(San Diego) Vaccine refusals are on the rise

[HuckleB]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/aug/23/vaccine-refusals-have-nearly-quadrupled/

"Getting inoculated for diseases such as whooping cough and measles used to be a childhood rite of passage that few questioned. Now with shifting parental attitudes about vaccine safety, a growing number of California children are entering kindergarten without shots.

The trend worries public health officials because of the link between immunization rates and infectious outbreaks. As they grapple with the worst whooping cough surge in half a century, they are fighting back with outreach campaigns to promote vaccinations.

The Watchdog Institute, a nonprofit investigative journalism center based at San Diego State University, found that waivers signed by parents who choose to exempt their children from immunizations for kindergarten enrollment have nearly quadrupled since 1990. California allows parents to opt out of some or all shots on the basis of personal beliefs, be it religious objections or distrust of the medical establishment.

The institute’s analysis also revealed that San Diego County’s exemption rate has been consistently higher than the state average over the past two decades.

..."

-----------------------------


Well, you know. Yeah. Uh huh. I think I'll go drink my coffee now.

:hi:

[madrchsod]

1. well if ya want to cull the herd...

best thing to do is skip those vaccinations.

we almost had a full scale whooping outbreak around here several weeks ago.

[HuckleB]

27. If only it were only those making the choice to skip who got hurt.

Unfortunately, their kids don't get a choice.

[mzteris]

29. not to mention the people who "can't" be

immunized due to health issues. They don't get a choice, either.

[HuckleB]

30. Yup.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. What a bunch of dicks.

[Subdivisions]

3. Look, Pron... Do you know there's a recall on right now for a 1/2 BILLION eggs?

What do they make vaccines out of, Pron?

Dicks? You should know.

[HuckleB]

4. If only those chickens would get their vaccines!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100824/ap_on_bi_ge/us_egg_recall_salmonella_vaccine

PS:

Flu shots not affected by egg recall
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=13043870

[Subdivisions]

8. Where did I say that was the reason people are rejecting vaccines?

I am merely using it as an example that more and more these days, what with all the recalls, etc., that perhaps people just doen't trust or have confidence in the safety of something that is as invasive to one's person as a vaccine is. My example just happened to the latest major food recall, a food that is also used to develop vaccines.


Edited to add: I do not advocate rejecting an important vaccine. I also get flu shots. Regarding the salmonella vaccine and knowing as little as I do about it, if it works in the UK, then I don't see why it couldn't work here and would favor it.

Oh, and one more thing before I move on to other things: There has been a comprehensive campaign by...who knows who?...to gin up fear about vaccines. From the threat of autism to to potential death from the avian flu vaccine, many people don't know what to think because most don't think for themselves. So, they listen to the hysteria and next thing you know they're opting their kids out.

[HuckleB]

10. IMO, you tried to connect the egg recall to vaccines.

If that was not your intention, thank you for clearing that up.

[Subdivisions]

13. No, it was not my intention and most people know it has nothing to do

with vaccines. But you can't depend on EVERYONE not being gullible to the hysteria about autism and scary avian flu vaccines. The egg recall just happens to be what's going on now that some less-thoughful/knowledgable people may connect with vaccine safety.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. People who don't vaccinate their kids are bad parents.

If that makes me a dick, so be it.

At least I'm not one of these fuckers that doesn't vaccinate their kid, or one of the apologists who supports these fuckers.

[FreeState]

5. San Diego County

There is a reason the study was of the county and not the city, the county is full of right wingers, the city not so much. (Thats not to say the city does not have its share of Jenny McCarthy following lefties either...)

[HuckleB]

7. I'm not sure if that's the reason why, though there certainly could be differences.

In my very anecdotal experience, anti-vax viewpoints are held across the political spectrum, however.

[xchrom]

9. they do seem to go across the spectrum. nt

[Pisces]

16. I know a lot of healthnut liberals that believe vaccines are poison. They especially do not trust

large corporations selling the idea of vaccines for every illness. This is not just a rightwing issue. The government is losing the trust of the people. Especially with comments about the seafood in the Gulf being safe and 85% of the oil is gone. Money seems to trump "Do The Right Thing" every time.

[xchrom]

19. it's especially horrifying listening to folk on the left spout anti-science rhetoric.

they of course sound nothing like say phylis schlafly -- but in the end it's just as anti-science.

[HuckleB]

24. +1

[Uzybone]

25. What is worse is that they think they are smart for being dumb

I wish they could be sent to 3rd world countries and have to beg for vaccines.

[HuckleB]

28. It is a bizarre phenomenon, isn't it?

[LeftishBrit]

34. What bothers me more is when people on the left actually quote, or actively side with, RW sources on

such issues.

[snooper2]

36. yep, it's apolitical woo....like moon landing deniers

:P

[HuckleB]

39. I wonder what a study re: the overlap on those issues would discover.

[AngryAmish]

6. If only the anti-vax nutters only hurt themselves, not others

Too bad they do hurt others.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Bad enougfh I am asking doc next time I go

for a booster... I don't want to get prusitis... and neither do you.

[slackmaster]

12. Me too. My mom almost died of it when she was a little girl, in 1938.

It's very dangerous.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. And immunity does not last to adulthood either

[Hansel]

37. I almost died of it when I was a toddler in 1954

My parents became very adamant about making sure we got all of our vaccinations after that.

[nemo137]

40. Until very recently, it was so rare they taped cases of it, so that EMTs would recognize it.

Not anymore, thanks to antivax hysteria.

[earth mom]

15. People have every right to be concerned. No one gives a shit about the people. nt

[Pisces]

17. More people are coming to this scary conclusion.

[HuckleB]

18. Skepchick Does...

http://skepchick.org/blog/2010/08/w00ting-cough-jlo-saves-the-world/

[Odin2005]

21. Us autistics don't need the help of lying crackpot idiots.

[Lance_Boyle]

23. Least of all those who refuse to vaccinate their kids!

They are creating a vector class in the current school-age generation. This is ABHORRENT and ANTISOCIAL behavior, and there should be consequences for it. Children who are not vaccinated should not be permitted to attend school, and their parents ought to be jailed.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

26. I figured you'd be an anti-vaccer.

Now why is that?

[LTX]

38. Who's the "no one" in your comment, and

who are the "people"?

Maybe you mean "the people don't give a shit about the people."

Or perhaps "the people don't give a shit about no one."

Or maybe its really that "Bob doesn't give a shit about me."

I think some clarification is needed.

[Odin2005]

22. All the frauds pushing this BS should be in jail.

[HuckleB]

33. Certainly any and all professionals and pseudo-professionals should be under that gun.

[HuckleB]

35. Possible consequences: A pox on your bank account: failure to vaccinate and its legal consequences

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=6599

"Here’s a question anti-vaxers may want to consider:

Can the parents of an unvaccinated child be held liable if their child becomes infected with a vaccine-preventable disease which then spreads from their child to another child or children?

Yes, they can.

In fact, for over 125 years, courts in this country have recognized a cause of action for negligent transmission of an infectious disease. In the first reported case (New York, 1884) the defendant infected the plaintiff with whooping cough. Cases since then have run the gamut: smallpox, tuberculosis, unspecified “venereal disease,” typhoid fever, scarlet fever, diphtheria, hepatitis, herpes, gonorrhea, HIV. If your favorite infectious disease is not on this list, don’t worry. The disease may vary, but the legal principles remain the same.

You’ve got WHAT?

As the previous paragraph suggests, one need look no further than plain old negligence for an entrée to the courts — the same legal principle that forms the basis of actions arising out of automobile accidents and slip and fall cases.

..."

[ChoppinBroccoli]

31. Thank You, Jenny McCarthy

Thank you SO much for bringing diseases previously obliterated back into our lives. I absolutely LOVE the fact that, unlike previous generations, I now have to worry about my children getting freakin' POLIO and WHOOPING COUGH!!! And the fact that you are almost solely responsible for this makes you criminally complicit (or at least criminally negligent). Think of all the people who will die of preventable diseases because of YOUR crusade. Then compare that number to the number of people killed by folks like, oh I don't know, say, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Saddam Hussein, take your pick, really. YOU'RE on THEIR same level. Sweet dreams. I hope you can sleep at night.

However, I don't have to worry all THAT much. See, I'm a RESPONSIBLE parent, and I had my children immunized. You see, not only do I realize that I'm not a doctor, I don't even pretend to know anything about medicine, and for that reason, I consult with people who spent a DECADE learning these things I don't know, and several more years practicing them. Even if I didn't believe in medical science over knee-jerk reactionary-ism (is that a word?), I would have had my children immunized just to spite YOU personally. And guess what? NONE of my children has Autism, and NONE of my children has to worry about dying of the freakin' PLAGUE, or whatever malady people died of in the DARK AGES because they didn't have the knowledge necessary to prevent it. And I've got news for you too, Jenny: none of YOUR children has Autism because of vaccinations either. If I were you, I'd blame the silicon in my tits before I blamed the vaccinations.

You have no idea how little regard I have for Jenny McCarthy. This post doesn't even scratch at the surface.

[Odin2005]

32. +1,000,000,000,000,000,000

[Maru Kitteh]

41. A child with autism shattered her vanity of perfection.

Celebrities and other extremely narcissistic types can't fathom the idea that a child of theirs could possibly have any kind of challenges that would be organic in origin.

These people believed that kids with disabilities or challenges were something that "happened" to other people. The poor people. The unfortunate people. Not perfect people like them. How could THEY have an imperfect child since they themselves are so perfect? It's too potentially shattering to their schema - and so they refuse it completely, against all evidence.

For most, this denial is at least relatively private, confined to a circle of family and friends or perhaps some venting on the internet or small publications.

McCarthy's crusade has nothing to do with caring for her child or any other. It's a crusade against the tiniest suggestion that she may not be entirely perfect.