred
November 28th, 2011
11:15 pm
augustine
November 28th, 2011
11:09 pm
don’t need a quote to say that you are an idiot and that Parent is correct on all counts.
==============================
That was a name jack pure and simple and for malicious causes. I will bring it to TWG’s attention and expect her to ban the name jackers IPO.
I will NOT “argue” with you over something I did not say.
augustine
November 28th, 2011
11:23 pm
Fred: “I will NOT “argue” with you over something I did not say.”
If it wasn’t you then it was a sockpuppet.
It was probably Parent. LOL.
augustine
November 28th, 2011
11:30 pm
I had to go with the considered opinions of those who are far more educated on the subject and whom I know, like, respect, and trust. So we vaccinated.
I have no problem with the people who make decisions like this. You can only go on the knowledge you have.
I have a problem with the growing number of mass vaccine propagandists that use unsuspecting people to socially pressure their neighbors out of some sort of arbitrary social and moral duty.
It’s propaganda 101 with an agenda. It’s not enough for these people and their medical decisions. They think their medical decisions are so great that everyone should be forced or coerced to do the same.
Facts and information are useless with this type of propaganda. Fear and/or anger has to be used to carry out the mass vaccine agenda. Its not a health or scientific campaign.
Fred
November 28th, 2011
11:30 pm
Yeah Augustine, it definitely wasn’t me. I was about 60-40, maybe more like 55-45 about vaccinating. The risks ARE there, but in the end I decided the risk the other way was greater. Luckily it turned out ok for us. We also had a wonderful pediatrician who was a little “behind” in the normal schedule. LOl She also had kids who were still vaccine age and downloaded another before our daughter was 2.
I’d never criticize or argue with those who chose not to vaccinate.
Fred
November 28th, 2011
11:35 pm
augustine: Very few people “argue” or “debate” any more with facts. It’s all about invectives, scare tactics, lies, bumper sticker talk, and who can yell the loudest. Listen to WSB from 7:30-1:00 and then again from 4-whenever. Read Huffington, listen to Michael Moore lol. Exchanging info is dead. Now it’s all about “I’m right and you are a dumbass who needs to die.”
I find that sad as it appears you do as well.
The Real Deal
November 29th, 2011
7:28 am
I actually thought that Frea WAS Parent under a different name.. guess not then. And Fred, I DID make it clear I wasn’t an M.D. no one would argue that you would call me Dr. if you were talking to me though. and i have helped write more tham one textbook, my specialty being how bacteria mutate to evade medical treatment.
DTdad
November 29th, 2011
9:04 am
I believe you Diane, we are dealing with similar issues.
catlady
November 29th, 2011
10:16 am
I don’t care what other parents do, but they should plan to homeschool if they opt out of shots. All the way through college.
Anj
November 29th, 2011
10:32 am
For the curious
My younger son is ASD (autism spectrum disorder). He has his vaccines and will continue to get them. Ditto for his older brother. Ditto for me.
All the research on autism points to multiple genetic causes that I am sure we will be able to pinpoint with more research. The biggest indicator of this is that some seemingly unrelated disorders are more common with children diagnosed with autism that the rest of population.
seizures (hmm…something wrong with neurochemistry or neurobiology)
GI problems (possibly a flawed enzyme, or an enzyme not produced in sufficient quantity)
Met/Endo (Metabolic/Endocrine) disorders are usually caused by either
a) a broken, missing, or shortage of an essential enzyme – usually because the body can’t produce it because of a flawed gene.
b) insufficient hormone(s) or insufficient response to hormone(s).
Diabetes is a met/endo disorder. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a met/endo disorder, alas not as well studied or understood as diabetes. PKU is a disorder that can be diagnosed at birth – PKU) is a rare condition in which a baby is born without the ability to properly break down an amino acid called phenylalanine. (IOW – lacks the proper enzyme)
One theory is that autistics are less responsive to oxytocin, the hormone that causes us to find social interaction pleasurable. Why? We don’t know yet. If we study how the receptors work perhaps we will find a shortage of a needed chemical.
If I had a few billion dollars, that’s where I would put my money.
Oh, and keep your unvaccinated contagion vectors out of my school system. One time we were waiting in the pediatric ER and I could hear a toddler with whooping cough across the hall. The horrible coughing spasms and the wet, wheezing stridor were clues – but the Isolation notice that went up on the door was the clincher.
augustine
November 29th, 2011
10:55 am
catlady; “I don’t care what other parents do, but they should plan to homeschool if they opt out of shots”
Well then you are contradictory. You don’t care, yet you do care what they do?
Does your vaccine work or not? It’s a yes or no question. Not some rhetoric about ” vaccines aren’t 100% and some can’t get vaccines”.
The pro mass vaccine, one size fits all crowd has seeded doubt, fear, and anger.
and ignorance per Anj:
“Oh, and keep your unvaccinated contagion vectors out of my school system.”
You seem to think that unvaccinated = infected and contagious and vaccinated = not infected or contgious. Absolutely a lie. But that’s how propaganda works. Think for yourself and stop accepting uncritically what others want you to think. You believe a lie.
TallMom
November 29th, 2011
10:59 am
My kids are all vaxed. One of them has Asperger’s. The signs of it were there from birth, so NO I do not believe the vaxes caused it. ASD is genetic. My husband has Asperger’s as does his father. THAT’S why my child has it…not because of the MMR vax. I do not in ANY way believe that vaxes cause Autism or ASDs. Research and testing have proved this as well.
I have a home daycare. While I am ok with having an unvaxed child in my care, my illness rules are more strict for them. I am not immune to rubella…for whatever reason, my body never built an immunity to it, despite being vaxed for it several times. If an unvaxed child in my care develops a rash, they are immediately isolated and their parent has to pick them up. A doctor’s note is required before returning. I have (and will again if necessary) terminate our contract if the parent does not respect my policy regarding this.
My only issue with anti-vax parents is the same issue I have with ANY parent who takes such a HARD stance on something…they’re SO DAMN ANGRY. It’s weird. They can’t have strong feelings on a subject without becoming unreasonable, angry and out of control.
jarvis
November 29th, 2011
11:45 am
@augustine, you choose to ignore every piece of evidence that has been put in front of you. That’d be the very definition of ignorance.
augustine
November 29th, 2011
11:55 am
@Jarvis “@augustine, you choose to ignore every piece of evidence that has been put in front of you. That’d be the very definition of ignorance.”
It’s not ignoring. How would you like for me to acknowledge It(whatever evidence it is that you are supposedly talking about)? By going out and vaccinating to the current CDC schedule? By preaching vaccinations for all regardless of risk?
What evidence is it that i somehow ignore? Be very specific please.
Vaccine effectiveness
November 29th, 2011
12:27 pm
If vaccines actually do what they say, what’s the problem? Your kids are vaccinated so screw the ones who don’t. I mean unless you have actually bothered to carefully review the vast numbers of double-blind effectiveness studies of vaccines – oh wait, there have never been any done. Actually, the few studies that have been done show very clearly that vaccines are only marginally effective, that infection rates for most major illnesses were already on the decline before vaccines became available, and that improvements in nutrition, sanitation, water quality, etc. are more to blame than vaccines. Oh well, just a minute of discomfort, the risk of serious complications including death, neurological problems, anaphylactic shock, getting the disease itself, etc. all to make sure that big pharma gets its profits. Great parenting.
Anj
November 29th, 2011
1:51 pm
Tallmom,
Yes, the signs are there in our family tree too. Husband’s brother – food intolerances & what would be now diagnosed as some type of behavioral disorder. I approve of your infection control procedures. Being responsible for the welfare of other people’s children is serious business.
One of my cousin’s older children came down over the holiday with a “weird rash”. I guessed Strep. A. and encouraged her to get him to a doctor. She waited a day and when it got worse, did take him in. Diagnosis: Strep A. (aka scarlet fever)
Anj
November 29th, 2011
2:08 pm
For the denialists:
If “vaccines cause _____”, then why doesn’t an infection with the actual live pathogen also “cause _____”. An infection is much like a vaccine, only with a higher pathogen load and increased risk of complications.
(I could link to a case study of a twelve year old who died of varicella. His only risk factor? The corticosteroids he took for a severe asthma attack. A little immune suppression, a rampant infection and that was it. Know anyone who has asthma? Lupus? AIDS? On chemotherapy? There is a very good reason children are not allowed to visit hospitals during influenzae season or in the ICUs. Calling them vectors of contagion is accurate. Heck, during the first H1N1 outbreak, half of a local football team fell ill at the same time AFTER the media had spent weeks talking about the importance of good hygiene. Our peak student absence rate was 25% for a single school. Oh yes, kids are very good at infecting others.)
catlady
November 29th, 2011
2:45 pm
I truly don’t care if a parent decides not to vaccinate, as long as they realize they are closing their kids off from group-participation activies such as school and sports.
I had an aunt die of tetanus. I know how it works.
I work with kids who are ASD. I don’t believe they became ASD because of immunizations because I think ASD would be much more widespread if immunizations were so dangerous.
I have been around kids who were harmed by measles. I know folks who had polio before the vaccine.
The vaccines are much better than taking a chance with the disease. My mom says watching her sister die of tetanus was quite difficult.
I put those who deny their kids vaccines (unless they have AIDs or transplant issues) in the same category as those who deny their kids other medical treatment.
Just me. You can do as you wish, but keep your kids away from my grands.
augustine
November 29th, 2011
4:46 pm
@Catladay; “Just me. You can do as you wish, but keep your kids away from my grands.”
Why? There you go assuming unvaccinated means sick and infectious and vaccinated means no disease. You should get another whooping cough vaccine. I heard it failed…again. BTW whooping cough vaccine does not keep you from getting infected or spreading it to others.
Get a grip
November 29th, 2011
4:49 pm
Im am a proud parent of an un-vaxxed healthy baby. My husband and I have looked at each and every vaccine and it’s ingredients and decided we do not want to inject our son with any of it. Even after getting A HIB infection we still stand behind our decision 100%. We know the risks of the diseases so we are careful. So if “herd” immunity works so well because 90+% are vaxxed, how did my son get it? Think about it. Herd immunity is BS and I am not “freeloading” off of others. If you believe the vaccines you received work so well than why am I or the rest of my un-vaxxed family such a threat??! Luckily we still have a choice whether to vax or not.
Get a grip
November 29th, 2011
4:53 pm
Over the weekend I found out that my new sister in law was fully vaxxed and got whooping cough and ended up in the hospital for a week, her older sister did as well. The doctor tested her for it but wouldn’t actually “say” it was whooping cough because he said he didn’t want to make her a statistic!! What?! He didn’t want people to know the vaccine didn’t work. Sadly this probably happens all the time.
catlady
November 30th, 2011
11:24 am
augustine–I am reading a lot of silly %^& here. Like the statement, “tetanus is rare.” Well, actually the bacteria is EVERYWHERE. The reason more folks don’t get it is–they get vaccinated routinely, and when they get a serious skin tear, they are usually vaccinated again.
One unvaccinated kid is probably not a problem to me or my family. Multiply that many times over, and the chance of something getting started (measles) and some that WERE vaccinated catching it and getting very sick can happen–I call it breakthrough loss of immunity. It happens. However, if NO ONE in the area is unvaccinated, then it is terribly unlikely that anyone would suffer the breakthrough.
OF COURSE unvaccinated does not mean “sick”–yet. You are more likely to develop the illness, upon exposure, than someone who has been vaccinated, however.
I find it interesting that most of those deciding not to vaccinate are younger than me–folks who have not been through the times before vaccination became available or widespread. They have never SEEN a polio-related sufferer, or a person made deaf by measles, or lost a family member to the bite of a rabid animal or a broken bone where tetanus was introduced. Folks just a little younger than me never had a smallpox vaccination, which was standard by the age of 6. Their rose-colored glasses might not be so pink if they had.
augustine
November 30th, 2011
6:32 pm
@Catlady: “augustine–I am reading a lot of silly %^& here. Like the statement, “tetanus is rare.” Well, actually the bacteria is EVERYWHERE. The reason more folks don’t get it is–they get vaccinated routinely, and when they get a serious skin tear, they are usually vaccinated again.”
If the bacteria is “everywhere” then could you explain why only 500-600 cases per year occurred BEFORE the vaccine was used?
According to the CDC high-risk groups are ages 60 years and above, people of Hispanic ethnicity, and older adults with diabetesIV drug users.
Catlady: “However, if NO ONE in the area is unvaccinated, then it is terribly unlikely that anyone would suffer the breakthrough”
Before vaccinations about 450 people per year died. Many had risk factors. This number had been drastically falling decades before vaccine availability. A CDC article in 1967 stated that “measles complications are infrequent, and, with adequate medical care, fatality is rare.”
Catlady: “I find it interesting that most of those deciding not to vaccinate are younger than me–folks who have not been through the times before vaccination became available or widespread.”
Uh, that’s because young people are the ones who tend to have children. The ones you speak of above have grown children. Nice observation and use of logic.
augustine
November 30th, 2011
8:19 pm
Most people you’re age didn’t have all of the vaccines that kids these days are being subjected to by the AAP.
Ann
November 30th, 2011
8:49 pm
@ TallMom
Anti-vax parents are not angry to begin with. They do, at times, get angry after being accused of being selfish, endangering others and when terms such as “murder” are tossed around. As far as your statement that research has shown no connection between vaccines and autism. There has been official acknowledgment that a sub-group is vulnerable. And, are you aware that Poul Thorsen, the Danish scientist who coordinated the CDC-funded “debunking” studies (the man hired by the CDC to prove there was no link), was indicted on April 13th 2011 for 13 counts of fraud and 9 counts of money-laundering (stealing from the CDC)?
Ann
November 30th, 2011
9:02 pm
It would be nice if more comments in this discussion were based on fact, rather than emotion, hype and fear. The strategy of the CDC and vaccine proponents is to increase compliance by making people fearful and ashamed. They would be more successful if they were more honest in their approach. How refreshing it would be to hear a pro-vaccine authority figure state – “Yes, there was an 80% reduction in this particular illness before the vaccine was introduced due to …., but here is how the vaccine contributes to further eradication and these are the pros and cons to getting the vaccination.” Instead, they choose to perpetuate the simple myths, believing the public too uneducated to understand the truth and the nuance that it entails.
We see the same kind of emotion affecting other health decisions. Just in the last 2 years, there have been several examples of expert medical recommendations that were altered due to emotional backlash. One recent example: When the medical expert panel advised that mammograms were not necessary until the age of 50. This was an extensive panel of experts to make this recommendation, based on a lot of research and study. One main reason for their recommendation was the toll that early tests have on women (unnecessary procedures, follow up treatments and tests, false results and stress) who have minor issues that would not have needed treatment in the future during the person’s typical lifetime And, how quickly did the backlash occur for this recommendation? And, why? Because there were individual cases where people spoke from emotion about how a mammogram saved their loved one. And, of course, there is the “money” that is lost by mammogram machine owners when the age recommendation changed 10 years.
@ augustine obviously knows some of the facts supporting his or her view. It would be great if the other side could provide specifics for their viewpoint rather than just lashing out and criticizing and repeating the “party line”.
Cobb Mom
December 4th, 2011
8:01 pm
Augustine you can continue to spout about the CDC all you want. You are obviously young and still think you know everything. My children are vaccinated because my wise GRANDmother told me she had seen children die of measles, whooping cough, scarlet fever, etc. and she did NOT want to see any of her great-grandchildren suffer the same fate. I hope you child(ren) don’t get any of the diseases but if they do you can only look in the mirror and blame yourself. You claim that only 500-600 cases of tetnus were diagnosed a year before the vaccine. Have you ever considered that the population then was about 10% what the current population of the United States is now?
I also believe the vaccine exemptions for public schools will be short lived once there is an outbreak. I can guarantee you that if either of my children are exposed to a preventable disease I will SUE the irresponsible parents and the school system and I’m sure I won’t be the only one.
augustine
December 5th, 2011
6:24 pm
Cobb Mom: ‘I also believe the vaccine exemptions for public schools will be short lived once there is an outbreak.”
An outbreak of what? Tetanus? It’s not contagious. Or you mean an outbreak of chickenpox or HPV?
You can take your little emotional panties off now if you want to talk facts. Emotions can cloud judgement.
Cobb Mom: “I can guarantee you that if either of my children are exposed to a preventable disease I will SUE the irresponsible parents and the school system and I’m sure I won’t be the only one.”
I can guarantee that you want have a case. Number one you would have no evidence because you can’t prove if an infection came from a vaccinated or unvaccinated persons.
Why wouldn’t you sue the vaccine manufacture, the doctor, and the CDC for marketing and producing a product that failed to protect you?
cobb Mom: “Have you ever considered that the population then was about 10% what the current population of the United States is now? ”
30 Million? What year specifically are you referring to?