Devastating NYT article - please vaccinate your kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate them so much.

There’s a family in Texas you would really hate. They had four unvaccinated kids who all got measles and all were hospitalized for serious side effects. They pulled through and the father was so proud d that they were now immune without vaccination. Talk about ignorant MAGAs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the reason I offered to care for my new grandchild. The parents are physicians and they come in contact with sick people everyday.

I also see on my local Facebook page parents are looking for “vaccine friendly” pediatricians (whatever that means)?

Yes, same (about the vaccine friendly ped). I’m thankfully the pediatricians’ office we go to has signs posted saying vaccines are mandatory and you will be asked to find care at other practice if you do not vaccinate on schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The lies they are spreading is beyond disgusting .

I just don’t understand this. People used to wait in lines to get vaccinated for smallpox and other communicable diseases.

These are all back with a vengeance due to MAGA idiots. So sad.

It’s kind of like how the same people who currently worship nazi ideology were raised by fathers who fought to end that movement in WWII.

It’s sad.

[Anonymous]

I’m a physician and I was living in London at the same time as the author. My son was born in 2012 and because of the prevalence of measles in the uk and europe, and because we were planning to visit Eastern Europe, I asked our ped to vaccinate him at 5 months.

Since we were expats with a benefits package that included private healthcare, our ped was not part of NHS. I’m not sure if NHS allows for early vaccination. We also had the kids vaccinated for chicken pox, which was not routinely given at the time, but I believe it is a routine vaccination this year.

If you have, or know anyone with children not yet old enough for MMR, let them know that they can ask their ped about early vaccination if they are concerned about exposure. The early dose does not replace any part of the regular schedule, so they will need to make sure understand how to complete the series.

[Anonymous]

This story was so, so heartbreaking. What a tragedy, what pathos. The author is a beautiful writer, but the tragedy is the child, and there are others with mothers without this gift which is the haunting part.

I think people forget that when Europeans came to the new world, they brought measles, smallpox and influenza and there was no immunity by the population who had not seen these diseases. Without vaccines, literally 80-95% of the population died. Natural immunity does not work. In Europe at the time, virtually everyone got smallpox and ~30% died. Many died of measles.

How anyone would prefer that life to shot is a mystery. Yes, vaccines aren't 100% foolproof. But they are >99.9% foolproof. In a world with so much awfulness, I worship the ground vaccine inventors walk on. They are our saviors. They make it so when we have children, we expect them to grow into adults. That is a privilege humans have only enjoyed in the 20th and 21st centuries in rich countries. It is humbling to consider.

Oh, and today it was reported that an mRNA vaccine keeps people with the most deadly form of a cancer, pancreatic cancer, alive:
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/pancreatic-cancer-mrna-vaccine-shows-lasting-results-early-trial-rcna331969

A rare bit of truly good news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The lies they are spreading is beyond disgusting .

I just don’t understand this. People used to wait in lines to get vaccinated for smallpox and other communicable diseases.

These are all back with a vengeance due to MAGA idiots. So sad.

And this week our Department of Defense (Department of War) has changed policy to no longer mandate troops to get the flu vaccine. So in addition to the joy of being deployed to a war zone, you can also look forward to catching the flu while you're there from your fellow soldiers.

[Anonymous]

Meanwhile in Florida, which is in the middle of their measles outbreak, a school vaccine exemption bill, continues to advance.

The proposed legislation, titled Medical Freedom, would allow parents to claim a "conscience-based" exemption to school vaccination requirements.

[Anonymous]

Very sad.

I don’t know many (any?) anti vaxers but my kids are teens.

I was looking at a map of MMR vax rates for the US and it seems to vary so much by location. Anyone know more about that? It really seems like there are areas or demographics that need to be targeted. Somehow. Also the map I saw was rates for kindergarteners (I think) so would account for the “we are spacing vaccines out” crowd. I’m guessing the rates are even worse for toddlers.

We really need to tighten the loopholes for public school entry IMO. Surely not all of these kids are homeschooled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lies they are spreading is beyond disgusting .

I just don’t understand this. People used to wait in lines to get vaccinated for smallpox and other communicable diseases.

These are all back with a vengeance due to MAGA idiots. So sad.

And this week our Department of Defense (Department of War) has changed policy to no longer mandate troops to get the flu vaccine. So in addition to the joy of being deployed to a war zone, you can also look forward to catching the flu while you're there from your fellow soldiers.

Yes because vaccinated people never get the flu

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so wrong. Why are we not criminalizing this?

Who are you going to charge? The baby was too young to be vaccinated when she contracted the measles that eventually killed her.

Our Health Secretary RFK Jr appointed by our President Trump spreads lies about vaccines on a daily basis paid for by us taxpayers.

Every single parent who refuses to vaccinate their kids, that's who. We don't need to wait until someone dies.

I wish we could force the issue, but we can't. Vaccine mandates just fan the flames of hysterical conspiracies. All the drama over covid vaccines is exactly why we now have an antivaxxer as Health Secretary. The best approach, although it is imperfect, is education, patience, and kindness. Remember, antivaxxers are trying to do the best they can for their kids. They're utterly misguided, but forcing them is NOT a solution, that just leads to more resentment.

Vaccine mandates essentially eliminated measles, mumps, rubella, and diptheria. They absolutely work. Someone else can be patient and kind. These people are putting their own and other children at risk because they are stupid amd selfish. I don't care if they're resentful, I care if they are a public health risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lies they are spreading is beyond disgusting .

I just don’t understand this. People used to wait in lines to get vaccinated for smallpox and other communicable diseases.

These are all back with a vengeance due to MAGA idiots. So sad.

And this week our Department of Defense (Department of War) has changed policy to no longer mandate troops to get the flu vaccine. So in addition to the joy of being deployed to a war zone, you can also look forward to catching the flu while you're there from your fellow soldiers.

Yes because vaccinated people never get the flu

My sister and I each did our own unintentally controlled experiments. She has a family of 6, and I have a family of 5. In different years, we each had half the family vaccinated and the other half not — totally random as to who got the vaccine. Those who didn’t get the vaccine were sick as a dog for a long time; those who got the vaccine had an irritating cold.

That’s a very small sample size but luckily there is a ton of data showing the exact same thing in much larger study groups!

[Anonymous]

SSPE is rare but terrifying. Absolute worst case scenario, watching your child slowly and painfully decline and being unable to so anything about it. Infants who catch measles are more likely to develop this complication.

I'm definitely pushing for anl 6 month MMR for my soon to be born kid and keeping him out of public places before then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lies they are spreading is beyond disgusting .

I just don’t understand this. People used to wait in lines to get vaccinated for smallpox and other communicable diseases.

These are all back with a vengeance due to MAGA idiots. So sad.

And this week our Department of Defense (Department of War) has changed policy to no longer mandate troops to get the flu vaccine. So in addition to the joy of being deployed to a war zone, you can also look forward to catching the flu while you're there from your fellow soldiers.

Yes because vaccinated people never get the flu

The efficacy of the flu vaccine varies from year to year but while it may as effectively prevent catching the flu it is very effective and preventing hospitalizations and deaths, especially among children.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu-vaccines-work/risk-groups/index.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so wrong. Why are we not criminalizing this?

Who are you going to charge? The baby was too young to be vaccinated when she contracted the measles that eventually killed her.

Our Health Secretary RFK Jr appointed by our President Trump spreads lies about vaccines on a daily basis paid for by us taxpayers.

Every single parent who refuses to vaccinate their kids, that's who. We don't need to wait until someone dies.

I wish we could force the issue, but we can't. Vaccine mandates just fan the flames of hysterical conspiracies. All the drama over covid vaccines is exactly why we now have an antivaxxer as Health Secretary. The best approach, although it is imperfect, is education, patience, and kindness. Remember, antivaxxers are trying to do the best they can for their kids. They're utterly misguided, but forcing them is NOT a solution, that just leads to more resentment.

Vaccine mandates essentially eliminated measles, mumps, rubella, and diptheria. They absolutely work. Someone else can be patient and kind. These people are putting their own and other children at risk because they are stupid amd selfish. I don't care if they're resentful, I care if they are a public health risk.

How many of these kids even attend public school? I’d be curious. Seems likely there is a lot of overlap with anti vax & homeschooling or private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lies they are spreading is beyond disgusting .

I just don’t understand this. People used to wait in lines to get vaccinated for smallpox and other communicable diseases.

These are all back with a vengeance due to MAGA idiots. So sad.

And this week our Department of Defense (Department of War) has changed policy to no longer mandate troops to get the flu vaccine. So in addition to the joy of being deployed to a war zone, you can also look forward to catching the flu while you're there from your fellow soldiers.

Yes because vaccinated people never get the flu

My sister and I each did our own unintentally controlled experiments. She has a family of 6, and I have a family of 5. In different years, we each had half the family vaccinated and the other half not — totally random as to who got the vaccine. Those who didn’t get the vaccine were sick as a dog for a long time; those who got the vaccine had an irritating cold.

That’s a very small sample size but luckily there is a ton of data showing the exact same thing in much larger study groups!

This is beside the point but:

How often are people getting the flu?! I’ve had it once in my adult life, and my kids (18, 16, 16) have had it once. We all had it at the same time ten years ago. Sometimes we get vaxed, sometimes not.

Is this an annual thing for some families? That would suck.