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Lack of Vaccination Sends Babies In Oregon To the Hospital

First time accepted submitter dmr001 writes "In its fortnightly Communicable Disease newsletter (PDF), Oregon Public Health officials note increasing cases of pertussis (whooping cough) in infants, with 146 hospitalizations noted in the 2 year period ending March 2011, and at least 4 deaths since 2003. Most cases are attributed to lack of vaccination, with 86% of those due to parents declining the vaccine. 'Most of our cases are occurring in under- or unvaccinated children, so getting these kids vaccinated seems to the most obvious approach to reducing illness. In principle... pertussis could be eradicated; but we have a long way to go.'"

1,007 comments

  1. Autism by FadedTimes · · Score: 5, Funny

    but I don't want my kids to get Autism. So I will risk a deadly disease instead. /trolling

    1. Re:Autism by nam37 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Unfortunately, if you asked "WHY???" to the soccer moms involved that's likely what you'd hear.

      --
      The two rules for success are:
      1) Never tell them everything you know.
    2. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To be fair, if vaccines caused autism, I would probably opt out of most vaccines, because most kids don't die of whooping cough or scarlet fever, but autism is forever. It might be rational, depending on the prevalence and severity of the disease, to decline a vaccination.

      But, vaccines don't cause autism, and we know that absolutely 100% for a fact. We don't even have to do fancy science to prove it (although we have done that fancy science), because we can simply look at autism rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated kids. If there is no correlation between vaccines and autism, then that precludes the possibility of causation; and there is no correlation, therefore there is no causation.

      Vaccinate your children. If you don't, you are a douchebag.

    3. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 0

      but 14% had been vaccinated, so risking autism, whether real or not, is no guarantee to not get whooping cough.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    4. Re:Autism by Davoid · · Score: 1

      You forgot the soccer dads. I doubt the moms have the only say in their kids healthcare.

      --
      "Don't sweat the technique."
    5. Re:Autism by Rich0 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah, good luck with that...

    6. Re:Autism by Kenja · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Assuming the claims of the Playboy centerfold are true, the death rate from whooping cough is around 0.5% which is much higher then the rate of autism. In other words, even if there was a correlation between vacines and autism, the vacines are still safer.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    7. Re:Autism by Electricity+Likes+Me · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually the OP notes that 86% "opted out" of vaccination. That remaining 14% is going to include children who can't be vaccinated, or for whom the vaccine doesn't work (i.e. does not convey immunity, for whatever reason).

      Both those two groups get no real choice in their vulnerability, but they are affected by the 86% who are being parented by idiots.

    8. Re:Autism by Thanshin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      risking autism

      If you're going to just ignore causality, you might as well be original and not vaccinate your kids to avoid the risk of unicorn abduction.

    9. Re:Autism by Atzanteol · · Score: 2

      Of course not. And no honest doctor or scientist ever claims vaccines work 100%. But they are *very* effective and your protection goes up dramatically if those around you are vaccinated (so even if it doesn't work for you there are few people around you for you to be infected from). This is all well known and understood by everyone with a medical degree. People who learned science as a pin-up girl and Playboy Bunny seem to have missed this class...

      --
      "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

      - Charles Darwin
    10. Re:Autism by 19thNervousBreakdown · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If vaccines caused autism, most people would probably opt out of most vaccines, and the relative risk from disease would skyrocket.

      --
      <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
    11. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't believe that your 14% is accurate. They said 86% were because of parents DECLINING the vaccine. We don't know from these reported facts how many children were unvaccinated due to factors other than the parents declining (for example low income and no access, allergy, etc.).

    12. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, read TFA: Those 14% were not vaccinated, but for reasons other than the parents declining the vaccine.

    13. Re:Autism by pheede · · Score: 5, Informative

      Read up on herd immunity. A large part of the effectiveness of vaccines is that beyond the individual protection they confer on most recipients, they also protect the unvaccinated and the ones that the vaccine wasn't effective for if the overall rate of vaccination is high enough.

      That's why the people who choose not to vaccinate their kids are also increasing the risk for the kids that did get the vaccine but for whom it wasn't effective for some reason, the kids that haven't been vaccinated yet because they're too young, and the kids that for some reason - e.g. compromised immune system - can't get the vaccine at all.

    14. Re:Autism by jschmitz · · Score: 4, Informative

      You are 100% correct - the guy that did that study (autism linked to vaccinations) has been totally discredited - I guess some people didn't get the memo - but yea its really disturbing that some idiot parent that doesn't vaccinate their child put's my child at risk - its totally not cool

    15. Re:Autism by kidgenius · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Are you a parent and married? Usually, "mom knows best" and gets her way when it comes to the kids. You can try to fight it, but it'll be a losing battle.

    16. Re:Autism by jaca44 · · Score: 1
    17. Re:Autism by LateArthurDent · · Score: 2

      but 14% had been vaccinated, so risking autism, whether real or not, is no guarantee to not get whooping cough.

      If everyone else had been vaccinated as well, those 14% may not have caught the disease: Herd immunity

    18. Re:Autism by ewieling · · Score: 2

      If you don't, you are a douchebag and (in my opinion) criminally negligent. Just like if you did not use a car seat or seatbelts for your child, or let them play unsupervised near a road.

      --
      I really shouldn't have used someone else's email address for this account.
    19. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 0

      the article stated some people can't get vaccinations for medical reasons. as for herd immunity, more gun ownership equals less burglaries (burglary rate is CRAZY in UK where there are way fewer guns), so maybe we should force everyone to have a gun! What? It's not the government's duty to force people to protect each other at the expense of perceived harm? It's not the government's duty to tell us what to do with our bodies, either. That's the whole point of Roe V. Wade.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    20. Re:Autism by infalliable · · Score: 1, Informative

      From the actual article, "Of those who
      were completely unvaccinated, 86%
      were because the parents declined vaccination."

      The vast majority of cases are for children who are too young to be completely vaccinated though. It's (intentionally?) misleading.

    21. Re:Autism by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Sure it is, that is why you are not allowed to drive drunk.

      No, Roe V Wade is about privacy in your own healthcare. Not about doing things that impact others.

    22. Re:Autism by xero314 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Are you a parent and married? Usually, "mom knows best" and gets her way when it comes to the kids. You can try to fight it, but it'll be a losing battle.

      As a Parent I have but one word to say: Bullshit.

    23. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 0

      Uh no, we're not allowed to drive drunk because driving is a privilege, not a right. at the same time, we have the right not to be forced to submit to medical procedures we don't agree with. The equivocation you made is either dishonest or myopic.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    24. Re:Autism by HCase · · Score: 5, Informative

      Mod parent up.

      People forget that not everyone can be immunized. The people who can't be immunized rely on herd immunity to prevent a disease from spreading to the point that it is dangerous. When you get large number of people opting out of immunization, the herd immunity becomes too weak to prevent a disease from taking hold and spreading. Once it starts spreading, the likelihood for a non-immunized person to catch it can shoot up dramatically.

    25. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      But they can't be, because it will never be 100%. Some for medical reasons, and some people like me, who grew up when nobody was vaccinated for that.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    26. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah. Andrew Wakefield. He might currently be the world's most discredited scientist. For profit motive, he has made children sick and die -- hundreds, maybe thousands of them. In fact, for sickness, certainly thousands, maybe tens or hundreds of thousands.

    27. Re:Autism by Smidge204 · · Score: 1

      86% of cases were due to parents declining all vaccination. Some portion of the remaining 14% were attributable to incomplete vaccinations (didn't get the recommended booster shots). The portion varies with age group.

      It's nowhere near as simple as "14% of those vaccinated get it anyway." Infections per 100,000 are given in the PDF report.
      =Smidge=

    28. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Yes, but when the dads do get their say, the kids get their vaccines.

    29. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I won't play a game where you pretend that science doesn't prove things. Sorry, I just don' have time to do that today. If you can't use a search engine, I can't be bothered to show you how.

    30. Re:Autism by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1

      Burglary rates aren't especially high in the UK. The murder rate in the US is insanely high, though.

    31. Re:Autism by atheos · · Score: 5, Insightful

      they got the memo, and they simply moved it into the "conspiracy" category. There is NO reasoning when it comes to these people.

    32. Re:Autism by matrim99 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Different people can have different relationships? Because that would be the only way to explain this disagreement.

      Tomorrow's lesson is called "Not everybody is like me."

      --
      Right. No, your other right. No, the other other right.
    33. Re:Autism by Thuktun · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Autism is also not communicable. Diseases we vaccinate against are.

    34. Re:Autism by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1

      I hit post instead of preview, damn. The other point is that I live in the UK and I am currently breaking the law by *not* owning a gun. A few minute's work with Google should explain all...

    35. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's a sliding scale, but I agree, in my opinion failure to vaccinate is criminal-level negligence. The legal question is, can a reasonable person decide not to vaccinate, and in my opinion the answer is no; only unreasonable people can do that.

    36. Re:Autism by Qwertie · · Score: 2

      Nope, that's an elementary probability mistake. The rate of autism applies to everyone while the rate of death from whooping cough only applies to the people who contract whooping cough, which is probably a small fraction of those who are vaccinated (partly because most people are vaccinated). You have to multiply P(dying from WC) times P(getting WP) before you can compare with the autism rate.

    37. Re:Autism by berashith · · Score: 5, Informative

      you forgot to add in the massively increased chances of getting the disease when herd immunity is removed. The increase would not be insignificant.

    38. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you don't, you are a douchebag and (in my opinion) criminally negligent. Just like if you did not use a car seat or seatbelts for your child, or let them play unsupervised near a road.

      +1. I'd go even further and say that :
      government should make vaccination for small kids mandatory and to hell with what the parents want or don't want.
      Sometimes the common good trumps egoistic choices.

      Is vaccination 100% risk free ? No, but then no medication really is.

    39. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 0

      Does vaccination predispose a person to faulty logic or exceptional proclivity for ad hominem?

      Maybe. I don't have any studies showing zero correlation between vaccination and predisposition to faulty logic, so I can't say for sure that it isn't the case. But, it wouldn't really fit with everything else we know to be true about the universe.

      In the end I guess I just have to disagree. I don't think it's an untenable leap of logic to go from fact to opinion thusly:

      Fact: vaccines are the second most important public health technology in the history of mankind (number on is sanitation). While they do have very rare and known negative side effects, those effects are vastly dwarfed by the prevention of disease, and specifically vaccines do not cause autism.

      Opinion: only a douchebag would decide not to vaccinate their child, whether it be because of an irrational and ignorant fear of autism, or some other silly nonsense like a religious objection.

      If you disagree with the opinion, I can respect that. I will give you extra credit for making an ad hominem attack in the same sentence in which you deride ad hominem attacks, though. I assume you did that on purpose, and I think it shows a little bit of cleverness.

    40. Re:Autism by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 1
      You are more than welcome to not vaccinate your kids, just don't let your disease carrying rats near my kids. When it comes to the health and safety of my children I'll use ad hominem attacks and faulty logic to keep them safe.

      The logic is as follows:
      1. Douche-bags are more concerned with their own silly ideals than their kids health and safety,
      2. Only people more concerned with their own silly ideals don't vaccinate their kids,
      3. Therefore only Douche-bags don't vaccinate their kids.
      --
      I got here through a series of tubes
    41. Re:Autism by Thanshin · · Score: 4, Funny

      100% for a fact, eh? please cite all the studies proving without a doubt that vaccines don't cause autism.

      There you go

    42. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      so maybe we should force everyone to have a gun

      Eh, it is working for Switzerland. They have more murders with knives than with guns, despite having the highest gun per capita rate after the US, Serbia, and Yemen and a higher rate of gun owning males than the US, due to mandatory military service.

    43. Re:Autism by dkuntz · · Score: 1

      I was always vaccinated as a kid, and I was abducted by a band of roving unicorns... so thats 100% factual! It can happen, folks.. please, prevent unicorn abduction!

      --
      OMG... I have a sig?
    44. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you a parent and married? Usually, "mom knows best" and gets her way when it comes to the kids. You can try to fight it, but it'll be a losing battle.

      As a Parent I have but one word to say: Bullshit.

      Are you a parent *and* married?

    45. Re:Autism by nine-times · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Also-- and this can't be stressed enough-- autism is not contagious. If vaccines did cause autism (which they do not), getting a vaccine would only put your child at risk. Not getting vaccines puts other people's children at risk too. Your kid might not die from whooping cough, but the fact that your kid gets sick means that he's exposing other children to the disease, and they might die.

    46. Re:Autism by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And thus evolution proceeds on its merry way. Unfortunate that the parents didn't kill themselves straight off and it's children that must suffer the stupidity of the parents.

      --
      Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
    47. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These parents need to have their children taken away.

    48. Re:Autism by g0bshiTe · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As a parent and husband I say no-bullshit.

      Mom has half the money and all the pussy. Sorry to be crass but them's the facts.

      If you don't want to pound your hand the rest of your life then "mom knows best".

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    49. Re:Autism by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 1

      My children would *never* abduct unicorns, you insensitive clod! Heffallumps, however, are a different story.

      --
      Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
    50. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 0
      According to a 2004 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, looking at the period from 1981 to 1999, the United States had a lower surveyed residential burglary rate in 1998 than Scotland, England, Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia. The other two countries included in the study, Sweden and Switzerland, had only slightly lower burglary rates.

      You also need to take into consideration that gun deaths are counted as "gun deaths" even if someone shoots someone in justifiable self defense, and they also count every gun suicide as a gun death. Cars kill 2X more in america in absolute numbers, and that "2X" would probably be more like "4X" or "5X" if they didn't count suicides and justifiable homicide (which are on a drastic increase in places like Detroit where the police simply do not come anymore, but one also has to remember, that the police have no duty to come when you call 911. Legal precedent has been set - YOu can call them saying you're being murdered, and if they simply decide not to come, it's no liability off their back. Precedent already set.).

      Someone wanting to kill someone (1st degree) will be able to plan a weapon regardless of what is available. Gun really only makes a diff in 2nd degree cases, and probably saves more lives than they kill according to a democrat-sponsored justice department study run by the Clinton administration (which was hoping for opposite results, and shelved the study when it found 1.5 million crimes were thwarted by guns every year).

      I advise you to google around some.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    51. Re:Autism by Qwertie · · Score: 1

      Despite your probability error, come to think of it you have a better case if you consider not just WC but all the various diseases against which parents are not vaccinating for fear of autism. The combined risk of death from all of those unvaccinated illnesses may be similar to the rate of autism.

      But what really matters, of course, is not the rate of autism in the general population, but rather how much the risk of autism drops by not having vaccinations. We know this is roughly 0.0%, but even if you believed in this link, the "safety" gained by not vaccinating must surely be less than the total rate of autism (which is 0.1-0.2% according to Wikipedia and 0.6% for Autism Spectrum Disorder).

    52. Re:Autism by clarkn0va · · Score: 1

      I will give you extra credit for making an ad hominem attack in the same sentence in which you deride ad hominem attacks, though. I assume you did that on purpose, and I think it shows a little bit of cleverness.

      I was vaccinated, so I'm calling you Exhibit B, and myself Exhibit A.

      --
      I am literally 3000 tokens away from the chaotic crossbow --Stephen
    53. Re:Autism by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

      +1, I was going to mention herd immunity.

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    54. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Not everybody is like me" .... and those that aren't are radical extremists with views incompatible with American values as defined by our Founding Fathers in the Constitution !! /trolling

    55. Re:Autism by element-o.p. · · Score: 0

      If your child is vaccinated, then the risk to your child is so low as to be nil. That's what the vaccine is for, right?

      --
      MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
    56. Re:Autism by g0bshiTe · · Score: 0

      This assumes every kid or at least 1 kid your kid comes in contact with is also not immunized.

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    57. Re:Autism by Col.+Klink+(retired) · · Score: 1

      What? It's not the government's duty to force people to protect each other at the expense of perceived harm?

      Yes, there is no way that the government could ever compel someone to risk their lives to save others.

      Also, some towns do have mandatory gun laws. The fact that most don't is not because "it's not the government's duty" but simply because the government did not choose to make it a requirement. The fact that the government has not taken some action so far does not mean that it is forever prohibited from said action.

      How would this be any different from any of the other Good Samaritan laws?

      --

      -- Don't Tase me, bro!

    58. Re:Autism by g0bshiTe · · Score: 0

      How is your child at risk if you've vaccinated them?

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    59. Re:Autism by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      As was your analysis of Roe V Wade.

      You have the right not to be to submit to medical procedures you don't agree with, you should also have the responsibility of paying for your actions. If I was a crazy person and did not take my medicine then harmed someone I would still be responsible for my actions.

    60. Re:Autism by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Andrew Wakefield needs to be shot is what needs to happen. Many serial killers could only dream of the body count this greedy monster is piling up.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    61. Re:Autism by nine-times · · Score: 5, Informative

      Nope, because immunizations aren't perfect. They *greatly* reduce the likelihood and severity of infection which stops contagious diseases from spreading, but it's not impossible for an immunized child to become infected and die. When you don't immunize your child, you are not just gambling with your child's life. You're gambling with the lives of the people your child comes in contact with.

    62. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 0

      By your own definition, you would actually be innocent by reason of insanity.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    63. Re:Autism by Jason+Levine · · Score: 2

      Sadly, a lot of anti-vax people will actually claim that Pertussis isn't a deadly disease. One of the big anti-vax folks in Australia once said "Nobody's ever died of Whooping Cough." (This, after a four-week old baby died of it. The anti-vax lady claimed the baby must have been something else.) If they don't claim this, then they'll claim that vaccines really don't fight diseases and all you really need to do is wash your hands more/take more vitamins/avoid "toxins"/take some homeopathic pills/etc. (The first is good advice in general but won't help you if you get Pertussis.) The more their "vaccines bad" theories get disproven, the more they move their goal posts as to why vaccines are bad (and if you don't disprove their current theory, then it's obviously true).

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    64. Re:Autism by Ironhandx · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Thats only because Dad gives in.

      My wife loves me, and we've talked about having kids a fair bit. At first we were discussing things and then I started hearing her opinions on modern medicine etc.

      All I had to do was explain to her, with the scientific evidence included, why she was wrong, and then, since as any man knows that isn't going to actually work, flat out make her choose between her backwards ideals and me. I wasn't an asshole about it, but I calmly explained that I wanted children, and if we weren't going to do what is best for their happiness and survival then the relationship was going to end at some point in the future unless she changed her mind.

      She picked me. If she hadn't, I've have been sad for awhile, but knowing that I wouldn't have to lose a child to Hepatitis or something years from now would have more than made up for it.

      More men need to start standing their ground on this stuff. A lot of men back down for fear of losing their loved one or

      This is the age of science, and men tend to think more with their heads and less with their hearts. Now is the time where "Mom knows best" isn't always the best option.

      When it comes to apple pies, talking the kid through their first relationship issues, things like that, Mom definitely still knows best. For most everyday things, Mom is the answer. Most of our lives revolve around social interaction of one type or another, which women, on average, excel at in comparison to men.

      However in the age of our advanced state of medical knowledge, and informed, rational decision is what is needed. If Mom is going to do that, then you're in the clear. If Mom is not going to do that, then its time to grow a pair of balls and step in.

      Now, before anyone screams, yes there are a lot of generalizations in there. These are true, on the AVERAGE. If you're a woman in one of those relatively-speaking "rare" situations where the shoe is on the other foot, then you need to do the same thing.

    65. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 0

      You're using a law not currently on the books, which caused people to either leave the country in droves, or lose a bullshit war (much like the current ones), as an example of how things should be done in a free country? Great job, buddy.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    66. Re:Autism by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Please prove 100% you didn't rape and kill a young woman some time in the last six months.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    67. Re:Autism by preaction · · Score: 2

      But this vaccine protects against bear mauling. I'm almost 30 and I've never been mauled by bears!

    68. Re:Autism by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

      Yup, we're already seeing instances when herd immunity is being compromised. Not only is Wakefield a murderer, but every one of those fucking retards who bought his line of crap could become one too.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    69. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 0

      We also compelled slaves to risk their lives working in the fields to benefit us! Therefore the concept is fine!

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    70. Re:Autism by ikedasquid · · Score: 2

      Thanks for bringing up this point, it's something that is often overlooked. I think in some cases the rate at which the vaccine doesn't work can be >10% (often it has to do with how the vaccine is administered and less to do with it no working on a chemical/biological level - but it doesn't matter for my point).

      So there is effectively some significant number of kids that are un-vaccinated, but not by choice. The only way to prevent THEM from getting the illness is to ensure that as many other kids as possible are vaccinated to minimize exposure and reduce the chance of spreading.

      To put it in other terms, there is a real possibility that the only reason you haven't gotten some debilitating (yet preventable through vaccines) disease isn't because you were vaccinated as a child, but instead because you've actually never really been exposed to it because everyone else is vaccinated.

      So even for the parents of the vaccinated kids, it's important to encourage all the other parents to vaccinate, because there is some real chance your kid isn't as fully covered as you think!

    71. Re:Autism by eulernet · · Score: 1

      I think that your reasoning is wrong. You try to reason logically, when belief and irrational fears are involved.

      Claiming that people are unreasonable simply because you don't have their fear is a bit tough.
      I think that you don't understand what happens here.
      Let's suppose that you fear serpents. If I don't fear serpents and I show you one, it would be stupid from me to say that you are unreasonable, it won't cure your fear.

      Changing people's beliefs is a difficult task, and using reason simply doesn't work.
      Instead, you use emotional manipulation, like the fear of losing your children, it's a better motivator than logic here.

      BTW, I have tons of beliefs, although I'm a rational guy. One of my beliefs is that autism is linked to gluten, and I experienced that gluten is bad for me.
      You may say: hey, there is no correlation between gluten and autism, and you may be right, but you may also be wrong.

      In any case, the chances that vaccines and autism are linked are close to 0%.

    72. Re:Autism by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I personally think control and blame are two of the major unspoken reasons that the vaccine explanation was more readily accepted by parents. If the cause was genetics, that would be outside of their ability to control. Withholding vaccines are within their control. If vaccines were the culprit then parents could blame doctors, the medical establishment, and vaccine companies instead of blaming themselves (If the problem was hereditary, parents shouldn't blame themselves but most will feel guilt anyways.). The current speculation is de novo genetic mutations (mutations near or soon after conception) is the mechanism for autism and hopefully will give parents some relief that it wasn't their fault.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    73. Re:Autism by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      Well, I'd only add one caveat to this: A reasonable person can decide not to vaccinate if there is a valid medical reason. For example, if a child has an immune system disorder or an allergy that would make getting the vaccine a health-risk. In those cases, those kids must rely on herd immunity to protect them.

      Barring valid medical reasons, though, not vaccinating puts not only your child at risk, but the elderly (who didn't have the vaccines when they were young), the very young (too young to get the vaccines) and the medically exempted (allergies, etc). Yes, I know that some religions say don't vaccinate, but most major religions value life and a simple act one can take that saves many lives should be viewed (religiously-speaking) as a very good thing.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    74. Re:Autism by geekoid · · Score: 2

      "I'll use ad hominem attacks and faulty logic to keep them safe. "
      if you boil it down to that, then how do you know you are keeping them safe? You don't. You need science and numbers to know that.

      You have the same irrational attitude as people who are anti-vaccines.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    75. Re:Autism by RicoX9 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      If you live in the US, or a good number of other 1st world countries (Canada, Australia come to mind) - men have say in things to do with home and children only as far as a woman permits it. If she decides she's tired of you, divorce and family court will make sure you are never permitted to invade her prerogative again. All while funding her new single lifestyle with your former home and half your income. And be thankful if she doesn't decide you were "abusive" and have a restraining order sworn out against you so you can't get near your kids anymore. It happens a lot more often than you'd think, to men who did nothing but try to be loving, supporting husbands and fathers.

    76. Re:Autism by Exoman · · Score: 1

      You must be an anti-free-markets Communist or Socialist? Which is it? -Alan West

    77. Re:Autism by Lithdren · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Of course it will never be 100%. NOTHING is ever 100%, medically or otherwise, short of math (and even then..)

      By your argument, nobody should wear seatbelts and helmets because they dont stop all deaths and injuries. Thats absurd and misleading.

      If these idiots had gotten their children vaccinated when eligable, the people who dont have a choice on not getting vaccinated have a GREATLY INCREAED CHANCE OF NOT GETTING SICK if everyone else does what they're supposed to. Sorry, this isn't Disneyland, people get sick sometimes no matter what you do. Doesn't mean we should all roll around in the mud and jab one another with dirty needles either.

      Maybe you have bad karma because you're clearly a tool.

    78. Re:Autism by geekoid · · Score: 1

      "more gun ownership equals less burglaries"
      false.

      Not getting vaccinated puts everyone ELSE at risk. If you don't want your children vaccinated, don't have children.
      Or go live in some 3rd world hell hole.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    79. Re:Autism by element-o.p. · · Score: 1

      If your children are already vaccinated, what disease are you afraid they will catch? It appears that the parents afraid of autism do not have a monopoly on faulty logic.

      --
      MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
    80. Re:Autism by Zenin · · Score: 0

      Sure they can. But on the whole humans are going to act like humans. Male humans are going to act like male humans. Female humans are going to act like female humans. And male humans are going to interact with female humans like male humans tend to interact with female humans.

      On the whole of course. There are always exceptions. But generally speaking a male human is rather more likely to act like a male human then a female squid. Biology, formed by evolution, really is responsible the fast majority of our behavior, including everything people like to believe is their own individual cognitive thinking.

      Perhaps ironically, the more someone believes they are actually in real, cognitive control of their own thinking (you know, the "independent thinkers") the more their raw, subconscious instincts control them. This is because their willful, arrogant ignorance of their own mental processes means they will never question their own thinking. They will never question where a thought comes from.

      These are also the people who are most easily influenced (by media, by memes, by their peer groups, by everything) since they automatically credit themselves with any ideas implanted into their brain by other sources. Now they have ownership of the idea...they have a personal, emotional connection with the idea that they like to drink Coke, or whatever. They like Coke because they like Coke, none of the marking Coke does has ever had the slightest bit of influence on their thinking.

      --
      My /. uid is better then your /. uid
    81. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then you shouldn't have gotten married in the first place.

    82. Re:Autism by geekoid · · Score: 1

      " we have the right not to be forced to submit to medical procedures we don't agree with."
      But you don't have the tight to put children in harms way.
      Just like you don't have the right to watch your child die on your couch when they could get medical care.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    83. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Current rate of Autism is 1 in 88 for US (right below Canada ;)

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_autism#Canada

      That's 2.3x more than whooping cough death rate.

      IMHO, Autism is not caused by any vaccine. It is caused by something that became ubiquitous in our environment in the last 50 years. Think plastics. Think changes to food. Think our environment.

      Some are talking about genetics. Genetics don't change within 1 generation unless you want to throw out the entire theory of evolution. This is more like specific genes causing Autism are activated instead of staying dormant.

    84. Re:Autism by DrgnDancer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Also all the other potentially fatal diseases that almost no one gets anymore because of vaccines. It's not really an exaggeration to say that in the days before vaccines, nearly everyone got at least one potentially fatal disease in childhood. Only a small fraction of those actually were fatal of course, but nearly everyone got something that could kill them at some point in early childhood. Of those that weren't killed, maiming was far more common than it is now. Autism may be forever, but so is hearing/sight loss from extreme fevers (surely everyone remembers Helen Keller) or partial/total leg paralysis from Polio. Ever read about someone being "pock-marked" in historical fiction or fantasy? It refers to the horrifying scarring that accompanies the survival of small pox. Makes the worst acne scars you've ever seen seem like some unpleasant bumps.

      Even if every single case of autism on record could be directly attributed to vaccine side effects, it would still make sense to continue most of our current vaccination schedule. You could maybe drop a few of the more "optional" ones like chicken pox if that were the case (and it's not). Between diseases based fatalities, and the crippling effects even on some survivors of these diseases it makes zero sense to stop doing them.

      --
      I don't need a million points of light, just two points of multi-mode fiber and a 10 Gig-E router.
    85. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want to read more about the Playboy centerfold. Please direct me to the reference.

    86. Re:Autism by onkelonkel · · Score: 1

      I will allow that there may be valid reasons (fear of autism not being one of them) for a parent to not vaccinate their child. However, I don't want that child at my child's school, on the same sports team as my child, or anywhere else they could potentially put my child at risk.

      --
      None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
    87. Re:Autism by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Then you should get you vaccination, you are a risk to others.

      In fact, adults who got the vaccines should go get a booster.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    88. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      246 cases. Isn't this an example of herd immunity being removed?

    89. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Parent poster did this the right way. I did it the wrong way:

      Start by not having balls. Put up with wife's withholding sex for leverage for 20 years, have 4 kids with no vaccinations.

      Grow balls, file for divorce, go to court to get kids vaccinated.

      You really should do this the way the parent poster said, not the way I said. My way is hard, painful, and very expensive.

      /ashamed

    90. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      No, by my argument, nobody should be compelled to wear seatbelts simply using the reasoning that it makes another driver in another car safer.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    91. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Re: vaccines don't cause autism, and we know that absolutely 100% for a fact.: That's nonsense.

      Read this. It's written by someone who knows much more about this than you:

      The danger of excessive vaccination during brain development:
      the case for a link to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
      Russell L. Blaylock, MD

      Also, nations requiring the most vaccines tend to have the worst infant mortality rates:

      http://het.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/05/04/0960327111407644

      Infant mortality rates regressed against number of vaccine doses routinely given: Is there a biochemical or synergistic toxicity?

              Neil Z Miller neilzmiller@gmail.com
                      Independent researcher, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

              Gary S Goldman
                      Independent computer scientist, Pearblossom, California, USA

      Abstract

      The infant mortality rate (IMR) is one of the most important indicators of the socio-economic well-being and public health conditions of a country. The US childhood immunization schedule specifies 26 vaccine doses for infants aged less than 1 year—the most in the world—yet 33 nations have lower IMRs. Using linear regression, the immunization schedules of these 34 nations were examined and a correlation coefficient of r = 0.70 (p 0.0001) was found between IMRs and the number of vaccine doses routinely given to infants. Nations were also grouped into five different vaccine dose ranges: 12–14, 15–17, 18–20, 21–23, and 24–26. The mean IMRs of all nations within each group were then calculated. Linear regression analysis of unweighted mean IMRs showed a high statistically significant correlation between increasing number of vaccine doses and increasing infant mortality rates, with r = 0.992 (p = 0.0009). Using the Tukey-Kramer test, statistically significant differences in mean IMRs were found between nations giving 12–14 vaccine doses and those giving 21–23, and 24–26 doses. A closer inspection of correlations between vaccine doses, biochemical or synergistic toxicity, and IMRs is essential.

    92. Re:Autism by Seraphim1982 · · Score: 1

      Vaccinations aren't 100% effective. Eliminating the herd immunity effect raises the risks for everyone.

    93. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No vaccine is 100% effective. Let's pretend that the vaccine in question has a 1% 'failure rate' (it doesn't result in a sufficiently strong immune response to render the treated individual immune to that 'bug'). If you vaccinate 100% of the population, then only a small fraction (1%) can actually catch the 'bug'. The fact that the other 99% of the population is immune greatly reduces the odds of that 'bug' being caught by *anyone*, much less a significant portion of that 1%.

      Now, let's pretend the same vaccine is only administered to 75% of the population. Now, instead of having 1% who aren't immune, you've got (roughly) 26% who aren't immune. Suddenly, an outbreak is possible (even likely) because so many more people can catch and transmit the 'bug'. Worse, you've got a segment of the remaining 74% who would *normally* be protected from the virus by the immunization, but whose immune system isn't strong enough to fend off a sustained 'attack'. Now they're vulnerable, too.

      And, *THAT*, boys and girls, is why vaccinations are important.

    94. Re:Autism by Seraphim1982 · · Score: 1

      He wouldn't have been insane when he chose to not take his meds.

    95. Re:Autism by Col.+Klink+(retired) · · Score: 1

      You're using a law not currently on the books,

      Really?

      which caused people to either leave the country in droves, or lose a bullshit war (much like the current ones),

      The draft was also used in WW II. In fact, the country was founded with conscription.

      Of course, your original point was that it was somehow "not the duty" of the government to compel behavior "expense of perceived harm." This notion of "perceived" harm is crazy enough, but I just wanted to point out that governments can clearly compel citizens to pay the ultimate price.

      Whether or not the government chooses to use one of its tools is a matter of policy, but there's no question that the government has the right to compel behavior that will serve the common good. Or are you saying that the Constitution does not allow the government to "provide for the common defence [sic]" or "promote the general Welfare"?

      --

      -- Don't Tase me, bro!

    96. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you are worried about Autism then make sure you are at a healthy weight before having a kid.

      http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/09/moms-weight-or-diabetic-condition-may-be-a-factor-in-autism/

    97. Re:Autism by StikyPad · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, mom has one 3.5-billionth of the pussy.

    98. Re:Autism by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 1

      Vaccination does not guarantee immunity, but it does strengthen it. The only guarantee I have to make sure my kids don't get sick is to keep them away from the disease which is mostly carried by unvaccinated kids. Exactly where is the logical flaw in that?

      --
      I got here through a series of tubes
    99. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Seriously? You would choose early death by a stupidly, retardedly preventable and quite deadly disease over autism? Especially when an even smaller amount of people have "supposedly" gotten autism from a vaccine than have died from these illnesses?

      (Yes, I know you said you would vaccinate and don't believe autism is caused by vaccines. I'm commenting on your first paragraph.)

    100. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As a husband, you should leave your mom out of it. Lest it become awkward.

    101. Re:Autism by DurendalMac · · Score: 2

      The thing is, there's no denying that genetics is, at the very least, a major component of autism. Just look at autism rates in children from autistic parents. I remember reading that companies like Microsoft (and other tech giants as you'll certainly find higher autism rates among programmers, mathematicians, etc) were actually adding treatment, therapy, etc for autistic children to their medical benefits.

    102. Re:Autism by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 1

      I choose to be irrational on the side that keeps my kids from getting the pertussis and dying a horrible painful death of a perfectly preventable cause.

      --
      I got here through a series of tubes
    103. Re:Autism by 93,000 · · Score: 1

      No, you're one of the lucky ones. Vaccination actually CAUSES bear maulings. I have a list of everyone who has been mauled by a bear in the last 20 years. ALL OF THEM HAD BEEN VACCINATED. What more do you need, people?

      *Of course I jest. But would love to actually have this list and the corresponding vaccination data.

    104. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Even more unfortunately is it's not just the children of these retards that suffer. Immunizations aren't perfect, and there is a group of people for which it doesn't take. There is another group of people who can't get vaccinated due to weakened immune systems. These groups are highly at risk due to the actions of the retards, as well.

    105. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "But, vaccines don't cause autism, and we know that absolutely 100% for a fact."

      Is it possible to absolutely know something with knowing everything?

    106. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Vaccines aren't 100% effective, and not everyone can get vaccinated, due to having weakened immune systems. You being an asshole has just increased the risks for those two groups as well.

    107. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We have an autistic member of our family. While anecdotal, it was only after the vaccines that our young family member exhibited symptoms and was eventually diagnosed. Because of this, we did visit one of Andrew Wakefield's talks.

      First off, his message is to test. Test the impact of vaccines. Run long term studies that help to understand the impact of introducing viruses to young bodies still early in development. Frankly, this message did speak to me because in our situation, the state gave this child 12 vaccines in one doctor visit.

      Secondly, since he has been discredited so publicly, he spent some time speaking to that fact. His perspective that revealed a potential link between vaccines and austism came from his work with diet. Prior to losing his license, his research gained the attention of the British Government, partially because if he was correct that vaccines could cause problems the potential for law suits against the government was extremely high. This might sound like a conspiracy theory to some, which is a fair opinion. With that said, the tech minded audience of /. understands the incompetence of government when it comes to technical issues (SOPA for example), so hopefully it would make some sense that heavy lobbying by an insanely wealthy pharma industry could cause waves that could end up in a single doctor losing his license.

      Finally, his association to austism goes beyond claiming vaccines are dangerous. His point regarding vaccines is that he has seen a potential correlation and we should take steps to test that hypothesis. The majority of his research deals more with link between the gut and the brain. He has seen trends in autism cases where diet restrictions can make a huge difference in reducing symptoms. We've seen similar results in our own family.

      I find it odd that the /. community so quickly attacks those who are simply questioning the powers that be. While we all appreciate and respect science, we should also keep in mind that rarely is it unbiased financially. The vaccine business is huge. There are hundreds of billions of dollars at stake. Obviously vaccines have some strong benefits, but that doesn't mean the issues are black and white. Low income families are often not allowed to visit the doctor as regularly, the result being that the state requires the vaccines be given all in one visit. It makes sense to test that this sort of use be tested, which is really all Andrew Wakefield prescribed.

      Please don't take my word for it and come to your own conclusions. But at the same time, please do not believe that news story you read regarding these issues accurately portrays the situation. We've all been outraged by news articles that make no sense at a technical level, so it is only logical that for issues we would not be considered experts in would have the same factual flaws.

    108. Re:Autism by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      No honest doctor or scientist would make any kind of claim concerning the inherent effectiveness of vaccinations. Vaccines are a class of medical care. Each one is different, and the effectiveness of one has no bearing on the effectiveness of a different one. Thinking that anything that gets the 'Vaccine' label on it is good because 'Vaccines are very effective' is just as bad as thinking that anything that gets a 'Vaccine' label is bad because 'Vaccines cause Autism".

      Right now we have Vaccines like the one for Polio, which has been proven very effective, and even if it did cause autism, would have leave fewer permanently disabled kids that not having the vaccine. So, even if it turned out to cause autism (which I am aware it does not) you would still be better off having gotten the vaccine.

      On the other hand, we have vaccines like the Chicken Pox vaccine that is designed to protect against a fairly mild childhood disease. Has proven to be very INeffective, and is set to INCREASE the death and disability rate over pre-vaccination rates, but is a money maker across the board for everyone but the poor kid that has a small childhood risk increased by 10x for their adulthood.

    109. Re:Autism by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      No, the decision to not take meds was made while on the medicine. So what you meant to say was he would be guilty of negligent $crime.

    110. Re:Autism by clarkn0va · · Score: 1

      Yours is the second reply to my post warning people not to bring their unvaccinated kids near yours. Note that my post wasn't advocating for non-vaccination, only that the discussion is better when it's based on logic.

      So tell me something (and this is an open request, as if I have to say that), if the vaccination is effective, and assuming that you're not a douchebag, and therefore your kids are vaccinated, then how does it matter to you if your vaccinated kids hang out with unvaccinated kids? Is there something inherent in an unvaccinated child that makes them somehow dangerous to vaccinated children? Again, the logic, if there be any, is not coming through.

      --
      I am literally 3000 tokens away from the chaotic crossbow --Stephen
    111. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      That's not how this game is played. You have to prove that vaccines DO cause autism.

    112. Re:Autism by jesseck · · Score: 2

      All I had to do was explain to her, with the scientific evidence included, why she was wrong, and then, since as any man knows that isn't going to actually work, flat out make her choose between her backwards ideals and me. I wasn't an asshole about it, but I calmly explained that I wanted children, and if we weren't going to do what is best for their happiness and survival then the relationship was going to end at some point in the future unless she changed her mind. She picked me. If she hadn't, I've have been sad for awhile, but knowing that I wouldn't have to lose a child to Hepatitis or something years from now would have more than made up for it.

      Have you ever heard the (ridiculous) concept that women think men will change? You don't have kids, so she won't try to change you (yet). Your relationship may be different, but in most relationships "mom knows best", no matter the reasoning behind it. Hell, may even be up to her if you get to be on the birth certificate, even if you are married (at least in my state that's how it is). Have some kids, and see if her irrational fear returns. I'm sure she'd still pick you over her irrational fears that were debated away with science. We see that happen all the time.

    113. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      Choosing not to take your meds isn't criminal. He would have been insane when committing the crime. The legality basically boils down to: does the person know what they are doing is wrong when they do it? Not taking pills is not a crime, and not taking pills prior to commuting another crime is not a crime either: Though maybe you want legislation to that affect. (Pre-crime legislation sucks ass, though.)

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    114. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's a Memo?

    115. Re:Autism by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      To be fair, if vaccines caused autism, I would probably opt out of most vaccines, because most kids don't die of whooping cough or scarlet fever, but autism is forever.

      Wow, talk about a fitting pseudonym, that's the most myopic thing I've read all day. The *reason* these diseases are rare is because most people are vaccinated and thus not susceptible, not because the root causes are gone. Most astronaut deaths also aren't from lack of oxygen or boiling blood in a vacuum, but I'm pretty sure they're going to continue to protect themselves from those things all the same.

    116. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      Why not force us all to exercise, then? Would make a lot more of a difference. And that's the point: Diminishing returns vs personal rights. If you can't see it, I don't really want to explain it to you, I'd rather just view you as an enemy and be done with this.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    117. Re:Autism by Dishevel · · Score: 0

      What a shitty marriage you seem to have.
      I feel bad for you.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    118. Re:Autism by Archimagus · · Score: 4, Funny
    119. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      What the actual fuck are you talking about? We have many, many studies on our side that show vaccines severely DECREASING the rates of infection for many, many terrible illnesses. It was the vaccine for smallpox that made it largely non-existent in today's world. It was the vaccine for polio that made it largely non-existent in the civilized world. Damn skippy I know that by vaccinating my children I'm keeping them safe.

    120. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      If that is the case, I'm sure you would be able to point to a case where someone who was mentally insane during a crime was criminally charged for causing himself to go insane by not taking his meds, but not actually charged the crime (being guilty by insanity). If you can find such a case, I'll have to reconsider how fucked up things are that that happened, but will also have to word my future arguments differently. If you can't, then I'm right (which is my default position anyway, unless convinced otherwise. A piece of news to that effect would convince me.).

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    121. Re:Autism by StikyPad · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well that argument should work well as long as people are not selfish or irrational.

      What's that, imaginary voice in my ear? People are overwhelmingly selfish and irrational? Well shit.

    122. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 2

      You can only consider it faulty if you're an idiot who knows nothing about vaccines, and such a self-centered douche-bag that you feel your decisions only exist in a vacuum.

      1). Vaccines are not 100% effective; there are a number of people who do not develop sufficient immunity after getting it. However, because everyone else around them has, the bug has an extremely difficult time taking hold and spreading, therefore the people who don't get immunity can be considered safe. But if now, a significant number of you assholes stop vaccinating your children, then there is a large enough group of non-immune people to where the bug CAN take hold. Worse yet, the bug can mutate inside those people, and start being able to infect others who were immune.

      2). There are some people who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons. They rely on herd immunity to keep them safe. You are putting them at elevated risk for your own selfish reasons. That makes you a douche-bag.

      I'm sure you've heard this all before, though, and will choose to ignore it. Because you're self-centered like that, and believe that you could never make a wrong decision.

    123. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See the other myriad of posts mentions that vaccinations aren't 100%, but they keep the "herd" protected.

      People who don't vaccinate their kids might be more likely to have some other communicable disease. Human urine is sterile, yet you wouldn't want to be near someone who is soaked in it. Only natural to stay away from that which is unclean.

    124. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      If the rest of the herd is vaccinated, then that child poses very little risk. It's when you add a bunch of other unvaccinated kids that there is now a risk.

    125. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Parent, married. Fucking grow a pair. Have a conversation with your wife, like an adult. Employ rationality and logic, like any geek should. You eschew logic, and you're overly caught up by what is almost statistically guaranteed to be a very average piece of ass. What ae you even doing reading slashdot?

    126. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      I was mauled by a bear last week, you insensitive clod!

    127. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Yeah, fuck you. If you choose not to vaccinate your children, then you should be forced to make them live their lives in one of those plastic bubbles.

      This is NOT a point of freedom. This is you trying to justify being a douche bag.

    128. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Sorry - the doctor has been discredited and his study has been proven to be a heaping pile of shit, so no amount of anecdotal evidence will convince me that there's any link between vaccines and autism. Just admit it -- your genetics suck, and you made your kid retarded.

    129. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Children who are not vaccinated are unnecessarily susceptible to serious illnesses, they say, but also present a danger to children who have had their shots — themeasles vaccine, for instance, is only 95 percent effective — and to those children too young to receive certain vaccines.

    130. Re:Autism by onepoint · · Score: 1

      I really don't want to laugh but I am hearing mothers say " not in my house hold you wont" to your line " Even if every single case of autism on record could be directly attributed to vaccine side effects, it would still make sense to continue most of our current vaccination schedule "

      Really very sad, but with time I expect that the fight from science will be won, the problem is, will my kids be the victim of the idiots that prevented a vaccine shot.

      --
      if you see me, smile and say hello.
    131. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Isn't there a vaccine for Unicorn abduction?

      Why is the government denying us the Unicorn abduction vaccine! Won't someone think about the children!

    132. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google "herd immunity." Stop acting like an expert on shit you know nothing about.

    133. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 2

      You also need to take into consideration that gun deaths are counted as "gun deaths" even if someone shoots someone in justifiable self defense

      As it should. Because it's still, you know, SOMEONE DYING BECAUSE THEY WERE SHOT.

    134. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And once you've had the kids, and she knows that if you divorce, she wins....

      all of your power magically vanishes.
      Because you have 0 bargaining power. She has nothing to lose.

      Speaking from experience here.

    135. Re:Autism by scubamage · · Score: 1

      Richard Dawkins, is that you? :) (if it is, can I have your autograph!?!?!?!?)

    136. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      You're using a law not currently on the books

      You talking about Conscription? Because that is still very much on the books. Why the fuck do you think all males have to register with Selective Service on their 18th birthday?

    137. Re:Autism by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      We're talking about the piles of shit who simply chose NOT to vaccinate their children, because they're idiots.

    138. Re:Autism by Ironhandx · · Score: 1

      Women thinking men will change is stupid. If he's over 25, he is pretty much going to be the way he is now when he's 90.

      She still has the irrational fear I'm sure, but the conversation made her properly prioritize things. I also mentioned the fact that she was putting her own irrational fear ahead of her (future)children's health.

      As far as being up to her if I even get on the birth certificate, I have no idea what the laws around that are here. All I know is that she knows I'm gone if she does something crazy like that, and most women do not want to raise kids on their own.

      I also know that "mom knows best" in most relationships. I'm just trying to spread the message that it does NOT have to be that way, at least not all of the time.

      I see bad decisions made for this very reason every damn day and I wonder how we made it so far as a species with men as the warriors and hunters when I walk into a room of 20 and maybe 2 actually have a pair of balls still attached.

      Another part of the problem is apathy. "Mom knows best" is a convenient answer that gets Dad off the hook for whatever decisions are made. This falls into the "Dad needs to grow a set" category as well.

      Don't get me wrong, Dads letting Moms have most of the decisions is a /very/ good idea, but Dads need to step up when something important is going on and he knows that Mom is wrong. You don't have to sacrifice an entire relationship to straighten out a few things.

      My wife also believes in healing crystals and burning incense. So long as I don't hate the smell of the stuff, I don't really care. She's got a lot of other things in common with me that more than make up for the little crap like that.

      The entire point here is that Dads need to be fucking MEN. Not assholes that nit-pick on every little item, but not pussy-whipped fools either.

      If even one or two guys reads what I wrote and decides to actually DO something about what he believes is the right course of action, then I have succeeded.

    139. Re:Autism by scubamage · · Score: 1

      I'm lucky - my fiance is a teacher. If we ever have kids (though we're leaning heavily towards large dogs and a big fat stack of money), there's no way in hell we won't let them get vaccinated. All it takes is for my fiance to get caughed on by some kid with TB and she could bring it home to an unvaccinated child. Also, in her school alone they've encountered several cases of whooping cough. Sadly its idiots making the decisions and little kids paying the price.

    140. Re:Autism by Ironhandx · · Score: 1

      Thats what pre-nuptial agreements are for. Also your bargaining power magically re-appears as soon as you hire a lawyer and aggressively go after custody of your children on child abuse grounds because of her beliefs.

      This is the one situation that I've heard men have success in getting custody. If the Mother is refusing to get her kids vaccinated against very dangerous diseases, then she's actually quite screwed in the custody hearing, and with the kids, goes her ability to milk you for cash.

    141. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1
      So you don't like it when someone else's choices affect you, but are quite willing to do the same in reverse? Sounds like the point of freedom for you is "freedom if you agree with me".

      I don't even have kids, btw. Gross things, they are. And sometimes they die. But that's no reason for me, a healthy being, to have my body forcefully *ANY*thing. Drunk driving kills more children than non-vaccination, and while that is already illegal, it's clear that we should also prohibit the production and consumption of alcohol, because people have shown that allowing them to make a personal choice WILL kill some of us.

      News flash, buddy. Freedom comes at a price. If big brother forced us to exercise every morning, we'd all be heathier and live longer. But you know what? I'd bomb the nearest school if that's what society became.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    142. Re:Autism by Col.+Klink+(retired) · · Score: 1

      Why not force us all to exercise, then?

      I suppose you're against universal education too?

      Anyways, the issue is protecting the common good. The argument for compelling vaccinations is not because it protects you, but because it protects the herd. You could drop dead for all I care, but please don't take me and thousands of others out with you. (And I don't mean that as a personal attack, despite your repeated ad hominems directed at me, but as an honest expression of my belief that you should be perfectly free to kill yourself).

      This is all very weird, too, because you're not really arguing for YOUR right to refuse vaccinations, but rather for your right to prevent OTHERS (i.e. your children) from getting vaccinations. And all because of "perceived" (not real) harms. You don't mind someone forcing or preventing children from getting vaccines, you just want the right to prevent your children from getting them, despite the fact that it will cause real and measurable (not perceived) harm to everyone else's children.

      --

      -- Don't Tase me, bro!

    143. Re:Autism by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1

      It's not a law from hundreds of years ago, it's current (but not particularly enforced). Oh, you can't see this. Never mind.

    144. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      So anyone who arrives at a decision contrary to popular belief is an idiot piece of shit? This isn't something cut and dried like evolution, y'know. Not everyone automatically believes every study they read, and the freedom of that belief is a basic human right. I mean, we allow people to believe in fucking magic sky fairies for chrissake (pun intended).

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    145. Re:Autism by GodInHell · · Score: 1

      Fear has a funny and terrible effect on the human mind.

      I *know* that vaccinating my son is the right thing to do. He's seven months old now and already past his second round of vaccinations. But there is this lizard part of the brain that hears what the whackaloons say about autism and vaccines, that part of my brain goes "oh my God! An identifiable risk I can actively avoid!!" whereas the diseases seem remote, rare, unlikely to do harm.

      So here we have the division in my mind -- my logical/rational mind says the risk of autism from vaccines is, in all liklihood, zero. The risk of whooping cough is not zero. GET THE FUCKING SHOT.
      Then my illogical/emotional brain goes, PROTECT THE BABY!! AUTISM! ALSO SHOTS HURT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THIS LITTLE BABY!!!!!

      It's stupid, I know the right choice, I do the right thing -- but because of the stupid autism stories I come home feeling guilty like I've just taken a stupid risk.

      Emotions and decision making are a terrible mix -- saddly so many American's make "gut based" decisions about raising their children and treat that like a higher order of thinking.

      Being a parent is hard.

      -GiH

    146. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Vaccines are not 100% effective. Unfortunately, the only way to find out that a particular vaccination did not result in effective immunity is to contract the disease. With full vaccination (as much as is practical considering legitimate health concerns), those who cannot be vaccinated or did not receive immunity from their vaccinations are still protected because the disease does not have enough available hosts to spread to. Without full vaccination, the disease has a greater chance of spreading to those who are not immune through those who are unnecessarily unvaccinated. Thus, those who are not vaccinated are a threat to everyone around them.

    147. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Immunization often fail to give 100% immunity. However these arguable failures are usually partial successes. The immune system gains advantage from a head start in finding the right antibody, even if the head start was not sufficient to prevent infection.

    148. Re:Autism by thomasw_lrd · · Score: 1

      Low-income can't be claimed as an excuse. We have health insurance, that pays for vaccines, but we still go to the health dept to get them for free. Our doctor's office is about 45 miles from the house, while the health dept. is only 5 miles away. We save time, gas, and copays. I think we might have to pay $5 to get our vaccines from the health dept, but I think that is only because we can afford it. Otherwise, it would be free.

    149. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is such an ignorant and sexist comment I don't know where to start.

    150. Re:Autism by GodInHell · · Score: 3, Informative

      This is me with the Measles Mumps Rhebelum shots. I've had the vaccination six different times in the last ten years because I keep coming up on tests as not immunized. Just doesn't take. Every school I've gone to (three undergrads, a year abroad with two schools, and law school) has had me tested, objected to the lack of MMR vaccination, and insisted on poking me three times trying to fix that. Not gonna happen.

    151. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      So pussy is more important to you than your kids heath. That's admirable.

    152. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe those who can't be vaccinated or survive a disease without immunization should never existed.

    153. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Have a conversation with your wife... Employ rationality and logic...

      This leads me to believe you are not married, and have never had a discussion of any length with a woman.

    154. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      Changing people's beliefs is a difficult task, and using reason simply doesn't work.
      Instead, you use emotional manipulation, like the fear of losing your children, it's a better motivator than logic here.

      I strongly, strongly agree with this. If I were ever in a position that I was directly trying to change the mind of an anti-vaxxer, I would not rest my case on facts and logic, I would use emotional appeals and back them up with facts and logic.

    155. Re:Autism by tbannist · · Score: 2

      He's not questioning the powers that be, he was paid to produce "research" that questioned vaccines so that he and his partners could profit off of lawsuits based on that "research". His "research studies" included children he'd never even met, children who apparently don't exist, children he claimed had autism that don't have it, and other egregious errors indicative of fraud.

      He gets attacked because he sold his professional credibility for the chance to cash in on a lawsuit. He stood to make millions of dollars and endangered the life of countless children to line his own pockets. He is responsible for the deaths of thousands of children and it doesn't seem to affect him at all. I don't know whether he's in deep denial or a sociopath, but there is something deeply wrong with Andrew Wakefield.

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
    156. Re:Autism by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      I am looking for one now.

      I see you are not a fan of personal responsibility though.

    157. Re:Autism by jweller13 · · Score: 1

      For those folks who don't get that your joking. Vaccines do not cause autism. http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4055

    158. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      It would depend on the prevalence and severity of the disease, which I mentioned in the second sentence. It's hard to disagree with that.

    159. Re:Autism by rjstanford · · Score: 1

      I advise you to google around some.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate - US homicide rate is 4X that of the UK. Not definitive, but a reasonable point to bring to bear in this discussion, if you feel like wandering down that path.

      --
      You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
    160. Re:Autism by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      You can vaccinate yourself against unicorn abduction by getting laid.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    161. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      Personal responsibility means being responsible for yourself, not others. If you want a vaccination, you're free to do so. The flu kills more people than whooping cough too, so why aren't people who don't get the flu shot equivocated into murderers by your worldview? What I am seeing here is the "SCIENCE!" banner being held up like a religion. Anyway, lemme know when you find that case. Very interested.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    162. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All these studies based on statistic, nothing is 100%. Did you do the study yourselves? A trusted relative did? Or did you actually read how the study is conducted and decided that it is trust worthy? Do you have any question at some point why the study was being structured a certain way?

      There is a joke, 'if you torture the numbers long enough, they will tell you anything.' I refuse to take your words as truth.

    163. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More men need to take 'reasonable' stances. Santorum would say death by whooping cough was a gift from god, and then make you to take your baby home in a pickle jar.

      More men need to start standing their ground on this stuff. A lot of men back down for fear of losing their loved one or

    164. Re:Autism by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Pussy would work for most /.ers. Weak herd immunity is a problem.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    165. Re:Autism by jpapon · · Score: 1

      If there is no correlation between vaccines and autism, then that precludes the possibility of causation; and there is no correlation, therefore there is no causation.

      I agree that vaccines don't caused autism, but this statement is incorrect. If there is some unknown interaction with another chemical (say, hipster baby herbal supplements), which anti-vaccine parents give their babies (but pro-vaccine parents don't), then there could indeed be causation (Vaccine + Supplement cause autism) without evident correlation, as autism rates will be the same between both populations (since vaccinated children don't take the supplement). As you said though, that's why we do the fancy science, to eliminate such possibilities.

      --
      -- Let us endeavor so to live that when we pass even the undertaker shall be sorry. -- M. Twain
    166. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just got custody of my two kids. When it came time to enroll them in school, I had trouble tracking down there vaccination records. I ended up having to get one of them a whole bunch of vaccines at once. I thought it had been because I didn't do a good enough job tracking down records. Later the school found a note in his record from one Dr. Buttar saying the kids shouldn't be vaccinated.
      My heart almost stopped when I thought of all the diseases that he could have contracted.

      So it's not a joke. One of the Google links points to a page mentioning a North Carolina law that basically protects Quacks from the medical board. So my advice is don't go to a doctor in North Carolina you haven't know for years. After all, they can do pretty much anything they want and the medical board can do nothing about it.

    167. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can I point you to a TV show? h4rr4r isn't a lawyer but he watches shows about them.

    168. Re:Autism by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      So you are not responsible for the impact your actions have on others?

      I am not holding up anything like a religion. I just believe if I do or do not do something that is obvious to cause harm to others I should be punished. You know being responsible for my actions and their consequences, which you only want to do when they fit your narrow worldview.

    169. Re:Autism by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      They needed killing.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    170. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      I respectfully disagree. His message is not "to test the link between vaccines and autism", because the tests have been done. If he were not pushing an anti-vaccine non-scientific agenda, then he would have proposed the link, encouraged studies into the link, and then publicly and vociferously retracted the proposed link when the studies showed no link. It is that final step which would have saved his credibility, but he refused that final step.

      It was, in fact, the REST of the scientific community whose message was "to test the link between vaccines and autism". THEY were the ones who listened to the hypothesis, did the tests, and then accepted the results. Now, they are moving on to different tests, because they are the ones actually trying to find the cause of the disease, and Wakefield is not.

    171. Re:Autism by ajlisows · · Score: 1

      As much as I despise the anti-vaccine crowd, I have a problem with making vaccination a criminal issue. Once we open the door for "You will put this chemical in your/your offspring's body because the government says you must", a very frightening precedent will be set.

    172. Re:Autism by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      As a mother I have but one word to say: Bullshit

      FTFY, unless you live in Saudi Arabia. I was married for 27 years and have two now-grown daughters, most of my friends are parents with children, and with few exceptions the GP is right and only a woman would debate him about it.

      The wife always wins the argument.

    173. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1
      Interesting, I thought it was only double! Yay wikipedia!

      Of course, a life killed is incredibly easy to measure, and a life saved is almost impossible to measure. (Like hell am I telling the cops if I have to brandish my gun to get someone to leave me alone.) And of course there are other factors, I agree. :)

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    174. Re:Autism by arthurpaliden · · Score: 1

      However, it is now known that Jenny McCarthy's kid did not have autism but another ideas and is responding well to treatment. What is interesting is that she is not doing more to let people know that she was wrong. I wonder if any of these parents will sue her for wrongful death.

    175. Re:Autism by Tharsman · · Score: 1

      If vaccines caused autism, we all would be autists!

    176. Re:Autism by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      http://openjurist.org/991/f2d/669/allstate-insurance-company-v-prasad

      Shows civil responsibility.

      Which I guess could be all there exists. I would think it to be a bare minimum though. No different than getting high and then harming others.

    177. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      That's true. I considered expanding that whole thing in my first post, but decided it was an unnecessary detour, because of the vanishingly infinitesimal possibility that the exact population of children getting autism from vaccines were receiving an additional stimulus which precisely counteracted the effect; while at the same time unvaccinated children were receiving exactly the opposite stimulus in the exact right dose. If we lived only in theory, and not in the real universe, then we could spend time pursuing that possibility, but I didn't think it was necessary. Nevertheless, your statement adds to the completeness of what I said, in the context of the theory of science, which theoretically cannot ever "prove" anything.

      It is only to the extent that science is a valid basis for belief, that we reject the link between vaccines and autism.

    178. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1
      And I'm saying it's not obvious. Observing a trend is as obvious as "more children die of drunk driving accidents in states where people drink more". We don't override peoples' basic right to their body based on a fucking trend.

      Now, the flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people in the country every year. So anyone who ever doesn't get a flu shot is a filthy anti-science murderer who doesn't know the consequences of their actions, right? I'm sure you've gotten yours every year, right?

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    179. Re:Autism by pluther · · Score: 1

      When you don't immunize your child, you are not just gambling with your child's life. You're gambling with the lives of the people your child comes in contact with.

      That quote needs to be on TV ads, kisosks, and billboards across the nation.

      --
      If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
    180. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      If you include the sentence after the one you quoted, it's pretty hard to disagree with what I said. But if you still disagree, I'm willing to explain further. Don't make the mistake of mischaracterizing what I said.

    181. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      Agreed. The issue is fraught with political danger. Many issues with parenthood are. It is definitely not an easy law to make or an easy issue to decide. The arguments for and against are both very compelling.

    182. Re:Autism by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      If vaccines caused autism at any rate that made getting them anywhere near more dangerous than not getting them, you wouldn't have the option to get your kids vaccinated. You'd have to go to some third world alley to get a vaccine.

    183. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That should have been to the grandparent, no? Your parent called "bullshit" on his parent.

    184. Re:Autism by darkmeridian · · Score: 2

      Paradoxically, the antivaxxers probably don't believe in evolution either, doubly proving that though what you don't know can't hurt you, what you don't believe in can certainly kill you.

      --
      A NYC lawyer blogs. http://www.chuangblog.com/
    185. Re:Autism by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      But he did...

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    186. Re:Autism by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      It's odd that so many Americans are just fine with making it a criminal offence to abort a few cells stuck together and yet so violently opposed to making it illegal to endanger your sentient child by not getting him or her vaccinated.

    187. Re:Autism by Rolgar · · Score: 5, Interesting

      My wife is an RN (nurse) and I'm an IT guy. We've had a few disagreements on medical issues, although we're mostly on the same page now.

      My wife was of the opinion that medical professionals are right and always have a good excuse for everything they do. I was rather ambivalent. As we were approaching birth, the issue of circumcision came up. We come from an area where men are usually circumcised, presumably for health reasons although it's really more about that being what everybody else does, and everybody in both of our families has been circumcised. I had read a little on the issue, and had decided that circumcision is not necessary since we aren't doing it for religious reasons. My wife, being a medical professional had encountered a few men who had been circumcised in their 70s, and was certain it was better to circumcise 100% of infants instead of leaving them intact and circumcising the 2% who end up having it done as adults when it became necessary. I fought her hard on the issue, and she gave in. Then she decided to tell her mother, also a nurse, who fought my wife on the issue in favor of cutting even harder than than my wife fought me. In the end my wife had to tell her mom that she didn't get a vote, and she wasn't going to get me to OK it. Now, my wife is firmly in the don't cut camp.

      Concerning vaccinations, my wife leans pro and I am a little less pro, but I haven't fought on the issue because I haven't studied the issue much, and bad effects are probably not cause by getting a shot, although it might be a good idea to find out how certain injections are made.

      Concerning autism, my wife found a treatment for our first daughter's issues which may work on autistic children and adults. Anybody interested in this should research Interactive Metronome therapy. Anybody who knows somebody with autism should look into this. My wife suspects that our daughter's issues were cause by trauma from our daughter getting stuck in the birth canal, not vaccines, genetics, or other issues. I could definitely see this running in families, since circumstances surrounding birth, mother and doctor from one birth to the next could stay the same, making researchers think there is a genetic link when it's a repeatable environmental connection.

    188. Re:Autism by holmstar · · Score: 1

      So just because someone is afraid of something we should accept their position? What if a parent was profoundly afraid of vitamins and thus tried to give their children as few vitamins (as part of their diet) as possible. Wouldn't that be child abuse?

      If the fears are irrational then by definition they go against reality. We have to judge based on reality, not irrational fear.

    189. Re:Autism by Ihmhi · · Score: 1

      I'm all for vaccinations, truly. I think they're a good thing. I have them, and when I have children they will be vaccinated.

      Now, they're obviously important - along with the whole "herd immunity" thing - but I'd have a very difficult time, morally, with resolving something like, say, mandatory vaccinations. I'm kind of a big believer in the whole "you decide what goes into your body" thing, and especially when it comes to children. I don't think children should be circumcised, for instance.

      Ultimately my mind decides it's a good thing for me and the only thing a law would mandate would be me doing something I'm going to do anyway, but I still find it unsettling.

    190. Re:Autism by jschmitz · · Score: 2

      yeah I say bullshit to that too - we talk everything out and yes people do have different relationships - this is like the mailroom guy wondering why you drive a new volvo because he assumes since we "work at the same company" we must have the same salary

    191. Re:Autism by jheath314 · · Score: 1

      Sadly, the risk doesn't just hit the children of the parents who chose not to vaccinate, it also affects those children who cannot be vaccinated due to complicating factors... children who would have been protected if herd immunity had not been compromised.

      The bastards who spread with autism-vaccination lie should be in jail for complicity to murder.

      --
      Procrastination Man strikes again!
    192. Re:Autism by Cheeze+ball · · Score: 1

      /trolling & sarcasm on

      Because your lack of exercise and overweight situation while pregnant with your precious snowflake had nothing to do with them developing the autism. Nor did your crumb inbreed genes, or the fact that you waited till your 30's or 40's to have a child because your "can't promote sex by giving education" school district never taught sex-ed and just quickly and severely eggs start to go down in quality beginning in their 30s. heck by the time you 45 you have a 1 in 8 chance of having Trisomy 21 alone. (Not to include numerous other Trisomys or Autism). /trolling & sacasm off

      It's sad and ironic that considering the prevalence of overweight Americans, and just much later in life they weight to have children, these people "protecting their kids" from Autism by not vaccinating are more likely to have a child with autism just do t their life choices or poor genes.

    193. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Looser.

    194. Re:Autism by timothyf · · Score: 1

      The problem with whooping cough in particular is that the vaccine can't be administered to the very people who are most at risk if they were to contract it: newborns and infants. So, if an infant contracts it, you have a comparatively high likelihood of that child coughing and suffocating to death. The only sane way to combat this is via herd immunity through vaccination; otherwise the alternative is to severely limit exposure. Since the initial stages of the disease looks a lot like a common cold, this is harder said than done, since a carrier of the disease may not know they have it. I'm not sure that even the (as you mentioned, non-existent) chance of autism from vaccines is worth sacrificing herd immunity like that.

    195. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google "Jenny McCarthy".

    196. Re:Autism by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      Fair enough. I failed to read your post in its entirety, and I actually agree with your conclusion, but I still disagree with your hypothetical.

    197. Re:Autism by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      For many years yes. Not knowing the consequences would make you ignorant not a murderer, nor even negligent.
      I never mentioned murder, only negligence or recklessness. I never mentioned being pro or anti science. You should try relaxing a little. We override peoples rights based on trends all the time, as an example I would point to every drug that is illegal. The same with euthanasia.

    198. Re:Autism by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      We have an autistic member of our family. While anecdotal, it was only after the vaccines that our young family member exhibited symptoms and was eventually diagnosed.

      Sorry to hear this, but autism is a developmental disorder. By the time you noticed symptoms -- and untrained parents won't notice nearly as soon as trained professionals would -- the disease had been messing with your child's brain for a long time. It cannot possibly be that autism began at the moment of vaccination and was evident only a short time later -- or as some stories go, the same day as the vaccine.

      It just so happens that the age at which obvious symptoms tend to manifest is also right around the age where kids are getting their vaccines. This makes the situation ripe for the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy.

      Not to mention the selection bias of parents who only notice/remember cases where their kid acted "strange" after the vaccines, and don't remember the cases before because they weren't sensitized.

      His point regarding vaccines is that he has seen a potential correlation and we should take steps to test that hypothesis.

      He didn't see that correlation, he created it. His study that showed this correlation was utterly fraudulent.

      If you payed money to see him, then you got scammed.

      I find it odd that the /. community so quickly attacks those who are simply questioning the powers that be.

      That's the way Wakefield tries to spin it, so it sounds like it's just a about "authorities" vs those who question them.

      But it's actually the reality of the demonstrable benefit vaccines have provided to humanity (without even having to trust the "powers that be", just read a history book please), versus a bullshit scam artist who cooked up a study to create a panic he could cash in on (he was planning to sell a variety of detection kits and alternative vaccines).

      Question authority all you want -- this should include when Wakefield asks you to trust him. There's many reasonable discussions to be had on improving public health policy. However it's not authority but reality that you're going against when you ask if maybe vaccines cause autism or maybe aren't worth it.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    199. Re:Autism by TheLink · · Score: 1

      Women thinking men will change is stupid. If he's over 25, he is pretty much going to be the way he is now when he's 90.

      From what I observe people do change as they get older. Mostly for the worse. If they are lucky a few things seem to improve for a while. Then they die.

      But yeah, people expecting that their Significant Other to change for the better are stupid and/or delusional.

      If you're marrying someone, you should do that expecting them to mostly get worse as time goes by, hopefully the few bits you really care about are not so likely to get worse so fast and maybe even get better.

      The entire point here is that Dads need to be fucking MEN...

      Nowadays that remark could be interpreted differently ;).

      --
    200. Re:Autism by jmv · · Score: 1

      Well, studies have shown that dead kids are far less likely to develop autism. So I guess vaccines in some way increase the risk your kid will grow old enough to develop autism.

    201. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And thus evolution proceeds on its merry way

    202. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      No, we didn't criminalize drugs because of trends, we criminalized them because of racism, and because we the people were told that they caused direct violent crime - if you smoked pot, you would pick up an axe and go on a rampage. If you did cocaine, you would rape a white woman. If you did opium, you would lay in a den until you died. (Okay, that one's not violent.) In this particular slashdot article, someone said, "if you don't get your kid vaccinated, he should have to live in a bubble". Going on an axe rampage is quite different from increasing the chance of babies getting a disease. Especially when you have to actually take the increase (not total) number of babies contracting this, and then divide that by the number of people who don't get vaccines to get each person's actual liability. It would likely be less than a puff of secondhand smoke. Not sure what trend has to do with ehthanasia either.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    203. Re:Autism by eulernet · · Score: 1

      So just because someone is afraid of something we should accept their position?

      What can you do ? You first need to accept their idea to change their point of view, at least to understand why they believe that.

      Suppose that you come to me with your ideas, and I bluntly reject them, does it change your point of view or does it reinforce it ?

      It's a well known manipulation technique used in sects, for example with Jehovah's witnesses.
      The adepts have to defend the point of view of their sect, and even if they have doubts about it, since everybody rejects them, it reinforces their belief, since they are sure they are right, because everybody is against their ideas !!!! (and they do that in pairs, so that it reduces their doubts, it's a nasty technique).

      If the fears are irrational then by definition they go against reality. We have to judge based on reality, not irrational fear.

      Sure, I guess that you are not influenced by advertisements, and all the things you buy are rationally chosen.
      Believe me, everybody has irrational fears, and some of them are very hidden.

    204. Re:Autism by TheLink · · Score: 1

      And so the unvaccinated kids are to only hang around with unvaccinated kids?

      --
    205. Re:Autism by jovius · · Score: 2

      True, scientific representations just by themselves are not really comforting.

      Why are people afraid of vaccinations? Where does the fear come from? It boils down to trusting an unknown party to do something with an unknown substance to your child. The actual effect is mostly invisible - there are no instant positive effects that can clearly be seen - superficially nothing changes. If you side with the science of the unknown party you are effectively positioned against the family.

      The key could be to make your child as the center point rather than fighting against your significant other and to show actual effects of various diseases that have been eradicated because of vaccines. You have the common ground: your child, of which you are not fighting. Healthy child is your common objective.

      It could also be useful to say something about vaccine industry and what wrong they have done over the years to further connect with your partners fears, because still the people are healthier because of the vaccinations and a lot of diseases have been greatly diminished. Vaccinations in the developing countries have for example been hugely powerful and saved millions of children, so why couldn't they work in an industrialized country?

    206. Re:Autism by bjdevil66 · · Score: 1

      Herd immunity's importance cannot be understated because of this often forgotten point: Vaccines are NOT foolproof.

      People can still on occasion get the disease (though it's usually in a weakened form), despite being innoculated, for various reasons (time passed since the innoculation/booster, etc.).

      Example: My young son caught the mumps in early elementary school, only a few years after being vaccinated against it. Although the symptoms only lasted a brief time and were not severe, a Sonora Quest lab test verified that it was the mumps. Any other children there that hadn't been vaccinated may have been exposed and put in danger, and the school had to send notes home to all the parents to warn them. It was actually pretty embarrassing because I'm sure that most people thought we were "those" kind of selfish parents who ignorantly refuse vaccinations when in reality we'd done everything by the book.

    207. Re:Autism by jschmitz · · Score: 1

      are you in fact jenny mccarthy????

    208. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, being unreasonable should be a crime. Naturally, a group of elites will get to define what is reason. That'll never backfire on you.

    209. Re:Autism by kermidge · · Score: 1

      Spot on.

      When I was a lad, only vaccinations generally available were smallpox, tetanus, diphtheria, typhus, and later, polio. Had just about all the "childhood" diseases, damn near died (and for a while, wanted to) from whooping cough.

      I've known people who've had smallpox, polio, and scarlet fever, and they continue to suffer attendant effects.

      Vaccinate away; heck, it used to be compulsory, didn't it?

    210. Re:Autism by Wulfrunner · · Score: 1

      All of the decisions made about our child are discussed at length in a rational manner. We always come to a resolution, and the average outcome shows that we are each "right" about half of the time. I suspect many people who are under 40, have a family, and live in a large urban centre may share that experience as gender-based roles have transformed in recent decades. Respecting your position, single-income households where the father is working must by necessity favour the mother in decisions regarding children. The opposite should be true for single-income households where the mother is working. In those cases "daddy knows best".

      In 2010 11% of single income households had a stay-at-home dad.
      In 1976, it was 1%.

      Those numbers are for Canada, but I think in the USA the number is closer to 16% though the way the statistics were collected makes it hard to compare. I could only find one survey for the UK indicating 6% stay at home with the kids, but I'm not sure how representative that data is.

      I think maybe you had your kids in the 70's? The times, they are a changin'.

    211. Re : Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This chain of posts absolutley infuriates me. I believe children should be vaccinated but I also believe they can be given too many vaccination too early in life. There are thousands and thousands of children that have had negative reactions to vaccinations and thousands and thousands of parents that have seen their child regress after a vaccination. Try reading "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave, "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics" by Kenneth Bock, pick up most any book that covers regressive Autism, or visit www.toomanytoosoon.org. The rate of Autism has increased around the country. What do these children have in common...not the water, not the food, not the same school... vaccines. I am working with a Pediatric Developmental Specialist, Dr. Mary Megson, and we are choosing a safer vaccination schedule for the remainder of my son's vaccinations. My son is 3 years old and was diagnosed autistic. After hair analysis, urine tests, stool analysis, and blood work you can see he does not process heavy metals as most children do and it is believed the heavy metals in the vaccines caused damage to his brain and gut. Again, I am not against vaccines, but I do believe there is a safer way to administer them. When you visit www.toomanytoosoon.org you will see the huge increase in the number of vaccinations required over the last 20 years. You will also see the huge change in the percentage of children diagnosed with autism. Some of you may want to really do your research before you say vaccinations 100% do not cause vaccines!

    212. Re:Autism by holmstar · · Score: 1

      No, of those that had no vaccinations, 86% had no vaccinations due to parental refusal. The other 14% also were not vaccinated but not due to parental refusal. Go read the article

    213. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In each case a philosophical view was forced, this is no different than the inquisition forcing deism or than communism forcing atheism, you can't force people to believe something, it defies one of the most basic logical fallacies. The method ironhandx used may have been cleaner, but does not account for his getting hit by a bus or the possibility that his wife might lie. Affecting real change is slow, deliberate, and more difficult than offering ultimatums. Contrary to the generalizations made above many women have decided to vaccinate their children despite supposedly being "less capable of making rationale decisions", his wife did not. It's not a fault with women in general, but the woman he chose.

    214. Re:Autism by hob42 · · Score: 1

      FYI, a much more typical immunization efficacy would be 80% after a few years. And they can have serious side effects and complications, even without there being any credible link to autism. The autism argument made me research the literature on immunizations and make my own clinical judgement of risks versus benefits for my children. (For what it's worth, my youngest two who have not been vaccinated are the ones who have the most aspergers/autism behaviors of any of my kids. If you ever need some anecdotal evidence to counter the anecdotal arguments otherwise, there you go.)

    215. Re:Autism by MozeeToby · · Score: 0

      If you're mate is making decisions that you know are dangerous it's your duty as a parent to step up and fight and win that battle. Would you let them dangle the kid upside down off a second story balcony?

    216. Re:Autism by CAIMLAS · · Score: 1

      This is kinda funny, I suppose, if you're not paying attention. There's been a sharp rise in vaccine-resistant whooping cough in the past couple years. The likelihood of complication from the vaccine is possible. And, guess what? You can still get whooping cough later, as an adult, anyway.

      My kids are unvacinated. They've all had whooping cough and didn't have to go to the hospital. Anecdotal, sure. But consider:

      There were 4 deaths in 9 years caused by whooping cough. Wyoming only has 568,158 (2009) people, with about 380 born per year or 3400 over that 9 year span. So 0.01% of the birthed population over that period died of whooping cough. Is that statistically significant? How many people died from flu virus during that same period, or some other malady like complications from ob/gyn orchestrated birth?

      Wyoming is also significant because it's so sparsely populated. It is not uncommon for towns to be several hundred miles from the nearest hospital (or clinic), and can take weeks or months before the weather clears up enough (during the winter) to make traveling with a young baby safe.

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
    217. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also just because every other kid at school is immunized does not mean that they are not temporarily carrying the infection and playing with your beloved immunization free sprog. Remember that immunization does not mean that you will not get the disease it just means your body is forwarned about it so can combat it quickly.

    218. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well at least their stupid genes will not live to see another generation.

    219. Re:Autism by sociocapitalist · · Score: 1

      That's unfair to soccer moms. My kid's mom is a soccer mom but she's also a doctor's daughter.

      If you mix religion with weak education you get ignorant people making bad decisions, just as we're seeing here.

      --
      blindly antisocialist = antisocial
    220. Re:Autism by sociocapitalist · · Score: 1

      Sounds like you haven't actually had kids yet. If so, then you only think you've won. When the time actually comes then you'll be fighting a whole different fight over the same exact issues.

      --
      blindly antisocialist = antisocial
    221. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      except the article states that there have been deaths due to the pertussis

    222. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You realize that these people are liberal hippies, right?

    223. Re:Autism by backwardsposter · · Score: 1

      Whoa! I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't look for myself. But with all the evidence provided, it's got to be true. Goats do have accents!

    224. Re:Autism by jpapon · · Score: 1

      While I agree that it is unlikely, calling it vanishingly small is somewhat disingenuous. It seems actually fairly likely that the intersection of "people who don't vaccinate their children" and "people who use unregulated and untested alternative medicines" is quite large, while the intersection of "people who vaccinate their children" with the two former groups is relatively small.

      --
      -- Let us endeavor so to live that when we pass even the undertaker shall be sorry. -- M. Twain
    225. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      good lord i hope you're just a troll and don't believe that bullshit....

    226. Re:Autism by Wulfrunner · · Score: 1

      Fallacy of defective induction.

      TFA is about the pertussis vaccine.
      Your sweeping generalizations about vaccines in general are inaccurate and misleading.

      Your opinion equally condemns those who opt out of the influenza or varicella vaccines as it does those who opt out of the polio or pertussis vaccines.

      I also challenge your assertion that sanitation is the most important public health technology in the history of mankind. The true prime is self-evident ;)

    227. Re:Autism by ewieling · · Score: 1

      That is one of many odd things about USA culture. I personally believe a baby is no more sentient than a puppy, but that is a different discussion. 8-)

      --
      I really shouldn't have used someone else's email address for this account.
    228. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      There are many, many ways in which being unreasonable is a crime. In fact you might say that most or all crimes have an element of unreason in them, from the perspective of society. It is a slippery slope, but it's one on which all laws sit.

    229. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      "depending on the prevalence and severity of"

    230. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      Yes I think it is somewhat likely that you could find insular behavior in those two groups, but don't you think it would be incredibly rare that those things would counteract the effect of vaccines exactly? Although possible, that is what I would find hard to believe. But, as you say, it's not impossible.

    231. Re:Autism by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I hear this on the radio sometimes where a caller says something like "as a mother we know that..." or "as a mother we've always known what science is only now discovering..." or other B.S. This is essentially the "argument from ultimate authority". Intuition is never doubted which is why this whole vaccines-cause-autism myth persists despite the originator admitting that he lied.

    232. Re:Autism by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      I agree with this. I find it crazy people WOULDN'T get vaccinations, but at the same time I find myself a bit uneasy going along with the idea that we should all be forced to get vaccinations. I would hope that this would be a case that science could help prove, not something we need forced onto us.
      Cigarettes aren't illegal but there is enough research out there to show they aren't safe, and because of that smoking has been going down.

    233. Re:Autism by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      There is 100% chance that you're missing the point.

    234. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a reason why the wife always wins the arguments- they can easily make the husband's life MISERABLE if they want to, and the husband can't do much to stop it, and he also cannot do much to respond likewise. He just has to sit there and take it and eventually learns not to even argue with her. A woman screams at her husband, nothing happens. A man screams at his wife, he gets arrested for being "verbally abusive." She spends all of their money to spite him and nothing happens. He spends all of their money to spite her and he is being "economically abusive." And so forth and so forth. And to top it all off, she can divorce him and get most of the assets and stick him with her debt so the "just walk away" option isn't even there for guys. And you wonder why fewer people are getting married these days.

    235. Re:Autism by Ironhandx · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is what I'm talking about.

      Good for you.

      This is a reasonable approach.

      Doctors are not always 100% correct. They are human, and invariably humans all make mistakes.

      Besides which, however much a lot of RN's like to claim they know a lot about medicine, the reality is that they generally don't. I know a fair number of nurses, and it sometimes scares me some of the things that I consider to be relatively common knowledge(probably because I do a lot of reading), or at least definitely should be common knowledge in the medical profession, that they don't know.

      That said, doctors are right 95% of the time. Thus you should probably follow their advice 95% of the time. When its really important, like a vaccine that could potentially have side effects on your kid, when there are alternate vaccines or something available, you should research the issue, and inform yourself, and then make an informed decision.

      Despite what some people think, learning a lot about one particular issue isn't very daunting. It would only take a few evenings of diligent research to find out about a lot of the vaccines they want to give your child, and if there are alternatives.

      If you can't manage to spend a few evenings doing that, then you shouldn't have kids(IMHO)

    236. Re:Autism by Rotaluclac · · Score: 1

      Sounds nice, but...

      What if the wife gives in, you then have kids, and 6 to 18 months after birth (or whatever is the time for vaccination), she changes her mind? I've seen it happen...

      What if she changes her mind, tries to re-discuss the issue with her husband, finds she can't convince him, and only pretends to give in. She says she'll bring the child to vaccination, but in reality, she doesn't. She just lies to her husband.

      The problem is: if a mother firmly believes that this is in the best interest of her child, and if she believes vaccination poses a risk to her beloved little child, then those feelings are so overwhelming, there's nothing she can do to fight them.

      I've seen it happen...

    237. Re:Autism by Ironhandx · · Score: 1

      They don't really change that much.

      New experiences may change their opinions on a few things, but the basic person is still there.

    238. Re:Autism by holmstar · · Score: 1

      I'm not talking about changing their beliefs. People are going to believe what they want to believe. What I'm saying is that rules on public health need to be based on reality, not fear. If that makes some people upset, so be it.

    239. Re:Autism by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Pick your age. Eight, ten, twenty, thirty-six, one hundred and three. All of them can be killed by idiots who don't vaccinate.

    240. Re:Autism by budgenator · · Score: 1

      The point of Roe v. Wade was the privacy of competent adults giving informed consent for a life changing medical procedure, something a two year old at the pediatrician's office can't do.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    241. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you done a risk/reward analysis? We have for ourselves, and as such are still of the opinion that our girls (2 and 4) are going to remain NOT-immunized

      Part of our risk/reward analysis involved talking with a friend who works for a big pharma company. Her observations are that if big pharma does not like the resaults of a drug study - they send in the specilists to find the flaw in the study, so it can be tssed out due to human error or whatever. If the results are what they are looking for, well, then they are happy ad tell the world how the test proves why you need to buy the stuff from them. Obviously what was said to me is ust heresay, not scientific evidence. It is from a source we trust, so we took that into account in our decision not to immunize our two girls.

      Here in Canada, Whooping Cough results in 1-3 deaths per year, primarily in infants too young to be immunized, and less so in those who have not had their complete immunizations. In older youth it is not as dangerous. So our kids are unlikely to die at this point, and serious complications are also much less likely. Source: Canadian Government - http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/id-mi/pertussis-coqueluche-eng.php

      So for this example, the risks seemed seemed low, so we decided against his vaccine.

    242. Re:Autism by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      Flu, mumps, same thing right?

    243. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      Man, it would be amazing if society could somehow, I dunno, maybe designate a person or two to make those decisions a two year old at the pediatrician's office can do. Perhaps it would make sense to select their biological parents?

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    244. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      Not even. The flu kills 3 to 30,000 people a year in the US. Mumps kills something like 30 (Couldn't get the exact stat)

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    245. Re:Autism by nine-times · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure criminal charges are in order, but I would be open to some kind of legal compulsion to get vaccinations. It's not just a personal decision, it's a health and public safety issue. However, if you did try to pass such a law, you'd have all kinds of people coming out of the woodwork saying, "It's my body! You can't tell me what do to with my body! I believe in personal freedom!" Of course, those are probably the same people who want abortion to be illegal, and are fine with the TSA's invasive searches.

    246. Re:Autism by djhertz · · Score: 1

      Excellent, I wish I had mod points.

      --
      Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise - William Shakespeare
    247. Re:Autism by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      Not everyone automatically believes every study they read but when you've gotten more than a dozen studies proving something to the contrary when do you... just accept that the knowledge is sane? Do you not believe in anything until witnessed by your own eyes? Do you not trust your fellow man? What do they gain out of harming a child?

      This is what I don't get, if the anti-vaccination camp really believes that we are forcing children to have a chance of Autism then in their mind they must think that the doctor's KNOW of the issue and are saying "I don't care, it's not my child". Doctor's are human just like the rest of us and are prone to mistakes but when you've had 50 years of research leading you down one path you need to come up with a pretty good reason to why we have to turn around and re-think something.

      I don't want your kid to get sick, and I don't want you to make my kid sick. You can't "catch" Autism (that's insulting to those who fall along the spectrum), so why the push back against something we as a species have created for the greater good? :(

    248. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly! What do I care if some unicorn gets abducted.

    249. Re:Autism by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      Thank you for proving what I was trying to bring up - these are very different diseases, one of them was so bad we decided to try and eradicate it's effects from childhood on - the other one isn't as deadly and can be treated much easier.

      3 to 30k for the Flu? What year did only 3 people die from the flu?

    250. Re:Autism by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      Being a parent is hard. -GiH

      I hope in the end you make/made the right decision but I'd like to highlight this. Despite the many books on babies and how to be a parent when it comes down to it you're raising another PERSON - the person you are right now at one time were a tiny helpless baby. Taking care of a PERSON isn't easy, it's why we have the intelligence to take care of ourselves most times - it's a full time job!

    251. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      3K-30K. But saying the k twice seems redundant because, as you point out, 3 would not be a reasonable number. I see what you did there ;)

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    252. Re:Autism by anomaly256 · · Score: 1

      Your kid might not die from whooping cough, but the fact that your kid gets sick means that he's exposing other children to the disease, and they might die.

      Ah I see. So if everyone gets vaccinated except my child, and my child gets sick from the disease they were vaccinating against, all vaccines the other children took suddenly become ineffective? That sounds like it's completely worth any risk my child might face.

    253. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      Not everyone automatically believes every study they read but when you've gotten more than a dozen studies proving something to the contrary when do you... just accept that the knowledge is sane? Do you not believe in anything until witnessed by your own eyes? Do you not trust your fellow man? What do they gain out of harming a child? This is what I don't get, if the anti-vaccination camp really believes that we are forcing children to have a chance of Autism then in their mind they must think that the doctor's KNOW of the issue and are saying "I don't care, it's not my child". Doctor's are human just like the rest of us and are prone to mistakes but when you've had 50 years of research leading you down one path you need to come up with a pretty good reason to why we have to turn around and re-think something. I don't want your kid to get sick, and I don't want you to make my kid sick. You can't "catch" Autism (that's insulting to those who fall along the spectrum), so why the push back against something we as a species have created for the greater good? :(

      Because it's not just "a dozen studies and everybody should agree". Things aren't over and tons of studies have been wrong. Thalidomide. Asbestos. Tobacco.

      To quote myself from a facebook conversation: " There is probably no nuanced opinion that applies correctly for everyone. But I'd like to see the choice and freedom for individuals to do what they want to remain (to whatever reasonable extent can exist)."

      Now, we have 2 of the major anti-autism link scientists linked to fraud. And oh look! A video of the former CDC Chief saying vaccines trigger autism! I know the wiggle room here is "if they already have it, it's going to eventually be triggered", but yeah. Not everybody wants to take that chance. The autism rate is increasing crazily in our society - until science can adequately explain the cause, the only people who try to do anything about it will ALL be guessing, but that should still be their freedom.

      It's not just "Anti-science RAWRRRRR". There are people examining the science (and politics), and making their own decisions. They are not all kneejerk decisions. People tend to think things over with their kids. I'm glad I don't have any.

      Also, they now want 29 vaccines. The vaccines a child is expected to get has doubled since 'we' grew up in the 70s/80s. It's not simply "same business as always". And again, the flu kills 3K-30K every year, so why are they not mandatory by law, if saving human life at the expense of taking away control of someone's body is so compelling? Is this just a case of "Wave a child around and everyone loses their rationality"?

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    254. Re:Autism by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      Haha, for a second I thought I had an easy win, damn :(

    255. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, he should face a class-action lawsuit from all the parents of children who died or suffered from preventable illness on the basis of his medical advice. And add Jenny McCarthy as a defendant as well.

    256. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It has nothing to do with autism. It is a question of effacacy and neurological damage.
      1:1,000,000 children vaccinated get neurological disorders due to preservatives
      Based on this newsletter 4 died from whooping cough over the course of the last 9 years. There are 3,871,859 people living in Oregon. So chance of dying from whooping cough is .11: 1:000:000.

      Also in California whooping cough outbreaks are HIGHER among vaccinated children.

      http://www.naturalnews.com/035466_whooping_cough_vaccines_outbreaks.html

    257. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yet.

    258. Re:Autism by eulernet · · Score: 1

      Rules are useless against beliefs.

      People will falsify certificates to avoid vaccines.

      You need to create a stronger belief of safety.

    259. Re:Autism by cyn1c77 · · Score: 1

      Are you a parent and married? Usually, "mom knows best" and gets her way when it comes to the kids. You can try to fight it, but it'll be a losing battle.

      That's why you don't marry woman who is both stupid and controlling... her scientifically deficient choices can naturally select against your offspring.

      (See how I brought that ultimate responsibility back on you?)

      Also, if you really feel strongly about it, you can always take the kids to the doctor for shots when she isn't home. But I wouldn't recommend going behind your wife's back if you are too much of a puss to stand up to her face.

      (And yes, I am married with a kid, who gets his shots.)

    260. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know why you're comparing the death rate of whooping cough with the prevalence of autism. The appropriate comparison is between the incidence of whooping cough (which is extremely low) and the prevalence of autism. Also, the incidence of autism is approaching .5%.

    261. Re:Autism by budgenator · · Score: 1

      In a perfect world Biological Parents would be make competent, informed consent, in our world it's a your millage may vary kind of thing.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    262. Re:Autism by harley78 · · Score: 1

      Where can I find this bear mauling vaccine?

    263. Re:Autism by nine-times · · Score: 1

      all vaccines the other children took suddenly become ineffective?

      There are several problems with your argument. First and foremost, you're assuming that "all the other kids were vaccinated" while presenting the argument that people shouldn't vaccinate their children. It's true that the risks posed to any single child are small if you assume that everyone else is vaccinated, if everyone thinks that way and refused vaccinations, your protections go out the window.

      Second, as many other people have pointed out, not everyone can get vaccinated. Some children are too young, some adults too old. Some people have some kind of illness or allergy that prevents them from being able to handle vaccinations.

      Finally, vaccinations are not 100% effective. In order to talk about why vaccinations work, you don't look at them on an individual level, but on a societal level. Let's make up some numbers: If a school of 500 children all get vaccinated, it may be that in 20 of the kids, the vaccination is ineffective. However, because the vaccination is effective in 480 of the students, they don't get sick, or at least don't get very sick. Please note here that vaccinations are sometimes effective in reducing the severity or duration of an illness without preventing it entirely.

      So let's say you're a parent, and you did the responsible thing and got your kid vaccinated, but it turns out the vaccination isn't effective. You have no way of knowing, since the only way to tell is to infect the child and find out. If you're going to a school with 500 students and none of them are vaccinated, and then 1 kid gets the virus, then the virus will spread like wildfire and there's a good chance your child will get infected.

      However, let's say you're going to the same school of 500 kids and they're all vaccinated, but one of the 20 for whom the vaccination was not effective gets sick. The virus won't spread very well in that situation, and there's a very good chance your child will not get infected because the vaccine prevented the spread of the virus.

    264. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And since she has half the money, you'll not be likely to get a shot at the portion of the west that would be worth the bother.
      So like the man said, "mom knows best".

    265. Re:Autism by cyn1c77 · · Score: 1

      To be fair, if vaccines caused autism, I would probably opt out of most vaccines, because most kids don't die of whooping cough or scarlet fever, but autism is forever.

      Death, mental retardation, and physical disfigurement is forever too.

      Vaccines prevent your child from getting diseases that cause those three effects. The only reason that not getting vaccinated is a tractable option for some parents is because those diseases have been mostly eradicated by years of getting everyone vaccinated.

      People avoiding vaccinations are banking on the fact that everyone else is vaccinated. That works in developed countries, for the most part. Go live in a third-world country and see how long you last though.

      I do not think that intentionally unvaccinated children should be allowed to live in America.

    266. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about winning the minds of parents in the court of public opinion instead of forcing it on people? Even then big money usually controls the debate. If the arguments were really on the side of vaccines and the big money certainly is, what's the big deal with giving people the freedom to choose?

      Forgive me for thinking you are anti-choice in this matter, but very few pro-vaccine people I talk to believe this should be a matter for parents to decide.

      As with almost all recent and coercive acts of government, this has nothing at all to do with the public welfare. The money drives it and most of the public, given almost any reason at all, will usually support depriving others of freedom.

    267. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That study was retracted due to falsification of data. There is no connection between autism and vaccinations. The reason for the recent increase in cases of autism is due to the expansion of the classification of what autism is.

    268. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod parent up! I personally know someone exactly like this. He has self-diagnosed himself Aspberger's too, which he credits with his "genius" and ability to say "what everyone else thinks, but is too afraid to say". Then he invariably spouts off on a disjointed tangent about how every problem in the world would be solved if everyone who wasn't white was exterminated, all backed up by shit he found on the internet (you know, the txt files from the 90's that are typically quite tongue in cheek themselves). And he takes himself so seriously, and doesn't realize that everyone around him knows he is just hopelessly ignorant.

    269. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "There's no reasoning with them" is always a good excuse for forcing something on people and other heavy handed behavior. Works for Muslims too.

    270. Re:Re : Autism by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      You can't catch or cause Autism, it's something you will either have, or not have. To state otherwise is being extremely rude toward those that do fall along the Autism scale. Then again you're an AC, I don't know why - if you allow me to speak for you I would say it's because you are afraid of saying such... silly things in a public forum like this?

    271. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If the doctor is correct 95% of the time, unless you have higher accuracy information, e.g. 96% accurate, you should do what they suggest 100% of the time, not only 95%.

      If you only follow them 95% of the time, the chances of you not doing what they say the 5% of the time they are wrong is 1 in 400. It is more likely that you will now be making the wrong choice 10% of the time, rather than the correct choice more than the 95% as intended.

    272. Re:Autism by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      Why are people afraid of vaccinations? Where does the fear come from? It boils down to trusting an unknown party to do something with an unknown substance to your child. The actual effect is mostly invisible - there are no instant positive effects that can clearly be seen - superficially nothing changes. If you side with the science of the unknown party you are effectively positioned against the family.

      No it doesn't. It boils down to wilful ignorance and a lack of education. It also boils down to taking a free ride on other people's vaccinations.

    273. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This, exactly this. You can make this decision based solely on the odds. I chose to go with vaccinating my daughter and only made a few adjustments in the first few months as to the scheduling of them. The causative agent on the anti-vaccine crowd is Themerisol (sic) and that has been phased out since the mid 80s, so even that argument has no merit. I talked to my pediatrician and asked him point blank: "how many children have you vaccinated?. Answer: about 700. 2nd question: how many of those children ended up with autism? Answer: zero.

      Done deal.

    274. Re:Autism by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      Quite. Parents have already been severely punished for withholding vital medical care and praying for their child instead. I really don't see the distinction between this and withholding vaccines.

      The only reason that smallpox was eradicated was that the vaccines were compulsory. Perhaps they should be again.

    275. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should probably look up something we can Law. It's what people usually use to regulate human behaviour, when it becomes too selfish and irrational to not interfere with other people's safety and liberties. Dunno lol.

      On an unrelated note, strangely, most countries with mandatory vaccination tend to have quite high rates of vaccination, for some reason...

      hmm... maybe I'm on to something...

    276. Re:Autism by nanoakron · · Score: 1

      Replying to AC I know...but seriously, what ARE you talking about?

      Can't find what vaccines are made of? I strongly suggest....umm...Wikipedia. And a medical degree (which I have).

      -Nano.

    277. Re:Autism by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      Again, the logic, if there be any, is not coming through.

      Please take a moment to read through many of the comments on this thread that answer your question, including the sibling comment to mine. In short though, the answer to your question "Is there something inherent in an unvaccinated child that makes them somehow dangerous to vaccinated children" in an unequivocal 'yes'.

    278. Re:Autism by alaffin · · Score: 1

      As a parent and a husband I say bullshit. Mom can have all the money to go with the pussy and you know what? Fuck that. My daughter still comes first. And I will sacrifice everything and fight like a wounded animal to do what's best for her. Now there are some hills that aren't worth dying on. I don't truly care if my daughter gets her ears pierced while she's an infant or if we use cloth or disposable diapers. But vaccination? That's a hill worth dying on. That's something worth fighting for. Even if I lose.

    279. Re:Autism by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      Please don't derail the discussion by bring up gun ownership.

    280. Re:Autism by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      What about car metaphors?

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    281. Re:Autism by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      I'm pleased you made the right decision. We had all of our kids vaccinated and those shots *do* hurt. And you haven't taken a stupid risk.

      I had whooping cough once, and I can very well understand how it can kill a young child.

      Good luck with the rest of the parenting journey by the way - it is fairly hard but it's worth it. Also they will apparently take care of you when you're older, but I guess we'll have to wait and see how that one turns out.

    282. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If your wife was withholding sex for twenty years and you had four kids I think you most certainly had grounds for divorce.

    283. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are two theories on how to win an argument with a woman.
      Neither of them work.

    284. Re:Autism by General+Wesc · · Score: 1

      if the vaccination is effective

      Your argument rests on the dichotomy of things being either 0% effective or 100% effective. Some people might question that premise.

      Yes, there is something inherent in an unacciated child that makes them dangerous to vaccinated children: whooping cough, measles, mumps, etc., because vaccines, while pretty effective at stopping these diseases, do not make every recipient 100% disease-proof.

    285. Re:Autism by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      I don't know - is there a gun in the glovebox of your car metaphor?

    286. Re:Autism by Garridan · · Score: 2

      Or, y'know, find an intelligent woman who is willing to be proven wrong. And, of course, show a willingness to be proven wrong yourself. But really? Withholding sex for taking an interest in your children's wellbeing? That's probably the kind of quality woman a man like you can expect -- you demonstrate zero respect for woman, and apparently receive zero in return.

    287. Re:Autism by flonker · · Score: 1

      What you're missing is, "Why did they decide not to take the medicine?"

      Did they stop taking the medication by reason of insanity? (The voices in my head told me that the doctor is trying to kill me by making me take these pills.)

      Did they stop taking the medication due to side effects? (I'm going to see the doctor next week, I'll get a different prescription then. I guess I can go a week without anything.)

      Did they stop taking the medication due to forgetfulness? Bonus points if the medication is of the type that affects memory. If you forgot if you took your medication, is it worse to take more and risk overdose, or miss a dose?

      How this relates the vaccines, is that the parents decided to avoid vaccination due to willful ignorance, which is negligence. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willful_violation -- especially the See Also's. A real lawyer can probably figure out which bucket this fits in exactly. Criminal Recklessness also seems to fit, as do a few others.

    288. Re:Autism by retchdog · · Score: 1

      yeah... that argument will just get you called a communist, and then they'll redouble their fanaticism.

      during the news coverage of that forest fire in FL a few months ago caused by a discarded cigarette butt, the libertards were out preemptively howling about how the state can't legislate "private morality." i don't know what's so "private" about six dead and massive property damage, but there you have it.

      --
      "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
    289. Re:Autism by derfla8 · · Score: 1

      I am a parent, and you know what? Parents should stick to parenting. Doctors are trained professionals. Would you argue with your doctor about the course of treatment as you're in cardiac arrest? No? That's right, they are the ones who went through years of medical schooling not you, so stop pretending that Google and Wikipedia makes you qualified to make these judgements. Sure question and be informed, but don't think that you know better.

    290. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Spoken like a non-parent.

      Parents are responsible for their children. The more socially-conscious may - sometimes, depending on context - acknowledge that they also have a wider responsibility to other people's kids as well, but at best that wider responsibility will only be a pale shadow of the primary obligation to their own.

      This isn't even particularly cynical, it's one of the root assumptions on which our entire society is built: that parents promote the interests of their own kids ahead of everyone else's. If that weren't true, kids wouldn't even need parents, because every adult would be looking out for them.

    291. Re:Autism by zzyzyx · · Score: 1

      You're willing to sacrifice the health and possibly the life of your children for money and so you can bang some pussy a little longer?. You're a sorry spineless excuse for a parent.

    292. Re:Autism by zzyzyx · · Score: 1

      Vaccination is probably the invention that saved the most lives (hundred of millions) and contributed the most to the increase of life quality over the last 200 years. Vaccination protects the individual but also the whole population by preventing the spread of disease. No study has yet proven a link between autism and vaccines. There are only suspicions that the some adjutants may be harmful. Still, if you are concerned, some vaccines are available without adjutants. Please read up on the subject before taking a decision that potentially affects everyone.

    293. Re:Autism by Nutria · · Score: 1

      if we weren't going to do what is best for their happiness and survival then the relationship was going to end at some point in the future unless she changed her mind.

      You should have had this discussion *before* you were married.

      Can't think of everything, though. :) I was a lot wiser about picking my 2nd wife than my 1st...

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    294. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Being a resident of Oregon, I theorize that most of the people refusing vaccination are NOT soccer moms. More likely, hipsters and other latte-sipping new-age type of people are the culprits. Watch Portlandia -- those are the people we're talking about. Other popular trends in the same vein are "no schooling" which is apparently a type of home schooling that involves letting your kids do whatever the fuck they want whenever they want, and naming your kids weird shit like "Archetype."

    295. Re:Autism by philip.paradis · · Score: 1

      You, sir, have royally fucked up. Either you married the wrong woman, or you're a total bitch (in the "please don't hit me again" sense) yourself. There is no pussy worth that much, and if you had a set of nuts worth writing home about you'd recognize that the health of your children is worth far more than any pussy on this planet.

      I'm saying this as a very happily married man, and father to two beautiful kids. Once again, you have really fucked up.

      --
      Write failed: Broken pipe
    296. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good luck.

      People can change dramatically, and quite unexpectedly. They can also revert. Do some reading about neurology, hormones, cancer, (head) trauma, etc. Even a heart attack or intestinal disease can wreak havoc on the person and personality.

      Read some of Oliver Sack's stuff. And those are only a few of the most obvious cases.

      But even before worrying about all that - you only think you have won. When your wife decides to, and she will, she is very likely to make your life far more miserable than you can imagine. And much of the law is on her side.

      No question - based on your attitude and the way you claim to have handled things you will see a side of your wife not imagined in your worst nightmares.

      Not that you don't deserve it, given your arrogance, and how you claim to extract compliance using emotional and fiscal blackmail.

      But please - don't have children. They do not deserve the anguish and pain of the environment you are creating for them. We already have too many humans anyway.

    297. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't confuse the manly man with logic and statistics.

      Urgh. Him know better. Him use Internet for three days to learn medicine good.

    298. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And now that he has had this "discussion", if he really cares about his future children, he should dissolve the relationship (divorce) now.

      It will not be possible to raise children in a good environment with these kinds of disagreements, especially if they are settled by threats and intimidation (no matter how politely stated) and not by discussion and coming to a consensus/agreement.

      He should get out now - for his good, his wife's good, and any future children's good. And think twice, three times, four times about having children.

      On another tack - those who fear the effects of vaccinations should simply not have children. If you think the choice actually is autism or increased incidence of deadly diseases - then DON'T HAVE KIDS. It is not worth the risk. It just isn't.

      We already have too many humans anyway.

    299. Re:Autism by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 1

      Ever hear of the birthday paradox? There's a 50% chance that two people share the same birthday - an event with a 1/365 incidence - in a group of just 23 people. I'm willing to bet that the vaccination rate is MUCH less than 99.8% (in Oregon, it's anecdotally between 25 and 75%), and that school and kindergarten classes are much larger than 23 persons, on average.

    300. Re:Autism by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 2

      Well, there's TFA, which has a nice clear table, page 1, documenting that cases of pertussis are much more common in unvaccinated individuals.

      BTW, I did a systematic review of pertussis vaccination papers for the epidemiological section of my medical degree, so I do have some clue here. Cherry picking a single paper that supports your POV is not scientific. Vaccination works.

    301. Re:Autism by Ironhandx · · Score: 1

      I've seen that happen too.

      Basically the demand was what made her open her mind and actually pay attention to what I was telling her.

      The fact that I felt strongly enough about it to go to the relationship being over was enough to tell her that she should seriously reconsider her position on it.

      It took her days to answer me. During which she actually read, and more importantly took the time to understand, all of the things I'd given to her as evidence before.

      Another hilarious thing is that there are a small group of folks trying to moderate that comment down by any means necessary. I put the last statement in there to try to avoid that from the knee-jerk feminists but from another few comments I see that avoiding it wasn't possible...

      There are differences in the sexes people. Men are better at some things, Women are better at others. Get over it.

      If it makes you feel better Women are better at more things than Men. They're also better at doing more things at the same time than men.

    302. Re:Autism by Slalomsk8er · · Score: 1

      Well I never heard of some one lose a child to Hepatitis and I live in Switzerland where we don't vaccinate against it.

      I have to get my Hepatitis refreshing shot next month and I am only doing it because I work in a place were blood and computers mix.

      I have seen my cousins girl develop child arthritis because of a multi vaccine.

      Guess what I will do in two months when I will be a father?
      I will not allow a doctor to inject unsafe untested multi-vaccines in to my child - especially if they contain mercury!

      Do a risk analysis and ask the doctor and read the studies before you let your child be injected with poison.

    303. Re:Autism by Ironhandx · · Score: 1

      This is a perfectly valid stance. You need to do your own research and risk analysis. This is what I'm advocating for.

      The doctors here don't vaccinate unnecessarily, and Hepatitis probably wasn't the best example, its just the one that I thought of because its the one that I most recently had before I left the country on a trip.

      What you did is exactly the point however, you went and got informed, and are now making an informed, rational decision. You will be getting the vaccines where the benefits out-weigh the risks, and there are a lot out there where the benefit is "Not dying from disease x" so your child will still be getting the most important ones.

      What would be irrational is if your cousins child had gotten the arthritis and you unilaterally said "no" to all vaccines for your own child.

    304. Re:Autism by Ironhandx · · Score: 1

      Sigh, I've covered the fact that they are generalizations. They are true, on average.

      Also, it wasn't a forced issue. It took her days to come back. The ultimatum was what I'd call a "soft" ultimatum and it took her days to come back with an answer, over the course of which we talked a whole bunch more about it and she actually read the material I had provided her for it.

      By the way, I at no point said that women are "less capable" of making rational decisions.

      Women are just as *capable* as men of making rational decisions. Due to various factors however, they are less likely to make the rational decision and more likely to rely on intuition, I.E. Emotion.

    305. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which is exactly why the NAS decided to redact the studies they had commissioned regarding vaccinations and autism, and suspend further research. They decided that the possibility of mass rejection of vaccionations far outweighed any potential connection to autism. It was a good decision.

    306. Re:Autism by Zero_Independent · · Score: 0

      And yet, Rihanna and Chris Brown. Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. Mel Gibson and that other chick. It seems that woman hold all the cards in relationships, except for when they don't, and then in those cases it really sucks for them.

    307. Re:Autism by outsider007 · · Score: 1

      Statistically, owning a pool is a greater danger to your kids than any of these things. But you can't beat it on a hot day.

      --
      If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
    308. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interesting character, this dr Wakefield that claimed proof that some vaccins cause autism. The guy was ridiculed and God sorry I mean Bill Gates even bought air interview time to tell the world that dr Wakefield killed 1000's of babies. And then the most unlikely thing happens: dr Wakefield goes to trial and is re-instated as a physician and the claims of fraud against him are dropped.

      What this means? Do your own research. The only think I can claim for pretty fucking sure is that now the bullshit is out of the way, maybe just maybe people will look at his research unbiased.

    309. Re:Autism by nhat11 · · Score: 0

      +1 if I could. RNs can gather a lot of practical knowledge as years goes by but that's about it (That's why they're RNs and not doctors). Doctors (ER, Internal, whatever) are much more specialized and more experienced and that's just the fact they're in school for 8 yrs (2 yrs in rotation) and then residency for like 5-6 years. Basically and I'm oversimplifying this but its like being in training for over 7 years.

    310. Re:Autism by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If that's your relationship - she withholds sex if you don't go along with her wishes - I pity you (and her).

    311. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      Have you ever heard that called "the arrogance of ignorance"? You can see it in these phrases:

      "Doctors don't know what they are talking about. People need to make up their own mind."

      "It is impossible to know how the universe began. I'm sure God did it."

      "Nobody knows what is better for me, than me."

      "Evolution can't be true because or ."

      "The only way out of this crisis is the way I thought of."

    312. Re:Autism by holmstar · · Score: 1

      People will falsify certificates to avoid vaccines.

      Yeah, and people pump themselves full of heroin too. What's your point? Should we not have official policies against heroin use due to the fact that there will always be people that use heroin?

      I'm not saying that reeducation is an unworthy goal, but it's a separate issue to the science on whether something such as a particular vaccine is helpful to society as a whole.

    313. Re:Autism by GodInHell · · Score: 1

      Then I can return this guilt with interest? (sorry, Irish catholic)

    314. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Followed by: "My opinion is not necessarily the majority opinion just because it's mine."

    315. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And Dad has half the money and all the cock.

      What, you consented to a relationship with an inherent power imbalance due to differing sex drives, and no outlet because you thought monogamy was a good idea? Sucks to be you. Next time try being discerning; not everyone makes that mistake.

    316. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, that totally explains all those dogs and cats with autism. Reject the rabies shots!!! /trollin'

    317. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can an unvaccinated child put your child "at risk". That is absolute superstitious absurdity. If your child has the vaccine and the vaccine supposedly works, then your child is safe! I mean, do you realise what you're saying. On the one had you're saying vaccines have saved the world, on the other, they don't really work unless everyone takes them?? Herd Immunity is not a proven theory, in fact it makes no sense at all.

      The only way to truly confer immunity is for the immune system to get the disease. This is a fact.

    318. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know if you can post URL's here but why don't you lovely folks head over to places like vaxtruth dot org and read up on some of the real stories of vaccine damaged children and the real science behind vaccines and how completely debunked it is before repeated nonsense that you heard somewhere else but haven't actually verified for yourself that is leading to serious consequences.

    319. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Where are the control and sample groups in the article?

      Also, according to the trendline peaks in the article, Oregon is was better off in the peak of 2009 as opposed to previous five year peak cycle of 2004 identified in the article. The population is superior position than the previous peak!

    320. Re:Autism by T+Murphy · · Score: 1

      No, those deaths fall squarely on the shoulders of the anti-vax crowd. Wakefield just wanted to scare people away from the MMR vaccine in favor of separate vaccines (which his... benefactor was trying to push).

    321. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anecdotally, I think there must be a genetic component to autism. Out of my five cousins, two of them (both male) have moderately severe autism. Everyone in this family is intelligent, with the males often seeming "borderline-Asbergers". But with two autistic kids in my near family, I am probably more likely to have an autistic child than the general population is.. which is scary, and something I would have to carefully consider before having children of my own. Having an autistic child is a life sentence--they require 24/7 care until adulthood, possibly lifelong care. Its extremely stressful and all-consuming, I've seen it destroy my aunts' and uncles' lives. I look forward to a future where we can somehow detect or prevent cases of autism before birth.

    322. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, that's pretty much what those opposed to vaccines say. One lady told me that a disease like measles only kills 1% of its victims--I told her there are about 20 diseases that we vaccinate for, then asked if she wanted to roll percentile dice 20 times for that.

      Didn't phase her--she can't do that kind of math.

    323. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you really suggesting that polio was on such a HUGE decline that it naturally accounts for the number of cases going from 35,000 in 1953 to 161 in 1961? in 8 years the annual number of infections drops by 34,839 completely naturally when there are no major environmental changes?? really??

      and it couldn't have anything to do whatsoever with the March of Dimes polio vaccination campaign that started in 1953?? (when the annual rate was 35,000)..using a vaccine which by the way was *proven* in the Francis Field Trial to be 94% effective against a particular strain, with varying percentages of effectiveness against others?

      You're a dumbfuck. It is possible to test vaccines for effectiveness and do so ethically, you can do it with empirical and statistical data...you don't have to intentionally infect them to see if it's working. You'll find that a significant amount of advanced science is in fact proven on things we can't *see*.

    324. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How come there's no "-1 poster is too stupid to understand the conversation"?

    325. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah vaccines are so figgin safe that the big pharm has special protection from the gov't to prevent them from going bankrupt when people sue them. So instead they set up this: http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/index.html

      Go look up DPT and see how many kids were injured or killed by the vaccine - the number are greater than the number of kids injured or killed by the actual disease.

      Or go talk to Jon Poling MD, PhD about his daughter Hannah, who received five vaccines — diphtheria–tetanus–acellular pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), measles–mumps–rubella (MMR), varicella, and inactivated polio. At the time, Hannah was interactive, playful, and communicative. Two days later, she was lethargic, irritable, and febrile. Ten days after vaccination, she developed a rash consistent with vaccine-induced varicella.

      Months later, with delays in neurologic and psychological development, Hannah was diagnosed with encephalopathy caused by a mitochondrial enzyme deficit. Hannah's signs included problems with language, communication, and behavior — all features of autism spectrum disorder. Although it is not unusual for children with mitochondrial enzyme deficiencies to develop neurologic signs between their first and second years of life, Hannah's parents believed that vaccines had triggered her encephalopathy. They sued the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for compensation under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and won.

      enjoy Troll!

    326. Re:Autism by Myopic · · Score: 1

      Why don't we? We don't because we've already heard enough jokes today. We don't because we accept evidence as a foundation for belief. We don't because we aren't lying when we claim to be doing science.

    327. Re:Autism by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Seriously? You would choose early death by a stupidly, retardedly preventable and quite deadly disease over autism?

      This is a false dilemma, since that's not actually what's happening... but if I had to choose between the two? It's an extremely difficult choice. Yes, I might choose risk of death over a full lifetime of abject, unavoidable misery.

    328. Re:Autism by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      You can vaccinate yourself against unicorn abduction by getting laid.

      With the unicorn, I assume.

    329. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2010/02/02/autism-mmr-lancet-wakefield.html

    330. Re:Autism by Sardaukar86 · · Score: 1

      I see comments along these lines all the time and it amazes me that we males are so desperate to hand the keys to our emotions to someone else to use and abuse as they see fit.

      Try being single - it's a bit sucky for the first six months but after that the freedom becomes intoxicating and you'll forget why you ever bothered chasing skirt in the first place. I've been single for over ten years now and there's not a human being on Earth, no matter how beautiful or amazing, that I'd ever let near me. I don't see that changing in the future as I'm just too happy with my life the way it is!

      Sex is important and hard-wired into our animal brains but it doesn't mean we need to hand over our cerebral cortexes lock stock and barrel.

      Try it. You'd be amazed at the clarity of life lived wth a backbone and without the ever-present pussy whip.

      --
      ..Mullah or Pope, Preacher or Poet, who was it wrote: "Give any one species too much rope and they'll fuck it up"?
    331. Re:Autism by yndrd1984 · · Score: 1

      Maliciously withholding something from someone effectively grants them permission to seek it elsewhere. Remind her of this.

    332. Re:Autism by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Tough, the law is law. Children are not possessions, they are not pets, they are tiny citizens with all the rights of protection of other citizens but none of the responsibilities. Parents rights (there are none beyond normal citizens rights) do not out weigh the rights of their children. Parent's do not own children they are responsible for them and failure to uphold those responsibilities results in punishment for unreasonable pain and suffering they cause.

      Stringing along a lethal disease rather than working to eradicate it just allows new strains to develop, strains that could attack already immunised children. People are playing with fire and in this case they should be treated exactly the same as arsonists. These people selling books and internet adds should be treated worse than people shouting fire in a crowded theatre they should be treated like a person who sets a crowded theatre on fire.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    333. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If that's your relationship - she withholds sex if you don't go along with her wishes - I pity you (and her).

      I pity you, sleeping with women who, apparently, are in the mood no matter how poorly you treat them.

    334. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That "urban myth" regarding a link between autism and vaccination was debunked a couple of years ago. Kids dying from being under-vaccinated is still happening.

    335. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Due to similarities between ASD and fragile X syndrome, the argument for genetics is very strong, but we cannot even begin to eliminate environmental factors.

      -a guy who researches autism

    336. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ASD prevalence is higher than that (usually cited as being just under 1%, allthought the CDC has recently increased that number) , but your point remains entirely valid. Additionally, the reason whooping cough does not kill more than that (I think you made up that number) is the high rate of sensible parents who do get there children vaccinated. In short, your point is valid.

    337. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We delayed vaccinations some with our first, because she was never around other kids (no daycare, no siblings in school, ...), so low risk. She was small, so we figured we'd let her grow a little before putting her immune system under too much stress. The next two were vaccinated on schedule (big sis goes to the local viral swamp^W^Wschool...

    338. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Well, without the pussy he would not have had any kids.

    339. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      what angers me about the anti-vaccination parents, is that they scream, "I'm the parent, I know what's better for my child, and this is all about the drug companies making a profit." No, you don't always know what's better for your child. What pisses me off is people in this society are so historically myopic, and they only look at the most extreme cases and extrapolate that to everyone in general. When you're looking at failure rates in the .10, or .100 percentile cases, RELAX. I want to smack parents, just SMACK THEM! You think your kid is going to bounce back from Measles, Mumps, Whooping Cough? The risks from vaccination are miniscule compared to the risks of your child getting ravaged by those diseases, and suffering from blindness, organ failure, disfiguration, becoming sterile.

    340. Re:Autism by morgauxo · · Score: 1

      I am a married father. And I say if you let your kid go unvaccinated because your wife says so then you are just as horrible of apparent as she is. You are at fault if your child gets sick and you do not deserve your family. All one can hope for from this kind of stupidity is that if it is hereditary then maybe survival of the fittest will take care of it and eventually remove the morons from the gene pool. I love my wife but I would do anything it took to protect my daughter if she was hurting her.

    341. Re:Autism by HungWeiLo · · Score: 1

      In any culture where the woman is oppressed in public, you can be darn sure she wears the pants in their private life behind the doors. It's like taxes - you can lower them in some areas but it'll be made up for sure in other areas.

      --
      There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
    342. Re:Autism by HungWeiLo · · Score: 1

      and because of that smoking has been going down.

      I think it's more the exorbitant taxes levied on cigarettes that do most of the heavy lifting. Paraphrasing Denis Leary - you could put a skull and cross-bones and the word "CANCER" in giant bright letters and smokers will still line up and buy them and wonder what the big deal is.

      --
      There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
    343. Re:Autism by morgauxo · · Score: 1

      How do you know that the vaccine did this?

    344. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just so you know, if many people thought like this (and many people are starting to think like this), those diseases would be back with a vengeance. It's called herd immunity. A single unvaccinated kid is unlikely to get the disease because his peers don't have it. As vaccination rates fall, risk of catching it goes up by a lot, until eventually even vaccinated kids that don't have perfect immune systems are getting it too.

    345. Re:Autism by hoboroadie · · Score: 1

      As a husband, I recite the Two Sacred Words "Yes Dear."

      --
      They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
    346. Re:Autism by flaming+error · · Score: 1

      I'm going out on a limb and guessing you were raised in the context of a monotheistic culture that worshipped and feared an authoritarian male deity.

    347. Re:Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      propagate lies much?

    348. Re:Autism by Xarin · · Score: 1

      And if rationality and logic fail: be the responsible parent and put the kid in the car, drive to the clinic, and have the vaccination administered.

  2. Vermont. by grub · · Score: 5, Informative

    Today Vermont state will be voting today on taking away the philosophical exemption for vaccination.

    You can show your support for this smart idea by contacting
    Patti Komline (802) 867-4232,pkomline@leg.state.vt.us
    Paul Poirier (802) 476-7870 paulpoirier33@gmail.com

    There is a massive anti-vax push here, be sure to show your support if you live in Vermont.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Yes, it is smart to get your children vaccinated, however, the government has no right to mandate this. Keep the government out of this process, or they'll start regulating everything. Also remember that you have to *pay* for a vaccine. So this would be the government mandating that you purchase a product from another private seller. Just not a good thing for the government to get involved in. Please don't vote for this.

    2. Re:Vermont. by geekoid · · Score: 0

      Mod parent up.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    3. Re:Vermont. by Alranor · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If the people refusing vaccinations were the only ones affected by that refusal, i'd agree with you.

    4. Re:Vermont. by Vectronic · · Score: 0

      Good for you, wasn't planning on ever living in Vermont anyways.

      I'm not really "anti-vax", but I'm sure as hell not pro-forced vaccinations, especially one size fits all type ones.

    5. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      If the government can violate an unborn child's right to life in the name of personal choice, then why is the government turning around and saying that you have no personal choice in whether or not your child is vaccinated with questionable substances?

    6. Re:Vermont. by Electricity+Likes+Me · · Score: 2

      I don't know. I despise anti-vaxxers, but I'm not sure it should be expressly illegal for many of the reasons listed above. Conversely, it is in no way comparable to population control policies (which it should be noted, are largely implemented via the absence of tax breaks for the second and third child etc.)

      As a society, we should be getting vaccines because we collectively agree its the right thing to do - not because we force people too. Down that path when it comes to medicine is nothing good.

      Conversely: just because it's not a legal requirement, doesn't make you not an idiot for not doing something.

    7. Re:Vermont. by Gr8Apes · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why doesn't the gov have the right to mandate it? It's a health issue. They can quarantine you in cases of epidemics. Actually, since unvaccinated people are effectively an epidemic waiting to happen, perhaps we should just quarantine them. I understand we have a lovely mostly vacant seaside facility available with a nice tropical climate.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    8. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, this is a terrible idea. Don't conflate wanting parents smart enough to see vaccinations don't cause autism with wanting government control.

    9. Re:Vermont. by Rich0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The problem with this argument is that your unvaccinated (due to your choice) kid can kill my unvaccinated (not due to my choice) kid, when otherwise my kid would live a normal life.

      Kids under six months of age can't be vaccinated against pertussis, so those who opt out after that age increase the risk of death for kids younger than this. Some people have allergies that prevent vaccination.

      So, this isn't a choice that parents make that subject only their own children to risk, but it affects everybody. That makes it everybody's business, and hence in the realm of government regulation.

      And yes, I often lean libertarian, but a completely legitimate function of government is to protect individuals from bad choices that other people make.

    10. Re:Vermont. by 19thNervousBreakdown · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Instead of mandating vaccinations, make spreading a preventable disease a crime.

      --
      <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
    11. Re:Vermont. by Volante3192 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      By that logic, the government has no right to mandate the amount of lead in your water pipes or paint or the sanitary conditions of a processing plant.

    12. Re:Vermont. by thsths · · Score: 1

      > Yes, it is smart to get your children vaccinated, however, the government has no right to mandate this.

      Why not? Herd immunity is the best way to eradicating a disease, and it only works if everybody (or most everybody) is on board.

    13. Re:Vermont. by spiffmastercow · · Score: 1

      Wait until your infant who is too young to get the immunization gets whooping cough from some kid whose idiot parents decided not to vaccinate. Without full buy-in, we don't get herd immunity.

    14. Re:Vermont. by jdgeorge · · Score: 1

      Aren't they only voting to remove philosophical exemption from vaccination for children who will be in school?

      In other words, isn't it true that the government wouldn't be "forcing" anyone, but only protecting those students and teachers who are using and providing services that the tax-paying public is paying for?

    15. Re:Vermont. by durrr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I hope you're for being thrown out of hospitals with sick your child(ren) too.

      Because that's starting to happen when they show up with their unvaccinated little plaguebearer that sends everyone immunocompromised(which are quite a lot, including pretty much everyone elderly) scrambing for the emergncy exits.

    16. Re:Vermont. by cpu6502 · · Score: 0

      Better not move to Texas either, where the governor overruled the Legislature and issued an executive order forcing girls to get Gardasil shots (even though Gardasil doesn't do anything useful). He was repaying Merck who helped get him elected.

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    17. Re:Vermont. by grub · · Score: 1

      Hmm... It worked with Typhoid Mary after a couple of tries.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    18. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think we all know that we are going to have to have child limits and child licenses at some point. There are, after all, a finite number of resources that can be used at any one time. So I wouldn't worry about that as a possible outcome since it is probable that we get there anyway. Actually, I'd prefer we just got it over with. We have too many people with 5 and 6 kids just growing the population way too fast. Besides, imagine the hilarity that would ensue when some of the various theists were forced to use some form of birth control. Priceless!

    19. Re:Vermont. by Volante3192 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And it'd be nice if the government didn't have to make laws on workplace safety. Or make laws about not including toxic chemicals in toys, paint or water pipes. Or making theft and murder a crime.

      Because keeping your employees healthy and alive is the right thing to do. So is not intentionally or carelessly poisoning people. So is not stealing and killing.

      Sometimes the law has to enforce the right thing to do because people cannot be trusted to do the right thing.

    20. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Because it's not a questionable substance...nor does aborting a fetus kill the neighbors.

    21. Re:Vermont. by Beelzebud · · Score: 1

      No one is advocating that they can inject "ANY" chemical they "desire", you half-wit. If you distrust this government so much, just leave. No one is forcing you to stay.

    22. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Also remember that you have to *pay* for a vaccine.

      Obamacare made preventative care, such as vaccines, free of charge.

      Making people personally responsible for their decision to not get a vaccination, without a legit excuse besides, "I don't want to", is a good thing. However they still have the religious beliefs section, which anyone could invoke.

    23. Re:Vermont. by Beelzebud · · Score: 1

      And as you see from the response to this posting, libertarians are not immune from idiocy.

    24. Re:Vermont. by Baloroth · · Score: 1

      If the people refusing vaccinations were the only ones affected by that refusal, i'd agree with you.

      (Devil's advocate): you can apply that argument to nearly anything, ever. Every action you take or do not take affects others to some degree or another.

      --
      "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
    25. Re:Vermont. by Sique · · Score: 1

      ... which helps those already infected or dead because of non-vaccinations of others exactly how?

      The problem is that your system only starts kicking in when the catastrophe has already happened.

      --
      .sig: Sique *sigh*
    26. Re:Vermont. by Volante3192 · · Score: 1

      And as you see from the response to this posting, libertarians are not immune from idiocy.

      I thought that was a prerequisite...

    27. Re:Vermont. by atheos · · Score: 2

      don't give them any more ideas.

    28. Re:Vermont. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Actually, IMHO, the government does NOT have a right to force you to get a vaccination but does have the responsibility (and right) to quarantine you in the event of a an epidemic.

      A vaccination is an individual decision (albeit forgoing vaccination is a stupid individual decision but you get to make stupid decisions), once an epidemic starts it is a public health issue. Of course, the dividing line between a public health issue and an individual decision is not black and white - hardly ever is - but them's the breaks. Life if complex and messy.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    29. Re:Vermont. by Pulzar · · Score: 1

      even though Gardasil doesn't do anything useful

      Citation needed.

      I have one saying quite the opposite, actually.

      --
      Never underestimate the bandwidth of a 747 filled with CD-ROMs.
    30. Re:Vermont. by cpu6502 · · Score: 0

      If the students/teachers are already vaccinated, then they have nothing to fear from unvaccinated kids. The students/teachers are immune from those deadly diseases.

      I consider this a "pro-choice" issue just as important as the pro-choice issue of abortion. Or wanting to date a partner of the same sex. Or smoking. It's YOUR body not the government's; they shouldn't have power to block you from lighting a cigarette, or having homosexual relations, or getting an abortion, or exercising the option not to be vaccinated.

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    31. Re:Vermont. by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Very well, since lack of vaccination in a person is a public health issue due to weakening herd immunity, you get the choice between being vaccinated or preventively quarantined until you get vaccinated. Your individual freedom pretty much ends when it endangers the health of others.

      --
      Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
    32. Re:Vermont. by cpu6502 · · Score: 0

      >>>(Score: 0, Troll)

      What I posted was not a troll. It was an OPINION based upon my own personal thinking (I don't trust governments, corporations, or the unelected bureaucrats therein). It seems like a sensible philosophy to me, given the last 100 years of government/corporate history.

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    33. Re:Vermont. by cmburns69 · · Score: 2

      So, this isn't a choice that parents make that subject only their own children to risk, but it affects everybody. That makes it everybody's business, and hence in the realm of government regulation.

      The same essential argument was used by the supreme court in Wickard V. Filburn. Unfortunately, IMHO, it is a line of reasoning that can be too easily abused to enforce by law certain viewpoints over others.

      --
      Online Starcraft RPG? At
      Dietary fiber is like asynchronous IO-- Non-blocking!
    34. Re:Vermont. by cpu6502 · · Score: 0

      >>> You half-wit, if you distrust this government so much, just leave.

      I'll remember that the next time someone argues the government should not ban same-sex marriage, or ban abortion: "If you want to be gay or terminate your pregnancy, then just leave and go somewhere else, you half-wit." NAH. I'm not an asshole.

      I respect other people's opinions even if I don't agree with them. YOU might want to try that yourself. (In other words stop the name-calling; you're not in high school anymore.)

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    35. Re:Vermont. by grub · · Score: 5, Insightful


      Actually I would hope health insurance companies in the US grow a pair and refuse to pay for hospital treatments for kids who are unvaccinated (by choice and not medical reasons).

      Make the parents pay for their retarded behaviour.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    36. Re:Vermont. by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Your comment spawned an idea for me. I wouldn't have a problem with people not getting vaccinated if they could be held liable for the results of their negligence. So if someone decides that their child won't get vaccinated and my child can't (for age or medical reason) but then contracts some horrible disease from the child who's parent decided not to have them vaccinated then the parent who chose to not have their child vaccinated would have to pay the bills. If my child dies then charge the parent who decided to not have the child vaccinated with negligent homicide. This would allow anyone to be a stupid as they want (we don't have many laws against people doing stupid things but that is increasing) but as soon as it affects someone else then there is recourse. Given that one can sue anyone for anything (whether it holds up in court is different) I am surprised someone hasn't tried this already to test the legal waters.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    37. Re:Vermont. by mofolotopo · · Score: 1

      What a hilarious parody of a stupid slippery slope argument! You are a comedy genius.

    38. Re:Vermont. by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 2

      Instead of mandating vaccinations, make spreading a preventable disease a crime.

      You really do not want people hiding their symptoms to avoid getting arrested. Once there is a breakout of a disease then the only priority must be to contain it.

    39. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or make laws about not including toxic chemicals in toys, paint or water pipes.

      How much toxicity in volume/weight for an 8 pound new born baby getting many multiple vaccinations vs a toddle playing with a plastic toy with PVC? How is it that intelligent people are so irrational about the general toxicity of vaccines?

      Sometimes the law has to enforce the right thing to do because people cannot be trusted to do the right thing.

      Go home commie, I don't want you to baby sit me, an adult. I am fine choosing for me or my family to be possibly sick, I will keep my child home, so your's doesn't. Freedom is not worth throwing away over petty fears. (need I quote Benjamin Franklin?)

    40. Re:Vermont. by Volante3192 · · Score: 2

      Hooray! The slippery slope!

      The reverse is, of course, total anarchy, but you're obviously perfectly fine with that, right? I mean, if the government CAN'T dictate vaccinations, it can't dictate gun laws or assault or anything else! Thunderdome!!

    41. Re:Vermont. by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 1

      Your kid might memetically infect mine with religion, leading my kid to believe that world is nothing like what it seems. For my kid's safety, I want your kid's mind cleansed.

      --
      "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
    42. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why can't we publish a database of people who have been vaccinated? Then, at least you'd know who to avoid, ostracize and ridicule.

      This is a very good way of internalizing the negative externality of not vaccinating.

    43. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... but a completely legitimate function of government is to protect individuals from bad choices that other people make.

      History is doomed to repeat itself, "please goverment, we give up rights, please protect us from our neighbors!"

    44. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At this time, I believe we need to do a proper study to determine if the resoundingly demonstrated Libertarianism/Idiocy correlation involves some sort of direct causation, and whether it is Idiocy causing Libertarianism, or Libertarianism causing Idiocy, or if some hidden third factor such as being dropped on their heads as children, or drinking mercury is the cause.

    45. Re:Vermont. by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Why bother? No one is forcing YOUR child to forgo vaccination, are they? You simply cannot force vaccinations on people. If you go with the "it's for the children" excuse you step into a whole new territory where forcing vaccinations on everyone is acceptable. Irregardless of the benefit or safety of the current vaccinations, you create an industry where drug companies create vaccinations under the assumption that everyone is forced to accept them regardless of their benefit. Are you going to argue that the same reasoning you use to force vaccinations will not be used to mandate those which are of negligible benefit other than the profit of those tasked with manufacture and administration of the drugs?

      My children are vaccinated VOLUNTARILY under the direction of a medical professional, who's opinion drives my choices of which vaccines are necessary. No other model is acceptable--whatsoever.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    46. Re:Vermont. by Alranor · · Score: 2

      Generally speaking, no, I don't support the government being able to inject any random chemical into people's bodies.

      I'm more than happy to make an exception in your case though

    47. Re:Vermont. by Jason+Levine · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If not vaccinating meant that only your kids had the risk of contracting the disease, I'd agree with you. As a parent, you would bear the responsibility for weighing your options and choosing whether or not to vaccinate. It would still be a very good idea, just not a government mandated good idea.

      However, when a parent decides not to vaccinate, they put others at risk: The elderly (too old to have gotten the vaccine), the very young (too young to get the vaccine yet), and those with medical reasons for not vaccinating (allergies, immune system disorders, etc). When an action you take could result in the injuring or death of other people, I think it's a perfect time for government to act.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    48. Re:Vermont. by blueg3 · · Score: 1

      The reason slippery slope is a fallacy is that most problems involve a tradeoff between two conflicting goals. It's common for picking an extreme end of this tradeoff to be something wholly undesireable. Defining an appropriate balance between, say, public health and safety and personal freedom, is a key component of the solution.

      Yes, forced sterilization does sound like a terrible idea. So does roving bands of lawless warlords. Good thing neither of them are relevant to whether or not people should be required to get vaccinations.

    49. Re:Vermont. by geekoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "A vaccination is an individual decision "
      no it is not. It is a social decision. If you are able, but unwilling to get a vaccine, then you are risking society.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    50. Re:Vermont. by geekoid · · Score: 1

      I agree that the right thing to do is to force all those medically able to get vaccines.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    51. Re:Vermont. by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 2

      And in doing so, you're opting for the far more expensive option.
      #1 You will be dealing with far more outbreaks than if you would make vaccinations mandatory, which is significantly more expensive to the government and society as a whole.
      #2 You will have to expand the very expensive police and court system to deal with the additional cases coming in. This also costs a lot of money.

      It's funny how US libertarians regularly claim to be for smaller governments, but in doing so, invariably end up in situations where they have to significantly expand the government to deal with the fallout.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    52. Re:Vermont. by Beelzebud · · Score: 2

      I don't have to respect the opinions of dangerous idiots.

    53. Re:Vermont. by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 1

      You sir have hit the nail square on the head.

      --
      I got here through a series of tubes
    54. Re:Vermont. by bryan1945 · · Score: 0

      Some kids cannot be vaccinated for everything, for differing reasons. Vaccines are not 100%. Like he said, it's required only for kids going to school. You can home school your kids. You're not being forced to do anything that you can't get around. It's a public health issue for the non-idiots' kids, not some personal ideology. Your points are all about your personal body; this is about your choices affecting the health of others. Sorry, but your rights end at you- you have no right to inflict anything on others.

      --
      Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
    55. Re:Vermont. by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      mod parent up. my right to live is more important than your "right" not to be vaccinated.

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    56. Re:Vermont. by judoguy · · Score: 1
      Ultimately everything can be framed as a health issue. Diet, vax, exercise, air quality and that ignores mental health. Violent games? Not enough prayer? Reading the wrong books? "Bad" music?

      A country where people can and will sometimes do stupid things to themselves and others has its problems but is preferable to me to a totalitarian state.

      --
      Peace is easy to achieve, just surrender. Liberty is much harder get/keep.
    57. Re:Vermont. by geekoid · · Score: 4, Informative

      "A vaccination is an individual decision "
      false
      - Not all vaccines are 100%. This is one reason why herd immunity is critical.
      - These people my not be able to be vaccinated for medical reasons.
      - They may go home to family members you are elderly, or too young to be vaccinated.

      When you don't get vaccinated, you harm others pretty directly, same with smoking, BTW.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    58. Re:Vermont. by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      no, completely different. there's no slipperly slope. government can force anyone to do anything. WHY they force someone to do something is something they have to defend, or the public agitates and politicians lose their jobs

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    59. Re:Vermont. by oddjob1244 · · Score: 1

      I have no why I can't throw a dry ice bomb into a crowd and risk sending people to the hospital, or if someone is really unlucky, getting them killed. However I can bring a deadly disease, that I didn't want to get vaccinated for, into a crowd of people and risk sending people to the hospital or if someone is really unlucky, getting them killed and others (even people on this site) will defend my decision to not get vaccinated. We need to start holding "I don't want tos" personally liable.

    60. Re:Vermont. by DrgnDancer · · Score: 1

      It's quite arguably a public health issue to begin with. If you don't get vaccinated you become a potential vector for others who lack immunity for reasons beyond their control. Something on the order of 10% of people either can't get vaccines (because of immune compromises, allergies, too young, etc) or have ineffective vaccines (for whatever reason it just didn't take). For those people, every additional unvaccinated person is an additional vector for disease. I'd say an issue that potentially affects 10% of the population (plus or minus the percentage of people unvaccinated by choice) is definitely in the realms of public health management.

      --
      I don't need a million points of light, just two points of multi-mode fiber and a 10 Gig-E router.
    61. Re:Vermont. by circletimessquare · · Score: 2

      you're a moron. your opinion is based on abject fear and a pathological lack of basic human trust. the government in a democracy is an extension of the will of the people, not an alien rights abusing machine, despite whatever antisocial hysteria your feeble mind harbors

      i'm really sick of retards like you polluting the conversation on subjects like this. there IS such a thing as the common good, and it will be enforced, in the name of THE PEOPLE. now go scream about the fascist government giving you anal probes, or whatever paranoid hysteria intellectually deficient losers like you fantasize about

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    62. Re:Vermont. by J'raxis · · Score: 1

      Thanks for posting about this. I hope they pass this. You know why?

      I'm from New Hampshire and part of the large and ever-growing liberty movement here. People sick of the nonstop attacks on their freedoms and liberties are moving here from all over the country. For some people, it's a single issue that made them move---exorbitant and ever-increases taxes, the never-ending Drug War, erosion of private property rights, lack of education freedom, attacks on parental rights, infringements upon the Second Amendment, you name it---and for some people it's a bit of everything. (I left Massachusetts over "Romneycare." The government forcing me to buy health insurance was the last straw for me.)

      The anti-vaccination movement has become, over the past couple years, one of the liberty movement's most active single-issue allies. The current chair of the biggest pro-liberty lobby organization in the state (probably in the whole country) came into the liberty movement through one of the anti-vax groups here, as did another woman and her son, both of whom got elected to the State House in 2010. They're Republicans; a few years years ago, a Democrat state representative was the one to sponsor a bill expanding New Hampshire's existing philosophical exemption to vaccination.

      If the state right next door passes this attack on people's right of conscience, that would only serve to help the movement here as people move to escape Vermont's tyranny.

    63. Re:Vermont. by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Are you advocating that we should eliminate the police and military? That your only protection from my stopping by in the middle of the night and killing you to take your possessions is your own personal weapons cache and a set of watches through the night? And what happens when I have more thugs working for me than you have working for you? After all, I know when I need to employ thugs, and you do not. If your solution is to form a neighborhood watch, congratulations, you just invented the government.

    64. Re:Vermont. by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      Except with the Chicken Pox vaccine where the vaccinated are an epidemic waiting to happen.

    65. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Imagine some future distopia where the Vermont government limits parents to just 1 baby each. Like China does.

      You say that like you disagree with that. But we all know that you think that would be a very good thing.

    66. Re:Vermont. by reddwar · · Score: 0

      Whether or not the government has the right to mandate this, just wait until health insurance companies start charging higher premiums for families that opt out of vaccinations because those kids are at a higher risk for various illnesses and diseases.

    67. Re:Vermont. by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      So, what is the alternative? Can I design and test nuclear weapons in my basement without regard for neighborhood safety?

    68. Re:Vermont. by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      No argument that a slippery slope exists. However, I don't really see any alternative. The slippery slope goes two ways - refuse to regulate vaccination one day, and suddenly all your neighbors own nuclear weapons. After all, a compromise in-between is apparently impossible to achieve by your line of argument.

    69. Re:Vermont. by jason777 · · Score: 1

      Because the government doesn't have the right to forcibly dictate medical decisions. It's called liberty. Whether you believe vaccinations are good or not is not the point. The point is that each person has a right to their own medical decisions. Now proceed to mod me down.

    70. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Today Vermont state will be voting today on taking away the philosophical exemption for vaccination.

      You can show your support for this smart idea by contacting
      Patti Komline (802) 867-4232,pkomline@leg.state.vt.us

      Paul Poirier (802) 476-7870 paulpoirier33@gmail.com

      There is a massive anti-vax push here, be sure to show your support if you live in Vermont.

      I'm firmly in favor or a philosophical exemption. Doing away with it is just one more way to strip our freedoms away. Don't get me wrong, I've had my vaccines, and when I have kids they'll have their vaccines too. I'm not opposed to them and I think they're a great thing. Nevertheless, it should be an individual's right to refuse medical treatment if they so desire.

      However, the converse of this view is that it should be the right of certain organizations to refuse you membership if you have not had certain vaccinations. I don't think the U.S. military gives you the choice to opt out (I could be wrong on that, but when I went into the army I remember it as being mandatory). Schools are a little harder to deny membership to, since there would be a pretty big legal and moral dilemma created by the refusal of a school to educate a child based on the child or parent's sincere philosophical views (I.e., a sincere belief that vaccines could cause their child harm).

      So yeah, all the anti-vaccine hype is pretty ridiculous, but so is the idea that I my child has to accept a medical treatment that I'm opposed to.

    71. Re:Vermont. by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      I'd normally agree with you, but this is the state government doing it, not the federal government. The states have the right to do this under the constitution (well, the state constitution could prevent it) I'd prefer that the state not mandate such things, and I sure wish these idiots would just get diseases and die without infecting the rest of us. But unfortunately that's not the case. The vaccine does not work on us all, and when large numbers of people fall for this idiocy, they put everyone at risk, not just themselves.

    72. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      I disagree strongly. This is a HUGE fucking public safety issue. You should not be able to take your child out in public if you declined vaccination because "I don't feel like it."

      So this would be the government mandating that you purchase a product from another private seller.

      No, it's not. Especially when you consider that many states require you to have car insurance if you drive a car.

    73. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      No, I can't agree. You're saying it's ok for them to wait until it's already too late to do something about it, but not ok to take preventative action.

    74. Re:Vermont. by spiffmastercow · · Score: 1

      Your comment spawned an idea for me. I wouldn't have a problem with people not getting vaccinated if they could be held liable for the results of their negligence. So if someone decides that their child won't get vaccinated and my child can't (for age or medical reason) but then contracts some horrible disease from the child who's parent decided not to have them vaccinated then the parent who chose to not have their child vaccinated would have to pay the bills. If my child dies then charge the parent who decided to not have the child vaccinated with negligent homicide. This would allow anyone to be a stupid as they want (we don't have many laws against people doing stupid things but that is increasing) but as soon as it affects someone else then there is recourse. Given that one can sue anyone for anything (whether it holds up in court is different) I am surprised someone hasn't tried this already to test the legal waters.

      It's a nice thought, but there's a few major flaws..

      1. ) It would be really hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt which person gave your kid a communicable disease,
      2. ) Sending some moron to jail doesn't make up for a dead child, and
      3. ) You're expecting someone who is already acknowledged to be irrational (not immunizing their child regardless of the fact that their reasons for doing so were revealed to be based on a hoax) to act rationally

    75. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      No. This is absolute, fear-mongering bullshit, and you should be ashamed for even thinking it.

    76. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      If the government can violate an unborn child's right to life

      Since when did the government mandate that people have to get abortions? That's never been the case. It's always the person carrying the child making that decision, not the government.

      Stop being a fucking idiot.

    77. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anything that shuffles the Ron Paultards into a single state is fine with me. Then we can wall it off and be free of your retarded ideas.

    78. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Here's the problem: If you don't vaccinate, you are not only putting your child at risk, but the children of others.

      The only other alternative I can see is that, if you choose not to vaccinate, you don't get to take your child in public. You don't get to use day care facilities, you don't get to enroll them in schools, etc.

    79. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Nope, not in the least. But thanks for being an idiot.

    80. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Wow, you truly are an idiot, aren't you? No one said anything about forcibly injecting any chemicals. You are engaging in wild speculation that only serves to make you look like a nutcase.

      If you're not going to vaccinate, then you should be required to quarantine your children at home. You have NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to endanger the life of mine simply because you're a fucking piece of shit.

    81. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      I'll remember that the next time someone argues the government should not ban same-sex marriage, or ban abortion

      I like how you try to take two unrelated topics, and try to make them appear similar, even though there is nothing related, and the arguments are completely different. You cannot equate same-sex marriage to vaccinations, no matter how hard you try.

      I'm not an asshole.

      Yeah, you are.

      I respect other people's opinions even if I don't agree with them.

      So fucking what? You want a cookie?

      YOU might want to try that yourself.

      Not when their idiotic "opinions" actually lead to the deaths of innocent people. They are retarded, plain and simple, and are unfit to be parents.

    82. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Yes, it's a fucking troll. You're actively defending the ability of others to decide to harm other people.

    83. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Yeah, you don't actually have anything backing that up. Stop trolling.

    84. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Good god, you are a fucking moron, aren't you? Why don't you learn how vaccinations and herd immunity work, before spouting your dangerous and ignorant trash?

      If the students/teachers are already vaccinated, then they have nothing to fear from unvaccinated kids. The students/teachers are immune from those deadly diseases.

      Not everyone who gets the vaccine will develop resistance to the point where they would be immune. When surrounded by people who have developed immunity, however, it doesn't really matter, as this percentage is fairly small, and the bug has an extremely difficult time getting a foothold enough to infect people. Thus, those who don't develop the immunity themselves are protected by herd immunity. However, if you add in a bunch of unvaccinated people who are unvaccinated due to their parents being fucking retarded, then there is now a large enough population to where the disease can gain a foothold, and thus start an outbreak. Worse yet, it can be possible for the bug to mutate once inside those people, and it might go after people who had immunity before.

      I consider this a "pro-choice" issue just as important as the pro-choice issue of abortion. Or wanting to date a partner of the same sex. Or smoking. It's YOUR body not the government's; they shouldn't have power to block you from lighting a cigarette, or having homosexual relations, or getting an abortion, or exercising the option not to be vaccinated.

      No it's not, and you are showing yourself to be extremely ignorant by doing so. NONE OF THOSE OTHER EVENTS (with the exception of smoking, and that's already heavily regulated) HAVE ANY AFFECT ON OTHER PEOPLE.

      I do NOT recognize your right to be a retard and put other people at risk. That is NOT freedom; that's self-centered douchebaggery.

    85. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The government does have the right, they just haven't used any compulsory vaccination laws in recent history. If they did there would be a large amount of public outcry just like there was 100 years ago when they forced people to get small pox vaccines. The supreme court agreed that it was legal, see Jacobson v Mass

    86. Re:Vermont. by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      If you choose not to get your child vaccinated, you should not be able to take them out into public. End of story.

    87. Re:Vermont. by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      You are confusing correlation with causation there. Granted there are a lot of stupid people who claim they are libertarians but they don't think it through all the way. Most of these people thing that magically things would be better, but it would be a tough transition and it wouldn't be the no government environment that they think they would get.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    88. Re:Vermont. by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

      You sound like Rick Santorum (or similar persons of his ilk). "We must round-up the gays and cure them of their mental illness. We have vaccines now which will do the job. It is for the good of society."

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    89. Re:Vermont. by cmburns69 · · Score: 1

      As always, a balance has to be made between public good and the freedom to act under your own conscience. In the case of backyard nukes, it is obvious that the potential public danger is high. With the case of vaccination, however, because of herd immunity, the potential public danger is not as high (though not non-existent).

      Where do you draw the line? To use an exaggerated claim (though on the opposite end of the spectrum from yours), consider this: Falls are a significant source of injury, especially to the very young and very old. Would you have the government regulate shoe tread in an effort to reduce the number of injuries?

      --
      Online Starcraft RPG? At
      Dietary fiber is like asynchronous IO-- Non-blocking!
    90. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Carrying a gun is an individual decision"
      No it is not. It is a social decision. If you are able to defend yourself and those nearby, but unwilling to do so by carrying a firearm, then you are risking society.

      This is fun!

    91. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because you believe vaccination is good, doesn't mean you have the right to push it on MY family.

      If I don't have the right to believe in what I want to believe, then you don't have the right to push vaccination on me because that's what you believe is right.

    92. Re:Vermont. by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

      >>>Good god, you are a fucking moron, aren't you?

      No.

      But I do have manners (something you appear to lack). If you give government the power to force disease vaccines, you also give government the power to force sterilization vaccines (in order to enforce some future 1 child policy). There is nothing you can do to stop them, once this law has passed.

      Try thinking beyond just this year, and think about the long-term ramifications.

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    93. Re:Vermont. by ChetOS.net · · Score: 1

      Those who are unable are also risking society.

      Whatever we do to the "able but unwilling" we need to do to "unable, willing or otherwise".

      --
      "If God had intended us to walk he would not have invented roller skates." -- Willy Wonka
    94. Re:Vermont. by cpu6502 · · Score: 0

      >>>No one said anything about forcibly injecting any chemicals.

      That's what vaccines are
      .

      >>>Wow, you truly are an idiot, aren't you

      Ooops. I didn't realize I was speaking to a juvenile. You haven't learned your manners yet, or how to act like an adult.

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    95. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (in order to enforce some future 1 child policy)

      I think I've finally figured you out. With the amount of flip-flopping you do, you must be a politician.

    96. Re:Vermont. by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1
      True I was just wondering out loud and curious what others thought. I think a few cases or suits where someone who didn't get there child vaccinated was successfully prosecuted it would put an end to a lot of the nonsense that is going on.

      In response to your points:

      1. ) It would be really hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt which person gave your kid a communicable disease

      True but the bar for proof in a civil case is lower than it is in a criminal case. Yes it would be difficult but not impossible.

      2. ) Sending some moron to jail doesn't make up for a dead child, and

      The same could be said about any case where someone was negligent and it resulted in the death of someone.

      3. ) You're expecting someone who is already acknowledged to be irrational (not immunizing their child regardless of the fact that their reasons for doing so were revealed to be based on a hoax) to act rationally

      To this I say they should not be parent's, as evidence by their negligent care of their own child harming another person's child. People who are completely irrational as to be a danger to themselves or others shouldn't be out amongst the general public. This is why we lock up criminals and have people civilly committed.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    97. Re:Vermont. by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      "You simply cannot force vaccinations on people."

      Why not? Most countries force everybody to cover their genitals and not wave flamethrowers around randomly when they interact with society. Don't want to get vaccinated? Okay, leave the country (if anyone will take you). Or go live on this unvaccinated idiots reserve. No, your kids can't go with you.

    98. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Vaccines are chemicals in the same way that you and I are chemicals. Nevermind the fact that you claim that pro-vaccers think that the government should be permitted to inject any chemicals at all into other people, while the reality of the situation is that vaccines represent a very tiny and specifically defined subset of your "any chemicals".

      Ooops. I didn't realize I was speaking to a juvenile. You haven't learned your manners yet, or how to act like an adult.

      *pats your head*

      One day, when you're older, you'll learn that it isn't juvenile to call a spade a spade, but that putting words in other people's mouths is.

    99. Re:Vermont. by Fned · · Score: 1

      "Carrying a gun is an individual decision"
      No it is not. It is a social decision. If you are able to defend yourself and those nearby, but unwilling to do so by carrying a firearm, then you are risking society.

      Yes, and...?

    100. Re:Vermont. by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Well, there are some parents that are refusing to vaccinate their children because they fear that it will cause autism. It seems that, at least in those cases, sterilants might not have been so bad after all ... :-0

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    101. Re:Vermont. by ichthus · · Score: 1

      Hooray, the strawman! Yes, it's all or nothing with legislative power, right?

      Actually, no. Requiring citizens to put something into their bodies is an entirely different issue than gun control or... assault laws? You seriously want to go there?

      Also, interesting that you use the word "dictate." Dictatorship is, in fact, what you're advocating.

      --
      sig: sauer
    102. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait, when did homosexuality become contagious? Because that is the only way your comparison makes sense.

    103. Re:Vermont. by Mr_DW · · Score: 1

      Your operating under the assumption that your "rights" trump everything. Our constitution tries very hard to protect your freedoms. But it does recognize that your freedom isn't absolute. In fact, your freedom specifically disappears when you are endangering people. For instance, you can have your freedom stripped from you if you yell fire in a crowded place, for malicious reasons. The only difference here is that you are quietly endangering everyone else for your own benefit. Antivax is such a selfish position...

    104. Re:Vermont. by ichthus · · Score: 1

      Three responses to my comment, including yours, which resort to personal attack in the form and tradition of playground name calling. Quite telling of their intellectual caliber. What can I say -- you're welcome?

      --
      sig: sauer
    105. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Minor point, just fyi. Pertussis vaccines (DTaP) are started at 2 months of age. You might be thinking of influenza, which starts at 6 months.

    106. Re:Vermont. by Volante3192 · · Score: 1

      You are confusing reasoned argument with sarcastic one-liner :p

      I'm certain there's reasonable libertarians out there who actually examine consequences and understand the outcome...but they appear few and far between. Most ones I see comment subscribe to the magic bullet newsletter, though.

    107. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The biggest problem I can see with that scheme is proving causation. Say you come down with pertussis. According to my quick google medical degree, the period of incubation is 7-10 days before any symptoms arise. Now, you're stuck with the questions of "which of the two dozen people who coughed on the subway last week actually gave me the disease? And how can I figure out who this person is, and where to find them?" Even if you could pin down one potential infection source, you've still got to prove that you were infected by that person, and not someone who happened to sneeze as you passed her on the street. While I agree that people should be held accountable for their negligence (I'm a tort lawyer, it's my bidness) the difficulties in practical application in this case would likely be insurmountable.

    108. Re:Vermont. by Cheeze+ball · · Score: 1

      We do this already. Most states do not allow non-vaccinated children to attend public schools. Thus they are quarantined form the population.

      The proposed bill above would allow the state to continue to quarantine those people choosing not to get vaccinated, by no longer waiving the bar to accessing public education for those with Philosophical reasons. (i.e. People say is philo reason for not getting, they are waived and allowed into school w/o vaccination).

      This bill does not FORCE or Regulate anyone into getting vaccinated. Parents still have a choice. The choice is a) Vaccinate attend Public school b) Do Not vaccinate attend home-school or private school who will accept. **Notice no where is it required for them to be vaccinated or is the a fine, tax, or legal recourse for choosing not to.

    109. Re:Vermont. by ichthus · · Score: 1

      Yes, forced sterilization does sound like a terrible idea. So does roving bands of lawless warlords.

      You made the same mistake as another responder -- namely, the strawman argument. You seem to think or, rather, argue that legislated law is all or nothing. Why is allowing people to decide what they will and will not put into their bodies akin to anarchy? Your comment is ridiculous.

      --
      sig: sauer
    110. Re:Vermont. by ichthus · · Score: 1

      And, what a hilarious attempt at a cogent retort.

      --
      sig: sauer
    111. Re:Vermont. by Vectronic · · Score: 1

      Anyone immunocompromised should be in a separate ward/building from admittance/general diagnosis areas.

      What about people that haven't even had a chance to be vaccinated yet, should they be thrown out too simply because they are sick? Anyone sick, shouldn't be allowed to go to the hospital because they might make sick people sick?

      Like I said, I'm not against vaccinations, only forced vaccinations... I'm not against dentists, or hair dressers either... force me to go to one, I will be though.

    112. Re:Vermont. by sir-gold · · Score: 1

      What happens when you unknowingly end up with a doctor who is strongly biased against vaccines for personal reasons and not valid medical reasons?

      Or in my case, I ended up with a child psychologist who was anti-medication, and believed that severe adhd could be treated purely with therapy and nothing else.

    113. Re:Vermont. by blueg3 · · Score: 1

      Why is allowing people to decide what they will and will not put into their bodies akin to anarchy?

      For the same reason that mandatory vaccinations are akin to forced sterilization: they aren't.

    114. Re:Vermont. by ichthus · · Score: 1

      i'm really sick of retards like you polluting the conversation on subjects like this.

      I'm not the one relying on on a fifth-grade level of personal insult to feebly attempt to add to the debate.

      your opinion is based on abject fear and a pathological lack of basic human trust.

      Yours is based on a blind trust of government edict -- a stance that defies historical context. Mine is based on a healthy lack of trust in extensive government power -- an actual belief in what you said next:

      the government in a democracy is an extension of the will of the people

      Yes, this ALWAYS rings true. This is why we now naked body scanners and gropings at the airports.

      now go scream about the fascist government giving you anal probes... blah blah...

      Wow. You are an intellectual giant. Your homeroom teacher should get a bonus this year.

      --
      sig: sauer
    115. Re:Vermont. by bws111 · · Score: 1

      Your examples are pretty bad. First, how can you make the argument that 'due to herd immunity the threat to others is not high, therefore voluntarily weakening herd immunity is not a problem'? That makes no sense at all.

      As for your shoe tread example: defective treads on your shoes are highly unlikely to cause harm to others. Defective tires on your car however are likely to cause harm to others, and the government regulates that.

      Finally, acting under your own conscience does not absolve you of responsibilities. If your own conscience allows you to create a fall hazard, and someone falls and gets injured or killed, you will be held responsible for that - civilly, criminally, or both. If however, your conscience says it is ok to not vaccinate your kid, and as a result someone else's child gets sick or dies, there is no way to hold you responsible. You have completely shifted the burden of your stupidity to the victims.

    116. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perfect! All you had to do was bury your child. Everything worked out in the end.

    117. Re:Vermont. by Amouth · · Score: 1

      But in this case, if you are vaccinated and they are not, and they get sick you are still fine because you have been vaccinated.

      Only in a case where you too are not vaccinated are they an issue.

      The real issue comes down to people who are not yet old enough to make informed decisions or who are not old enough to be safely vaccinated. Some vaccines are not safe for kids under four years old. The question then comes down to, the right of a person who could be vaccinated but isn't knowingly risking the life of another person (child under four) who can not yet be vaccinated.

      in the case of two people unvaccinated and one getting the other sick, well too bad to both..

      in the case of someone who chooses not to be vaccinated getting someone who is yet able to be sick and possibly having them die, i consider that knowingly putting someone at risk of bodily harm and even death, and i believe we already have laws on the books to deal with that.

      --
      '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
    118. Re:Vermont. by sir-gold · · Score: 1

      I strongly support you and your efforts to create a new center for libertarian and anti-government ideals, but for the complete opposite reason you might expect.

      I truly believe that we are headed for a civil war in the US, and centering all the libertarian ideals in the northeast makes it much easier for the rest of the country, who don't agree with you, to declare war on you and form 2 new countries from the former-USA

      So you go right ahead and create your tax-free "ferengi" society, where absolutely everything you do (using the road, using the library, educating your kids, going to the park, talking to a politician) will cost at least some amount of cash, meanwhile the rest of us will create a system where the advances of technology and mass production we have gained in the last 100 years will benefit everyone instead of just upper management and shareholders.

      After that we just seal the border, and wait 10 years until everyone in "Freedomville" New Hampshire dies of whopping cough, polio, and smallpox.

    119. Re:Vermont. by JTsyo · · Score: 1

      It's hard to keep track of who your kid comes into contact with and if they were sick or not at that time. Might work in some cases though.

    120. Re:Vermont. by circletimessquare · · Score: 1
      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    121. Re:Vermont. by JTsyo · · Score: 1

      Just thinking. Maybe what we need a is something like the sexual predator database. That way you can look up who around you isn't vaccinated and keep your kids away.

    122. Re:Vermont. by jason777 · · Score: 1

      Each person has personal liberty. Your rights end where mine begin. To force me to vaccinate is to trample my rights. Without digging up the tons of evidence (just visit infowars.com) against vaccines let me just say that there are many vaccine injuries. I have listened to a prominent doctor (search Dr. Tenpenny) who has many videos and research on this topic. Even if vaccines work (debatable), the poisons and toxins in the preservatives in them make it very dangerous to human health. Infants especially are shot up with so many poisonous vaccines at once and in a short timespan that its no wonder there are injuries. At least we should wait until they are group a bit so the brain can take it easier. But I dont want them. It is absolutely my right to refuse them. If you think they work so well, then get them and dont worry then because they work...right? So, I likewise will not vaccinate.

    123. Re:Vermont. by bws111 · · Score: 1

      What makes you think the majority of the people don't support the security at airports? Sure, everyone complains about it, but given the choice do you really believe that the majority of the people would want them removed? How long do you think that opinion would last the next time someone tries to light a shoe bomb on a plane?

    124. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While I agree with you at times, you have a fondness for making BS and unprovable claims ALL THE TIME.

      Please stop. I would like to respect you.

    125. Re:Vermont. by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      Well given how often people here like to take digs at libertarians it didn't seem too unreasonable an assumption. I at least try to think through political issues as best I can but it seems that across the entire spectrum people generally don't, be they libertarians, communists, greens, democrats, republicans, or constitutionalists. Add in the people who are most visible in the minor parties tend to be the more nutty ones (I'm looking at you Glenn Beck, Alex Jones, who claim to be libertarian) and it only further marginalizes and discredits their cause.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    126. Re:Vermont. by firex726 · · Score: 1

      Plus vaccines rely heavily on a herd mentality, if only a few people get them, then they won't do much good.
      It's a matter of public safety.

    127. Re:Vermont. by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      Sounds good to me. We already have other notifications when other dangerous people move into neighborhoods.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    128. Re:Vermont. by Amouth · · Score: 1

      and your point? my post was in agreement with you but i would rather not impose one someones "right" but rather hold them to their actions.

      by not getting vaccinated, if they are the source of someone whom has yet had the chance to be vaccinated getting sick then they are responsible for that and the outcome. If the person dies then that means the person is responsible for their death as it could have been prevented by getting vaccinated.

      --
      '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
    129. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You seem to think or, rather, argue that legislated law is all or nothing.

      Only because you did it first, in order to show just how ludicrous your claim was.

    130. Re:Vermont. by bws111 · · Score: 1

      One of the problems with that is that you would never be able to prove who was responsible for someone getting sick. Another problem is that some people will get sick even though they were immunized. These people can infect other people before they show symptoms.

    131. Re:Vermont. by LateArthurDent · · Score: 1

      "A vaccination is an individual decision "
      no it is not. It is a social decision. If you are able, but unwilling to get a vaccine, then you are risking society.

      A lot of us believe individual rights trump societal rights. Justified laws are those that avoid other members from the society you live in from infringing on your individual rights, not the other way around.

      That said, not vaccinating your kids is just plain stupid. The proper way of handling this is educating these people in an attempt to make them better decisions. And since it's in the benefit of our society that people get their kids vaccinated, public education campaigns are a valid use of tax money.

      In summary: trying to convince people to do the right thing for the benefit of society is ok. Forcing them to do the right thing is not.

    132. Re:Vermont. by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      The US has some nice land in Nevada and other desert states that could be used for idiot, I mean anti-vaccine, reserves. Here you go, your new home. Might want to build yourself some shelter. Don't try to cross the fence.

    133. Re:Vermont. by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      The hypothesis of infections memes has not been proven scientifically.

      However, I'm pretty sure if I kidnapped your kid and brainwashed him, I could be charged with something.

    134. Re:Vermont. by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      You don't get the point at all. Herd immunity only works as long as the entire herd, or most of it, has immunity. As soon as a sizable portion no longer has immunity, they become a vector for infection and mutation of the illness for the rest of the herd.

      That's why unvaccinated people are a danger to us all and should be pre-emptively quarantined for the rest of our safety. Note the recent several thousand case of pertussis epidemic in CA. Think about the ample chance for that to have mutated and spread into something a lot more serious, all so some morons can walk around endangering us all. I think perhaps pre-emptive quarantine might be a smarter move than I originally intended for a slightly tongue-in-cheek statement.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    135. Re:Vermont. by DrGamez · · Score: 1
      For every injury of vaccines you have, how many non-injury cases have their been? At what point do you just decide to trust numbers?

      Oh wait, I'm sorry I didn't see you drop the t-word (toxins). I can see this discussion will not go anywhere productive, sorry.

      If you think they work so well, then get them and dont worry then because they work...right?

      Oh man, rofl. I don't think I can link to Herd Immunity, it's already been linked like 10 times in this story.

    136. Re:Vermont. by budgenator · · Score: 1

      Except the Government isn't mandateing vaccinations;

      According to the Times-Argus, S.199 and H.527 would “revoke the philosophical exemption, leaving parents with the choice of either administering the shots or finding alternative schooling options for their children. Both bills retain the religious and medical exemptions, which combined accounted for fewer than 50 opt-outs in 2010.”

      The Times-Argus reported that in the year 2010 “more than 340 parents used the philosophical exemption to enroll their children in public school without the required shots. Bills seek to boost immunizations by eliminating philosophical exemption

      it's simply required to either have the vaccinations or a valid exemption to attend a day-care or public school.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    137. Re:Vermont. by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      And your rights end when you endanger me.

      Except you're not only endangering me, but everyone around you.

      Yes, there are some risks to vaccines, they are not 100% safe. However, they are a lot safer than not vaccinating anyone, or only vaccinating a portion of the population. Perhaps you need to go back 100 years or so and see the ravages of a few epidemics, perhaps the Spanish Flu epidemic, or the smallpox epidemic of 1967. Or a few hundred years further back and see what a truly new virus or host of diseases can do as the Europeans came into contact with the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

      Vaccines work. Today's lack of epidemics of the common scourges of times past are proof enough. You will have to supply counter proof from actual medical tests that vaccines in general do not work.

      Dr Tenpenny appears to be the Rush Limbaugh of the anti-vaccination movement. While Flu vaccines aren't perfect, per well-known process defects, these aren't the vaccines that people talk about when getting recommended vaccinations. Flu vaccines are a separate issue, and those are merely suggested for a certain subset of patients. That Tenpenny would leverage the Flu vaccine argument as an argument against vaccinations in general sounds more like a moron's idealistic stance than anything scientific.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    138. Re:Vermont. by budgenator · · Score: 1

      You mean like child neglect or reckless endangerment?

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    139. Re:Vermont. by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      I'm gay and I'm pretty sure I've never given "the gay" to anyone else.

    140. Re:Vermont. by guspasho · · Score: 1

      Further, children don't decide to get themselves vaccinated or not, parents make that decision for them. Should children - to say nothing of other children - have to die for their parents' negligence in refusing to get them vaccinated?

    141. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slippery slope is a logical fallacy. We shouldn't shoot down good ideas just because we perceive that bad ideas may eventually come from them.

      Every idea should stand on its own merit.

    142. Re:Vermont. by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      the consequences of someone choosing not to get vaccinated is the possible death of a child not their own

      how do you hold someone accountable for that?

      the simple truth is, there is no freedom in this world without an equal amount of responsibility. those who behave irresponsibly reduce freedom for everyone. too many people posting about freedom and choice think of the ideas of freedom and choice from the perspective of a clueless teenager: that your actions exist in a vacuum of no consequences

      all freedoms exist in tension in this world: your right to get a good nights sleep, my right to listen to loud music at 3 am, your right to stay alive, my right to speed as fast as i want

      you need to stop thinking about freedoms in a vacuum, where your choices have no implication. the idea that the government is limiting people's freedoms by making vaccinations mandatory is bullshit. the idea that some irresponsible asshole is risking my life and the life of my children by choosing to be so stupid and so irresponsible as to not get vaccinated: THAT is the limitation on my freedom that needs to be opposed in the name of freedom: the freedom to live, without which, no other freedoms matter

      limitations on your freedom in this world is NOT primarily from governments. limitations on your freedom in this world IS primarily due to the irresponsible actions of other individuals around you. that really is the truth: without responsibility, there is no freedom in this world, regardless of whatever any government ever does. freedom, and responsibility, comes from individual action. and where freedom is limited, look the stupid, the evil, the thieving, and the irresponsible individuals around you

      i do not fear limitations on my freedom from my democratic government which suffers when it defies the popular will. i fear limitations on my freedom from the irresponsible individuals in my country

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    143. Re:Vermont. by Amouth · · Score: 1

      and a driving factor to get people to get vaccinated would be to charge the ones who do cause people to get sick with crimes for their actions.. get person A for manslaughter or murder and person B-Z will get vaccinated.. would have less back lash than forcing everyone in the public to get vaccinated.. when you force it even the people who would have done it will complain.. when you make it only effect the bad actors.. the rest of the herd will shun them and support punishment.

      --
      '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
    144. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's an stupid idea. By that same logic you could hold vaccinated people accountable as well for "Involuntary Manslaughter". You would have to arrest everyone.

      If vaccines are so great, why did the companies that make them lobby Congress to exclude them from civil lawsuits brought by victims of the vaccines? It was signed in to law by President Reagan.

      People have drank the koolaid and believe that vaccines, as they exist today, are safe. Big Pharma has no reason or incentive to make them safe. You can't sue them if they injure you or kill you.

      Imagine if Toyota had immunity against lawsuits concerning the safety of their cars. They would have no reason to make them safer. "Accelerator got stuck and you crashed and died? So what? Sue me! Oh wait... lol"

      I am for informed choices. I researched vaccines and what is contained in the injected fluid. Vaccines today are poison with no evidence they work anyway. All the "research" projects are funded by the Pharma companies themselves. Somehow billions of humans survived without them so far. They cause more harm than good.

      Would you trust a report funded by Toyota that claimed their cars accelerators were safe or a third party, independent organization that said they were not?

      Plus we are vaccinating mostly for non-fatal illnesses.

      For all you "99%-ers" out there: How can you support FORCED vaccines anyway? Every shot is money in the pockets of the pharma companies. That's Big Business for you. FORCE all Americans to pay you money in the name of making you "safer".

      Do the research yourself on vaccine safety. Don't take the Doctors word for it. They (the practices) are paid bonuses to maintain a level of vaccine compliance by the HMOs.

      Read the "disclosed" side effects of the vaccines before accepting them. Many have "death" as a "side-effect" ("while rare"). So would YOU risk DEATH so you don't get chicken pox?

    145. Re:Vermont. by Volante3192 · · Score: 1

      You're the one arguing there's no difference between mandated vaccination and mandated abortion. And yet I wouldn't argue the latter...strange... All or nothing?

      Your rights stop the instant they negatively impact someone else, or, more colloquially, "Your right to swing a fist stops when it reaches my face." There are people legitimately incapable of being vaccinated. Allergies or age for example. They rely on everyone else who can be vaccinated to reduce (and hopefully eliminate) their ever catching the disease.

      When you make the conscious effort to not get vaccinated, despite your being medically capable of handling it, you're punching the face of those unable to be vaccinated. Or do you think your right to cause harm trumps their right to avoid it?

    146. Re:Vermont. by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      don't bother arguing with the moron

      all government action is an attempt to destroy freedom. just because it can, in his mind

      the will of the people expressed through their government, the common good, these are alien concepts to the moron

      the moron lives in a paranoid schizophrenic hollywood fantasy world where goose-stepping fascists want to give you anal probes. why? just because that's what government exists to do, in this moron's mind. they think agent smith in the matrix is what real life is like. this is a stupid person with deficient education and deficient social skills you are trying to reason with

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    147. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Too difficult to determine the source of the infection. Plus, it's too late for your kid when he's six feet under, and no amount of revenge will bring him back.

    148. Re:Vermont. by ichthus · · Score: 1

      You obviously have an anal probe fixation. And, you still argue like a fifth grader. And, if you're agreeing with bws111 that the TSA is in accordance with the will of the people, I think I have your grade level pretty much pinpointed.

      --
      sig: sauer
    149. Re:Vermont. by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      And exactly how are you going to track and enforce that? Just punish people for getting sick? What if no one else gets sick? What if it's a kid that is patient 0? What if it's an 18 y/o? What they caught it prior to turning 18? Now prove it unequivocally.

      It's a losing battle. If this is starting to sound like the series of questions asked in support of universal health care, you'd be correct - it's the same basic question of determining fault after the fact in a different context without making things better for those affected. In this case, the idiot who didn't vaccinate for disease B with a bunch of others allowed disease B to get a strong foothold, mutate, and hurt/kill a bunch of others. How is going after the dumbasses after the fact going to help any of the afflicted?

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    150. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In this way, you make the children pay as well. That's exactly why mandatory vaccination would be great. Idiot parents don't get to ruin your life too much.

    151. Re:Vermont. by J'raxis · · Score: 1

      So you go right ahead and create your tax-free "ferengi" society, where absolutely everything you do (using the road, using the library, educating your kids, going to the park, talking to a politician) will cost at least some amount of cash, ...

      Because in our current society these things don't cost anything... they're "free," right?

    152. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > A lot of us believe individual rights trump societal rights.

      So what is your stance on drunk driving? Like not getting vaccinated, it's a situation where a person engages in risky behavior that might lead to death of innocents.

    153. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By your logic drunk driving should be okay unless you hit someone.

    154. Re:Vermont. by jason777 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and the herd immunity argument has been refuted numerous times already too. Go live on an island somewhere if you so scared, but no one has the right to force an immunization on me.

    155. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Natalie Morton died because of an allergic reaction to a vaccination. Her pro-vax parents never thought to research the potential dangers of vaccination before they forced it on her and her pro-vax peers and adults around her would never think to question it. Who are you going to charge with homicide here, Bob?

    156. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A vaccination killed Natalie Morton because the government decided to push vaccinations just in the manner you so promote. Who should act now, to have someone pay for her death?

    157. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So who is responsible for any negative side effects of deaths due to adverse vaccine reactions? Who pays for that?

    158. Re:Vermont. by LateArthurDent · · Score: 1

      > A lot of us believe individual rights trump societal rights.

      So what is your stance on drunk driving? Like not getting vaccinated, it's a situation where a person engages in risky behavior that might lead to death of innocents.

      My stance is that you should be allowed to drink and drive on your own property, if you own a field or something. That's your individual right and the government doesn't have a legitimate case for infringing on it even if it might get you and people on your property killed (in which case they do have the right to make you face the consequences for your negligent actions). Rules for taking the car on public roads are not infringing on your individual rights because those roads are as much everyone else's as they are yours.

      Your body, on the other hand, is your own. So nobody has the right to force you to take anything you don't want to.

    159. Re:Vermont. by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      AC is wrong. Cancer caused her death, the shot just happened to occur shortly before the tumor killed her. 3s on google would have stopped you from posting such easily disproven tripe.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    160. Re:Vermont. by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      Why would I move to an island? How does this help the conversation in any way?

    161. Re:Vermont. by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      They're just getting understandably irritated because you're not making any sense. Nothing personal, not intended as an insult, but your argument really doesn't make sense.

      I think the problem is that you're looking at the outcome of someone else's argument, and then taking a step back in their reasoning, modifying their argument, and taking a giant step forwards to some absurd conclusion (forced sterilization, forced abortion) and then framing this as a rational rebuttal.

      Sorry that was a bit of a run-on sentence, but I hope you get the drift.

      if
      a) Vaccinations are effective...
      b) ...but only if everyone has one
      c) Are safer overall than the diseases they prevent
      are all true, then requiring people to take vaccinations seems reasonable.

      And most importantly, the above argument does not further imply that the government should forcibly sterilize people.

      Do you see?

    162. Re:Vermont. by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      Why yes, that's exactly what he means.

      Now, when did you say you were leaving?

    163. Re:Vermont. by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      No-ones suggesting that we push vaccinations on you. They're suggesting that they push it on your children, and they are further suggesting that they know better than you what's good for your children. And they are right.

    164. Re:Vermont. by cffrost · · Score: 1

      ... which helps those already infected or dead because of non-vaccinations of others exactly how?

      The problem is that your system only starts kicking in when the catastrophe has already happened.

      The may be, but the wisdom of his system is that it doesn't impinge upon the civil liberties of the individual. It also doesn't preemptively punish individuals for taking risks and managing those risks and/or remaining fortuitous in avoiding their natural, probabilistic consequences. Finally, it provides a legal motivation (in addition to extant or potential motivators, e.g., societal, medical, ethical, financial, etc.) to do what is beneficial for society, without purposefully engaging in the catastrophe that is the rapid, wholesale destruction our civil liberties.

      Franklin's quote on security and liberty needn't only be applied in the context of state bogeymen de jour. I find the concept of criminalizing actions due to (real or perceived) risks to be morally questionable, authoritarian, and ripe expansion and abuse with no end in sight. The popular target for legislation these days is driving, and what we may or may not do in our vehicles. Perhaps medicine will be the next target for a while.

      As a liberal, it concerns me that so few on the left see a problem with this, let alone get on board with some of these ideas.

      --
      Thank you, Edward Snowden.

      "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
    165. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You "wouldn't have a problem" with that? So would you have a problem with people blindfolding themselves and then firing guns on a public highway?

      I would. The idea that "someone can be held responsible" is pretty cold comfort to the parents of the dead kid.

    166. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's funny how US libertarians regularly claim to be for smaller governments, but in doing so, invariably end up in situations where they have to significantly expand the government to deal with the fallout.

      It's an inherent, difficult to solve problem. You have liberty vs universally good ideas. To have maximum liberty, you must be able to choose, including choosing to do something completely idiotic even if that may harm other people.

      Basically, Libertarians favor punishing mistakes (inflicting consequences) instead of prior-restraint preventing those mistakes from happening (prohibiting actions/choices).

      It's difficult to imagine how a libertarian society could function, taboos (action prohibition) are a social construct that existed before laws, it just doesn't fit human nature to ignore their existence.

    167. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Australia, free pertussis vaccine is given at 2, 4 and 6 months of age, with booster doses at 4 years and 15-17 years. The most recent data I can find seems to be that 60% of children aged 4-9 years are fully vaccinated and another 6% are partly vaccinated.

       

    168. Re:Vermont. by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      But in this case, if you are vaccinated and they are not, and they get sick you are still fine because you have been vaccinated.

      Just because you are vaccinated doesn't mean that you're immune. Vaccines have a failure rate as well. If everybody is vaccinated it doesn't really matter much, since 98% vaccination is about as good as 100% due to herd immunity. However, If there is an epidemic of polio or whatever going around because we're only 75% vaccinated then an extra 2% of the population getting it is a big deal - especially if these are individuals who didn't chose this for themselves.

      in the case of someone who chooses not to be vaccinated getting someone who is yet able to be sick and possibly having them die, i consider that knowingly putting someone at risk of bodily harm and even death, and i believe we already have laws on the books to deal with that.

      First, those laws are never enforced in these cases.

      Second, your proposal is to let people create a situation where their negligence can kill a bunch of people, and then punishing them for it. Wouldn't it make a whole lot more sense to just prevent all those people from dying, rather than simply having the feel-good measure of taking vengeance? Your argument actually highlights a big problem with our justice system - it focuses too much on effects, and not enough on causes. If I intentionally point a gun at somebody and pull the trigger, does it really matter whether I hit or miss? Killing somebody shouldn't even be a crime - simply attempting to do so should be, or acting with such negligence that a life could have been lost.

      If choosing to not be vaccinated truly is criminal negligence, then it should be punished/prevented before it results in loss of life. For a vaccine with a demonstrated good safety profile and the potential to prevent serious injury or death, I don't see how parental preference can even be considered.

    169. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the rest of society is vaccinated, why would it matter if an individual choses not to be vaccinated?
      You are vaccinated, so why would you care if I were or were not vaccinated? You are protected.

      Seems a bit of double-think.

    170. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The arrogance you display is jaw dropping.

      I hope one day you actually have kids, so you can look back at the comments you are making here and cringe.

    171. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, society is going to be destroyed if that person doesn't vaccinate their children.
      Can we at least pretend to be rational when we discuss this? Vaccinations are extremely important parts of our modern societies, and have many virtues and strengths without having to become irrational about them.
      You are doing no one any help by being as deluded as the people who you ridicule.

    172. Re:Vermont. by digitallife · · Score: 1

      I love vaccines, and my comment is in no way specifically about them, but...
      I fundamentally disagree that the government should be in the business of 'protecting individuals from bad choices that other people make'. Freedom at its heart is about the ability to make choices, BAD choices if we want, without artificial hindrance from the government. Our society was based on the idea of punishing people for their actions, not someone else's judgement of their decisions. I know that mine is not a popular opinion, and everyone seems to want every other persons rights trampled to the ground, then that person thrown in jail forever (some ass rape would be good for them too), but it scares the shit out of me where our society is going.
      The last thing we as a people need right now is mandated vaccines.

    173. Re:Vermont. by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Under US law the vaccine manufacturers already do pay for this, under a mandatory insurance system similar to workers compensation.

      I'm not sure there is a better alternative. They are knowingly selling a product that kills people, but the reason it is sold is because it saves more people that it kills. The tort system does not handle this sort of situation well. That's one of the reasons self-driving cars will have trouble taking off. If you save 10,000 lives per year, but take 5, you get punished harshly for the 5 despite the fact that those 5 would have been even more likely to die had it not been for your actions.

      Too much of our legal system is concerned with effects of decisions, rather than the decisions themselves. If I aim a gun at you and pull the trigger, why should it matter whether I hit or miss?

    174. Re:Vermont. by J'raxis · · Score: 1

      Leaving? I already live in New Hampshire.

    175. Re:Vermont. by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

      >>>Not when their idiotic "opinions" actually lead to the deaths of innocent people

      You have provided zero proof that unvaccinated children made other people die. Your argument is as fallacious as saying, "If you don't support abortion, then you are helping kill innocent women."

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    176. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have provided zero proof that unvaccinated children made other people die.

      Here you go. If that doesn't provide you with "proof" that viruses will spread person-to-person if there is nothing preventing them from doing so, and that over time, the virus will mutate and affect those who were otherwise immune, try taking an Intro To Biology course at your local community college.

      Your argument is as fallacious as saying, "If you don't support abortion, then you are helping kill innocent women."

      Now there's an interesting concept... if the fetus is going to kill the mother, but the mother refuses to let the fetus be aborted, does someone else have the right to force an abortion on the mother? Nevermind that your comparing vaccinations to abortions is fallacious to begin with.

      BTW, I like how you ignore the posts that point out your flip-flopping on the whole "1 child" policy.

    177. Re:Vermont. by Dare+nMc · · Score: 1

      Pretty sure no such thing has been proposed, or enacted in the US. What has been done, is to say a vaccinated kid can't participate in publicly funded schools, or other government sponsored day care... It is the correct thing, if your not doing whats in the best interest of society don't shove a needle in your arm, but you should be paying part of the cost.

    178. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Weak argument here - if your (presumably vaccinated) child is "infected", then the vaccine did not work! It might work with other children who, like the "carrier" are open to infection because they are not vaccinated, right?

    179. Re:Vermont. by Anonymus · · Score: 1

      That's because big-L Libertarians are just Republicans in disguise. They don't want smaller government, they just want government spending shifted from social programs to police and military programs, while rolling back civil rights as much as they can in the meantime.

    180. Re:Vermont. by sander · · Score: 1

      Preventing HPV infections is doing something useful, esp as HPV infections have been shown to be a cancerogen.

    181. Re:Vermont. by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      1. ) It would be really hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt which person gave your kid a communicable disease

      True but the bar for proof in a civil case is lower than it is in a criminal case. Yes it would be difficult but not impossible.

      To what end, though? Do you think you'd get money from them? My experience with the court system is that you'd better not go expecting to actually make more money than you put in, especially civil courts.

    182. Re:Vermont. by HungWeiLo · · Score: 1

      The facts seem to back these two guys up.

      71% are OK with surveillance cameras in public places; 58% are fine with full-body scans and pat-downs at the airport

      Or if you're the type to distrust these polls, just go to a local HOA meeting for crying out loud. You'll come to the exact same conclusions. Remember how the "security moms" decided the 2004 elections?

      --
      There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
    183. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      charge the parent who decided to not have the child vaccinated with negligent homicide.

      Because charging the other child's parents makes up for you having lost your child. Yes, they'd obviously be guilty -- but no, they should not be allowed to make the idiotic and dangerous decision to endanger your child's life in the first place.

    184. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hooray for Ad Hominem attacks!!! I mean because they totally said absents of state mandated vaccinations would descend us into "total anarchy" or even implied at all that this move would have any kind of domino effect at all... NOT!!!

      Dude, get a life and please, in the future, educate yourself BEFORE you make an a$$ of yourself. Please LOOK UP THE DEFINITION of slippery slope and weep at your gaffe.

    185. Re:Vermont. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What toxicity?

  3. Here's an idea by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1, Insightful

    If you get caught abusing your kids or putting them in unsafe or unhealthy conditions, some government worker is going to step in and take corrective action. Is denying vaccinations not a similar situation that warrants a similar response?

    Stop coddling the nutters, let them get pissed off, call the country communist and seek refuge from government tyranny in Somalia. It's the only way the problem will correct itself.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:Here's an idea by Myopic · · Score: 1

      We would miss that 40% of the country, though.

    2. Re:Here's an idea by infalliable · · Score: 1

      This vaccine is not recommended for newborns/infants. It's not that people are saying "OMG, this will hurt my kid if they get the vaccine." ...At least not in all cases.

      The disease however, is probably most dangerous to newborns/infants. There is the crux of the issue. It poses little risk to parents and adults...so few naturally get the vaccine.

    3. Re:Here's an idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Depends on how you define 'miss'!

      Captcha: 'sickroom' :)

    4. Re:Here's an idea by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      No, not at all. Child abuse is direct action on an defenseless person with a clear outcome. Shirking vaccinations hardly compares, because most children will survive and thrive without them--everyone here knows this. Your logic exercise is an epic fail. Now curl back into your corner, the government is going to keep everyone safe--nice and safe.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    5. Re:Here's an idea by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      I like how you cherry-picked the example that isn't comparable. What about unsafe or unhealthy conditions?

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    6. Re:Here's an idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We would miss that 40% of the country, though.

      No we wouldn't. The guidance systems on modern cruise missiles are very accurate.

    7. Re:Here's an idea by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      If you get caught abusing your kids or putting them in unsafe or unhealthy conditions, some government worker is going to step in and take corrective action. Is denying vaccinations not a similar situation that warrants a similar response?

      Be careful what you wish for. The world is unsafe. Value judgements and interpretations of what is "unsafe" or "unhealthy" is subjective and may at any time be interepreted in a way allowing it to be used against you.

      What??! You let your kids eat a McDonalds quarter pounder with extra salted fries and a super sized carbonated monstrosity last week?....Thank god I have CPS on speed dial.

      Government meadling in the affairs and decisions of citizens and especially parents must be vigorously checked.

      Stop coddling the nutters, let them get pissed off, call the country communist and seek refuge from government tyranny in Somalia. It's the only way the problem will correct itself.

      What is really needed is a propoganda campaign to check the Internet and right wing nut mills spewing FUD rather than assuming use of force is an acceptable answer to everything comrade.

      If parents got the other side of the story and saw what could happen when their kids are not vaccinated they would not be so quick march to the drum beat of the rumor mill.

      Vaccine companies have fucked up big in the past and yes even gone out of their way to cover shit up but things need to be kept in perspective and everyones feet kept to the fire.

    8. Re:Here's an idea by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      What is really needed is a propoganda campaign to check the Internet and right wing nut mills spewing FUD rather than assuming use of force is an acceptable answer to everything comrade.

      If parents got the other side of the story and saw what could happen when their kids are not vaccinated they would not be so quick march to the drum beat of the rumor mill.

      You know, a consistent and rational enforcement of child protection laws seems better than covert domestic government propaganda campaigns to me - even if used to work against wildly insane ideas.

      Yes it would have to be covert, some Democrat raised this very idea a couple years ago and it caused a shitstorm on the conspiracy sites, along with a somewhat negative reaction on more level-headed forums such as Slashdot. Overt PSAs will just be considered government misinformation.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    9. Re:Here's an idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We would miss that 40% of the country, though.

      No we wouldn't. The guidance systems on modern cruise missiles are very accurate.

      That many people it doesn't need to be accurate, a big BOOM would do nicely. Nukes aren't even remotely necessary here, some large FAB's (or even the low tech daisy cutters) would be fine and would allow the land to be mighty fine farm land in a matter of a few months.

    10. Re:Here's an idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, not at all. Child abuse is direct action on an defenseless person with a clear outcome. Shirking vaccinations hardly compares, because most children will survive and thrive without them--everyone here knows this.

      I'm willing to bet most children who have been abused survived and thrived. Things we consider abusive today (corporal punishment etc.) were at one point the standard form of discipline to damn near every child born before the last part of the 20th century.

    11. Re:Here's an idea by holmstar · · Score: 1

      because most children will survive and thrive without them--everyone here knows this

      The ONLY reason that is true is because almost everybody who can be vaccinated, has been vaccinated. If that weren't the case, we'd still have rampant polio, measles, etc. It would still be fairly common for babies and children to die before becoming adults. If a significant portion of the population ceases to get vaccinations then severe childhood disease will return.

  4. Natural selection by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just let them die.

    1. Re:Natural selection by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      I would agree for adults but I don't think the innocent kids deserve to suffer for their parents' idiocy.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:Natural selection by Thanshin · · Score: 2

      I would agree for adults but I don't think the innocent kids deserve to suffer for their parents' idiocy.

      They will in all cases. Unless they are really lucky and lose their sub-normal parents in an accident.

      If your parents are retarded enough to risk your life based on superstition, you're playing life in hard mode.

    3. Re:Natural selection by Myopic · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately the ones making the bad decisions aren't the ones who die. Alas.

    4. Re:Natural selection by meta-monkey · · Score: 1

      If your parents are retarded enough to risk your life based on superstition, you're playing life in hard mode.

      I think you mean Hardcore.

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
  5. Evolution in Action? by grumling · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Anyone who's more willing to listen to a centerfold model/actress for medical advice deserves what they get.

    I do feel bad for their children.

    --
    "Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
    1. Re:Evolution in Action? by geekoid · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's the children that died, not the fuck twads that listen to Jenny and watched Oprah.

      What the parent deserve to get is prison time.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:Evolution in Action? by Kenja · · Score: 1

      This is the part I never understand. If Jenny McBigtits claims are to be believed, then not only do vacines cause autism, but vitamin C cures it. So what's the big deal? Just give your kids extra O.J. with their shots.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    3. Re:Evolution in Action? by Kamiza+Ikioi · · Score: 1

      Anyone who's more willing to listen to a centerfold model/actress for medical advice deserves what they get.

      I do feel bad for their children.

      And what they should get is prison if their child dies as a result.

      --
      I8-D
    4. Re:Evolution in Action? by Myopic · · Score: 1

      I do feel bad for their children.

      Right. Which is why this is a problem. Society doesn't get so worked up when, say, a bunch of kooks get together and kill themselves as adults, like with Heaven's Gate or something. Adults doing stupid shit to themselves might be an area where society would step in, or it might not; but adults doing stupid shit to children is a situation where society most often feels the need to act.

    5. Re:Evolution in Action? by Electricity+Likes+Me · · Score: 1

      And then watch them get diabetes when the same people fail to realize that the difference between soft drink and fruit juice is the origin, not the sugar content.

    6. Re:Evolution in Action? by grumling · · Score: 1

      That's right, but the result (not continuing their genetic line due to weak immunity) is the same. It doesn't matter that the weakness was due high level brain functions.

      Again, not saying it's right, and yes, the parents need to be tried for infanticide.

      --
      "Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
    7. Re:Evolution in Action? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      And it isn't even just the children of those parents, but sometimes the children of other parents who want their kids to be vaccinated, but for any number of reasons it just hasn't happened (too young, allergies, etc).

      This isn't unlike antibiotic abuse - your decisions affect my health, and that means that what you do with your life is my business in this domain.

    8. Re:Evolution in Action? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Putting people in jail will not make sure their genes will be removed from the pool.

    9. Re:Evolution in Action? by fermion · · Score: 1
      I feel the same way about gun control. Let everyone have a gun. If two people with guns kill each other, don't waste time prosecuting, call it a fair fight. If a kid dies with a parent gun, call it an act of god. The problem is the people with guns are not the only ones to get hurt. The kid accidentally kills a friend, a guy hyped up on the power a gun gives him goes looking for a fight and kills and unarmed person. This does not change the original statement, everything has risks, but simply to the risks are not limited to an individual.

      The same thing with helmets and motorcycles. Sure, on one level the only one hurt is person choosing not to wear a helmet, but in a broader sense if that person is killed in a multi vehicle collision, there is going to be some effect, either real or emotional, on the other person. It could increase car insurance rates which we are all required to have in the US.

      So everything has risks, and what we have said as a society is that vaccines on balance lower risk. This does not mean that if there is something in vaccines that may make them riskier the manufacturers can jut ignore it. That is crazy. They are being paid for a product, and market forces should work to move the product to the safest possible, even if that is only a perception. But vaccines keep everyone healthy, so some should not be able to say no just because the feel more important than everyone else, they feel they are going to externalize risk onto someone else's kid.

      The externalization of costs is great. How many of these kids do not have insurance and therefore their care is paid for by the taxpayer? If they have insurance, how much are our rates going to increase because these people think they are self sufficient individualist who don't have to follow social rules.

      I would be much more supportive of these people if they didn't come crying for handouts when something goes wrong, like the Texas governor complaining that the federal government only pays a majority of the costs of fight wildfire. Why should Texas, whose governor does not even want to part of the US, pay anything to fight fires on it's own land.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    10. Re:Evolution in Action? by Volante3192 · · Score: 1

      And what they should get is prison if their child dies as a result.

      Because Vishnu knows the one thing we need more of in this country is people in prison...

    11. Re:Evolution in Action? by RatherBeAnonymous · · Score: 1

      The parents were just stupid. If stupid were criminalized would all be in jail.

      The media outlets who allow unqualified people, like Jenny McCarthy and her ilk, to spout off on medical issued with no medical professional to counter their claims are at fault for gross incompetence. Parents who have been victimized by this misinformation campaign (and insurance companies and hospitals have had increased costs due to kids getting sick who never should have) should sue the media companies and the clueless conspiracy mouthpieces. I have no idea if it the parents would win in court, but maybe it would get the mass media entities to run weekly apologies and retractions for every bogus anti-vaccine claim and pointing out that the only study ever linking autism to conventional vaccines was done by a fraud who was trying to sell his own vaccine technology.

    12. Re:Evolution in Action? by Kamiza+Ikioi · · Score: 1

      And what they should get is prison if their child dies as a result.

      Because Vishnu knows the one thing we need more of in this country is people in prison...

      Does he also think we need more dead children?

      --
      I8-D
    13. Re:Evolution in Action? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eating sugar does not cause diabetes. Type 1 is genetic and triggered by factors still under study. type 2 is caused by genetics and being too fat, the latter which can be brought about entirely without sugar.

    14. Re:Evolution in Action? by Volante3192 · · Score: 1

      Maybe we should make them work in a pediatric care center as a janitor or something...I'm just tired of PRISON!! as the go-to solution all the time.

    15. Re:Evolution in Action? by geekoid · · Score: 1

      If a kid dies with a parent gun, call it an act of god.

      I call it negligence, and the parents should be punished.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    16. Re:Evolution in Action? by Kamiza+Ikioi · · Score: 1

      Maybe we should make them work in a pediatric care center as a janitor or something...I'm just tired of PRISON!! as the go-to solution all the time.

      Kid dies... prison as go-to solution?

      You know, I get your argument, I really do. But if your actions cause the death of your child... janitor doesn't quite make it on the list of punishments. Causing any person's death for any reason doesn't really need to be punished like a child that refused to eat their carrots.

      I'll stick to prison, and consider it fortunate I didn't say death penalty. :)

      --
      I8-D
    17. Re:Evolution in Action? by tepples · · Score: 1

      the difference between soft drink and fruit juice is the origin, not the sugar content.

      And the fact that brands other than SunnyD and Hawaiian Punch are full of fizz. Does fizz appreciably affect digestion?

    18. Re:Evolution in Action? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      OK, summary execution.

    19. Re:Evolution in Action? by Volante3192 · · Score: 1

      Meh, rather go for death penalty with no chance for appeal.

      In a nutshell, I just don't want $40k a year spent on them.

    20. Re:Evolution in Action? by Kamiza+Ikioi · · Score: 1

      $50K in California, but less than $9K spent on college students. :(

      Prisons are fine... IF we reduce the current population by 75% by tossing out minor drug convictions and eliminating privately owned prisons.

      The problem with the death penalty is that the cost of housing and fighting appeals skyrockets. It actually is cheaper to just go with a life sentence in most cases.

      --
      I8-D
    21. Re:Evolution in Action? by tommyk3000 · · Score: 1

      do you want the government to decide which treatments your children should get? feel free to move to china. bye.

    22. Re:Evolution in Action? by argStyopa · · Score: 1

      Darwinistically, as bad as that is for the individual kids, it's a "win" for Humanity.

      Take the long view, it's better.

      --
      -Styopa
    23. Re:Evolution in Action? by holmstar · · Score: 1

      There is strong evidence for excessive sugar intake causing insulin resistance. So yes, there is reason to believe that sugar can cause diabetes.

    24. Re:Evolution in Action? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not prison time.

      I'd rather them be forced to make baby caskets for the rest of their days.

    25. Re:Evolution in Action? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You want to know what's even more fucked up? Those assholes get the benefits of the vaccines their parents gave to them while denying them to their own children and the children around their children.

      Selfish, ignorant, and proud. A deadly combination.

    26. Re:Evolution in Action? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Anyone who's more willing to listen to a centerfold model/actress for medical advice deserves what they get.

      I do feel bad for their children.

      And what of the children of others who are affected?

      If an adult or child who is has pertussis coughs and some infant less than six months old inhales, then that infant is at risk of contracting the disease, with potentially devestating results. That infant is guaranteed to not be vaccinated, since those most vulnerable to pertussis are not able to tolerate the vaccine. The vaccine can't be given until an infant is six months old.

      Now, pertussis can kill older children too, so the vaccine does benefit them. However, in many cases we don't get vaccinated to protect ourselves, but to protect others. This is not unlike recommendations by doctors that boys be vaccinated against HPV, despite the fact that the vaccine confers no benefits to them and even has risks. Vaccines are as much about society as the individual.

    27. Re:Evolution in Action? by sander · · Score: 1

      Or if their neighbor's newborn dies due to it. It is not just the question of their own kid's health.

  6. We avoided autism by concealment · · Score: 0

    As the children died, they were able to relate well to others and communicate their feelings.

  7. I would like to take a moment by geekoid · · Score: 0, Troll

    And say something to the women who made this possible:
    Dear Jenny and Oprah:
    Fuck you, I hope you both die in a fire.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:I would like to take a moment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And say something to the women who made this possible:
      Dear Jenny and Oprah:
      Fuck you, I hope you both die in a fire.

      And say something to the women who made this possible:
      Dear Jenny and Oprah:
      Fuck you, I hope you both die in a fire.

      Don't forget Jim Carrey!

    2. Re:I would like to take a moment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about the cocksucking Limey who made all this shit up so that he could get some more grant money?

    3. Re:I would like to take a moment by sFurbo · · Score: 1

      Not grant money. Money from trial lawyers who had cases against vaccine manufacturers.

    4. Re:I would like to take a moment by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Sadly, it takes a child dying to unearth this sentiment. I felt this way before anyone died.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    5. Re:I would like to take a moment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We all felt like that about him before he got involved in this particular idiocy though.

  8. Is this an argument for or against vaccination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    4 deaths in 9 years with only "most" cases attributed to the lack of vaccination. That's not exactly a stellar case for vaccines considering they aren't always without side-effects.

    1. Re:Is this an argument for or against vaccination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      4 deaths in 9 years with only "most" cases attributed to the lack of vaccination. That's not exactly a stellar case for vaccines considering they aren't always without side-effects.

      Did you miss the 146 hospitalizations?

    2. Re:Is this an argument for or against vaccination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many were hospitalised because of vaccinations? Drug side-effects, allergies, infections or simply malpractice?

    3. Re:Is this an argument for or against vaccination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      4 deaths in 9 years with only "most" cases attributed to the lack of vaccination. That's not exactly a stellar case for vaccines considering they aren't always without side-effects.

      Was the number that low because vaccines aren't effective or was it low because nearly everyone else is vaccinated, lowering the chance the unvaccinated would get it in the first place? Would it still only be 4 deaths in 9 years if few/no people were vaccinated?

  9. Idiocracy by Thanshin · · Score: 1

    I've never studied this particular branch of stupidity. What are the arguments to leave the decision about which medical treatments to give a defenseless child to people without medical education? Are they religious?

    I'm genuinely curious.

    Does it apply to vaccination only? Or in America you can choose not to give other life saving treatments to your children. Seems a bit extreme as birth control system.

    1. Re:Idiocracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Parents have the right to choose treatments for their children under all circumstances. Fortunately most people take their physicians' advice most of the time, but we're all a little uncomfortable with the idea of government-mandated treatment.

      Cases of parents declining treatment against a child's wishes are rare, and can be dealt with. We do have the concept of an emancipated minor, for instance.

    2. Re:Idiocracy by Thanshin · · Score: 1

      Parents have the right to choose treatments for their children under all circumstances.

      So if you wan to kill your child you can just wait for the first ilness and then deny him the treatment until he dies?

      Abortion laws are just a matter of patience?

    3. Re:Idiocracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No no - you see, according to the anti-abortion protesters, the right to life ends as soon as you're out of the womb. This is why they have no problem sentencing women who will die if they carry the child to term to death (alongside the fetus, since it also won't survive), as well as why they think it's a great idea to murder doctors who perform abortions.

  10. Let the parents reap what they sow. by bytestorm · · Score: 1

    I think the parents, being ultimately responsible for the health and safety of their offspring, should be allowed to make whatever (possibly ignorant) choices they feel necessary, up to the point where it endangers public safety. The parents who lose children to preventable diseases are probably already miserable from their choices. If you think that's too light, charge the parents with negligence/child abuse/manslaughter for which they can spend some jail time.

    1. Re:Let the parents reap what they sow. by Electricity+Likes+Me · · Score: 1

      However in any other walk of life, ignorance is not a defense for negligence. Your employer can't claim that they didn't realize people might fall into the steel cauldron even accidentally, nor should they be able to. Similarly, you can't argue that since your employees didn't realize the danger that you saw no need to mitigate it.

      While parenting is somewhat a special issue, it's not that special. There's no magic wisdom or ability associated with it - it's a basic biological function. But it deals with very real human lives, in a very similar situation to the latter example above.

    2. Re:Let the parents reap what they sow. by Rich0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So, two problems with that line of argument:

      1. This IS a matter of public safety. Your choice to not vaccinate your kids can potentially increase my own risk of getting some disease. I might not be vaccinated against something due to an allergy, or other contraindication. Or, maybe I was vaccinated but I was one of those rare people that did not receive immunity from the vaccine. With vaccination there is safety in numbers, so these small corner cases don't have much impact as long as everybody else gets vaccinated.

      2. I don't see the point in letting parents make a choice without punishing them, but then punishing them if that choice results in a bad outcome. If the risks that choice brings are unacceptable, then outlaw the choice, not the consequences. This is like telling people that they can drive drunk as long as nobody gets killed, or letting somebody off the hook for a botched assassination attempt because they missed their target.

    3. Re:Let the parents reap what they sow. by HCase · · Score: 1

      Specifics of immunization requirements are something I'm not entirely decided, but...

      Parents who don't immunize children are endangering public safety, not just hurting themselves and their families. There is a small but significant percentage of the population that simply can't be immunized. Most commonly because they are too young for a specific immunization or because they have a weakened immune system that makes the immunization dangerous. There are also people who were immunized, but the immunization didn't take. These people rely on the general population to be immunized to create a herd immunity that keeps the diseases in check and/or wipes the diseases out.

    4. Re:Let the parents reap what they sow. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I'm pretty sure being in prison as a baby killer, is still a less than ideal experience. Last I recall, most murders, gang bangers and rapists had very strong opinions against this. Shouldn't take long for the problem to solve itself.

    5. Re:Let the parents reap what they sow. by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Ignorance is, and should be, a defence for negligence. You can't be negligent if you don't know there's a danger. The situations you've described are where situations where the claim of ignorance is not believable. Vaccination is another - if you truly don't know that you should get your kids vaccinated, you're not guilty of negligence. If, as in the real world, you're told that you should and decide not to, then you are.

    6. Re:Let the parents reap what they sow. by sander · · Score: 1

      Only if they then get tried and sentenced for homicide and be banned and prevented from having more children. And actually - no, even then it is a seriously bad idea. We should not knowingly let parents abuse their children in this way, just like we should not knowingly employ pedofiles in kindergartens.

  11. how many? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd like to know the exact numbers of cases occurred in children w/o vaccination, and how many occurred in children who were already vaccinated.

    1. Re:how many? by holmstar · · Score: 1

      The information you seek is on the first page of the article...
      ...but since you are apparently too lazy:
      Fully vaccinated: 68 cases
      Partially vaccinated: 20 cases
      Not vaccinated: 191 cases

  12. Obvious question: by gaspyy · · Score: 1

    How many babies were hospitalized or died because of the pertussis vaccination during the same period?

    Personally I am not afraid of vaccines for me or my children. A clear comparison in health issues and risks between vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated children should (hopefully) clear the whole controversy.

    1. Re:Obvious question: by pz · · Score: 1

      How many babies were hospitalized or died because of the pertussis vaccination during the same period?

      Personally I am not afraid of vaccines for me or my children. A clear comparison in health issues and risks between vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated children should (hopefully) clear the whole controversy.

      Except that the vaccination issue plays on parental fears of unknown risk of harm to their child. You cannot overcome emotion with numbers.

      --

      Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
    2. Re:Obvious question: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/a-look-at-each-vaccine/dtap-diphtheria-tetanus-and-pertussis-vaccine.html is the first decent link I found.

      The big issue is that you can't get vaccinated immediately at birth and pertussis can be fatal to infants while in adults it's an annoying persistent cough and the person typically doesn't even know they have it. Thus it is better for the infants if pertussis can be effectively eradicated which is only through vaccines.

    3. Re:Obvious question: by gaspyy · · Score: 5, Informative

      Thanks for the link. It's pretty clear:

      Due to negative publicity about this vaccine, the use of the pertussis vaccine decreased in many areas of the world. For example, in Japan, children stopped receiving the pertussis vaccine by 1975. In the three years before the vaccine was discontinued, there were 400 cases of pertussis and 10 deaths from pertussis. In the three years after the pertussis vaccine was discontinued, there were 13,000 cases of pertussis and 113 deaths from pertussis! It should be noted that although the side effects of the old pertussis vaccine were high, no child ever died from pertussis vaccine.

    4. Re:Obvious question: by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      I don't have access to the raw data, but no vaccine is approved for use on the market if the benefits are significantly better than the risks. Any time a person who takes a vaccine ends up with some problem (whether or not there is a known causal relationship) this gets tracked for possible trends. That actually applies to all drugs.

    5. Re:Obvious question: by gaspyy · · Score: 1

      You can overcome emotion with information and education, otherwise we'd all still be living in caves fearing that the sky might fall.
      Presenting the information effectively, that's the trick.

    6. Re:Obvious question: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "That actually applies to all drugs."

      I'm not sure if that was sarcastic, but it sure should be modded +5 Funny. Big pharma fights tooth and nail to keep drugs that are known to be harmful on the shelves.

    7. Re:Obvious question: by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Zero. The risk of serious side effects from the pertussis vaccination is very, very small. If there were a case in such a small area over such a short period of time it would be a statistical fluke.

      The decision to offer a vaccination, never mind recommend it, requires that the benefit from that vaccination vastly outweigh the risks. People figure these things out, carefully, in advance, then watch to make sure they're right.

  13. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Right, because figuring out how to squirt his jizz into her snatch makes them better qualified than anyone else to make this decision.

  14. I work in the NHS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I work in the NHS in the UK and it's amazing how some people don't want to get their kids vaccinated, solely because of the infamous Wakefield study and the subsequent media scare. I saddens me deeply to think that we could eradicate these diseases, but through ignorance and fear a minority of parents decline vaccination for their children. Children die of pertussis, children die of measles. These are achingly preventable, and no child ever asks for the disease. The parent is immune however.

  15. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While I don't agree that vaccinations are dangerous, I'd still rather leave the decision to the parents of the child rather than same unnamed bureaucrat. I don't trust the people inside the DC Beltway. They are sick (control freaks).

    Typically I would agree with you, but there is a problem as some cannot get vaccinated and if someone does not get vaccinated by choice then that decision can affect the person who cannot. I believe this has something to do with "the herd".

    Granted I have a cousin who is not vaccinated in any way and I told them point blank I feel that if she does get sick or disabled due to this they should go to jail for child abuse. It seems ridiculous to me to risk your child's life on bad research which is constantly kept in the media.

  16. Re:I trust parents more than government by samkass · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I trust Government regulation based on scientific research more than other kids' parents' rumors, religion and pop culture when it comes to my kids health.

    --
    E pluribus unum
  17. Re:I trust parents more than government by geekoid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Parents are not give some magic ability to know science, or understand medicine.
    Mom aren't magic and there gut feelings are wrong more then right. Fortunately on most matters there isn't an immediate effect.

    That parents decision is killing children. When it comes to vaccines, I would welcome back the days where all the children got there shots at the school.

    Don't confuse politicians with the agency doing the science.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  18. Whooping cough was considered a non-issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Even 10 years ago whooping cough was pretty much considered eradicated. No one vaccinated for it. It's a small surprise when they start offering petrussis (sp?) vaccinations (typically as part of a tetanus booster, at least to adults) most people wouldn't feel it's important. Yes, we have whooping cough up here now, but I doubt many people realize this or even know what it is (it's not like some diseases, everyone's heard of polio and knows at least something about it, whooping cough not so much). Plus, I think the names of diseases probably affects how worried folks tend to be about it (hey, we're basically clever primates, it's not unexpected), whooping cough sounds like a bad cough, nothing more. I doubt the average person knows it's dangerous and it's not like a lot of people have health insurance. Even the public program for uninsured kids up here has been radically scaled back.

    Even unvaccinated for whooping cough, your kid is far more likely to land in the ER for a case of pneumonia stemming from the flu. Yes, you don't want to take stupid chances, but let's keep some perspective on the scale of this.

    1. Re:Whooping cough was considered a non-issue by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      Even unvaccinated for whooping cough, your kid is far more likely to land in the ER for a case of pneumonia stemming from the flu. Yes, you don't want to take stupid chances, but let's keep some perspective on the scale of this."

      Don't vaccinate anybody for 50 years, then get back to me and let me know how that's working for you.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  19. Vaccinations are for the public welfare by dietdew7 · · Score: 0

    Vaccinations protect the individual and the herd. Not everyone can be vaccinated and no vaccine is 100% effective. That being said the government/medical complex is partially responsible by requiring so many vaccinations.

    1. Re:Vaccinations are for the public welfare by Tancred · · Score: 1

      the government/medical complex is partially responsible by requiring so many vaccinations.

      So the G/MC should pick a few diseases that get to spread unchecked?

    2. Re:Vaccinations are for the public welfare by compro01 · · Score: 1

      That being said the government/medical complex is partially responsible by requiring so many vaccinations.

      9 is too many for you?

      --
      upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
    3. Re:Vaccinations are for the public welfare by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      That being said the government/medical complex is partially responsible by requiring so many vaccinations.

      Uh, vaccines are probably the safest and most effective form of medicine we have. If there were 40 vaccines with good safety profiles, then chances are it would be to the benefit of all for people to take all 40 of them (vaccine recommendations aren't always universal - medical evidence should of course always be our guide).

      Why do you think the greedy bastards who run insurance companies are happy to shell out $100 for a vaccine injection? Trust me, it isn't because they're feeling generous. They know that if they don't pay $100 for that vaccine, there will be a lot of situations where they'll be paying $50k to keep somebody in the ICU for a week. Unless you like the idea of spending a week in the ICU while your family frets for your life, chances are you should consider that a good investment as well.

      The reason the "government/medical complex" is so in favor of sticking people with needles is because they work so well. Vaccines usually have effectiveness close to 100% and cost $100 or less most of the time. The next best kinds of treatments have much lower success rates and cost much more. Most drugs might have a 40% success rate, compared to 30% for a placebo. Surgery might have a 95% success rate in many cases, but at a cost of $100k and a risk that you die before you make it to the hospital to have the surgery in the first place. A vaccine stops a disease before it ever affects you in the first place.

  20. Re:I trust parents more than government by Myopic · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The only people I trust less than qualified, vetted, officials is uneducated jackasses pretending to understand the world around them when really they are just ignorant twits. There is a mantra from conservatives "They think they know better than you!". Um, yep. I think the scientists and knowledgeable health professionals "know better" than the backward backwater assholes who raise their children as if it were the year 1512. Obviously that isn't a general rule -- bureaucrats make all sorts of boneheaded decisions -- but I basically reject the notion that only you can know what is best for you in all circumstances. No; no, no, no; often, others know what is best for you, and people should be open to that possibility.

    If we lived in a perfect world, then parents would be rational, intelligent, and informed. Yes, we would all "rather" live in that world. But we don't, we live in a world full of hysterical ignoramuses. (Same basic argument against libertarianism.)

  21. Public Health by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Public Health is a funny thing -- individual actions impact the health of our entire society.

    The libertarian in me says that you should be able to make health decisions for your own [and kids] body, including unbelievably stupid things like declining vaccines. However, disease is hard to track -- if your action or negligence causes me physical injury, the libertarian philosophy suggests that you pay the bills. It's hard to employ that tactic for communicable disease. If it's very difficult to measure who is giving the disease to whom, how do we apply libertarian philosophy?

    I'd remind you that
      (a) this is by and large a state issue, not federal. You're blindly attacking the wrong people, and
      (b) this is a generally a bureaucratic and technocratic issue, not a political issue. Public health experts recommend policies, not politicians seeking votes, and
      (c) most government folks working for government are civil servants, not politicians. They're just interested in doing their job well, earning a fair wage, and leading a comfortable middle class lifestyle, just like nearly all of us. This idea that "they are sick (control freaks)" is really nonsensical and based on absolutely nothing but your bias. Are individuals troublesome in any organization? To be sure. But you're painting with a remarkably broad brush.

    From where I sit, failing to vaccinate a child is reckless endangerment, and social services should get involved. It's easy and inexpensive to reduce your kid's chances of dying from whooping cough to almost zero. Vaccinations. In fact, I submit that since every adult was once a kid, we ought to just cover everybody's vaccinations at childhood 100% by medicare. No insurance, no co-pay, no out of pocket, for both poor and middle class and rich Americans. Hell, I'd include non-citizens too, since the public health costs to citizens can be very high whereas prevention is relatively cheap. Since most parents do this anyway, the net cost for individuals is a wash. Yeah, some old folks end up cross-subsidizing young people, but its a relatively small expense for a good and sustainable public policy.

    1. Re:Public Health by meta-monkey · · Score: 1

      From where I sit, failing to vaccinate a child is reckless endangerment, and social services should get involved. It's easy and inexpensive to reduce your kid's chances of dying from whooping cough to almost zero. Vaccinations.

      Agreed. If a parent kept their home in squalor, their child bathed in mud and playing with rats because they don't believe in germ theory, CPS would move right in. I don't see how this is different.

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    2. Re:Public Health by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ignoring the concerns with tracking for a moment, retribution ("pay the bills") is no match for not getting sick, or not dying, in the first place. That is an area where Libertarianism is pretty obviously sub-optimal.

    3. Re:Public Health by mdielmann · · Score: 1

      It's easy and inexpensive to reduce your kid's chances of dying from whooping cough to almost zero. Vaccinations.

      Based on the numbers listed above, the risk of death is already less than 1% if you actually catch whooping cough and have to go to the hospital.

      --
      Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
    4. Re:Public Health by vawwyakr · · Score: 1

      You've got my vote, I think your plan sounds like the best I've heard. It makes total sense that its a public matter.

    5. Re:Public Health by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait, don't lawyers work totally for free in your libertarian utopia? I mean, how else could I sue the power company for polluting my lawn otherwise?

      So just sue everyone you can think of with your free lawyer. You'll probably get the right person eventually.

  22. Re:I trust parents more than government by elsurexiste · · Score: 1

    I don't agree. After all, it was parents under/not vaccinating their kids what got them killed. Moreover, it'll have consequences for other kids if they can't be vaccinated for whatever reason, so it's not a personal/familiar issue. Refusing vaccination on principle is, therefore, negligent behaviour.

    The government has many failures, but at least it can transcend individual's selfishness and ignorance.

    --
    I rarely respond to comments. Also, don't ask for clarifications: a brain and Google are faster, believe me!
  23. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Overzeetop · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If I'm going to have my kids near your kids, you damned well better have them vaccinated. If you're willing to keep them out of public, vaccinated events and areas (stadia, soccer leagues, public schools, the private school _I_ go to, public parks, my private club, etc.), then have at it.

    Just as I don't want you to come into work with the flu, or shake my hand if you've got an open wound on your palm, please don't force your kids to infect the rest of the world with your 19th century diseases.

    Did you know that after 50 years, we were almost rid of Polio? The International Rotary Foundation, and now with the help and massive warchest of the Bill Gates Foundation (to the historical combines tune of something like a Billion dollars) is trying to get rid of the last pockets of Polio on this planet. All it takes is one small village, mostly isolated from everyone, to keep this stuff around - destroying lives and families.

    Please excuse me if I take this opportunity to say a hearty "FUCK YOU, GET YOUR GOD DAMNED KIDS VACCINATED" and quit perpetuating these diseases. This doesn't come from the government, it's from your next door neighbor, a parent who cares about his kids. Trust me.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  24. Re:I trust parents more than government by alen · · Score: 1

    you don't have to get your kid vaccinated in a lot of places. only thing is that he/she won't be allowed into day care, school and some other places where kids are together

  25. The murderer in question is British not American by circletimessquare · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield

    And he is a murderer. It was a fraud.

    Being stupid is no defense, but preying on the stupid is something worse: it's evil.

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  26. A little misleading by infalliable · · Score: 1

    This is somewhat misleading.

    In general, the pertussis vaccine is not recommended for small infants. They need to be a few weeks/months old before receiving it. However, infants are probably the most succeptible group to complications from it.

    It is recommended that adults get the vaccine to prevent them from passing it to their children. Again though, this vaccine is not always covered by insurance and the disease poses little threat to adults.

    1. Re:A little misleading by Sevorus · · Score: 2

      I totally disagree - it's not at all misleading to blame these deaths on lack of immunization. These infants wouldn't have been vaccinated at this age, but the OLDER KIDS AROUND them who weren't vaccinated and were carriers for the disease should have been. Vaccines work via herd immunity -the entire group benefits when a disease can't spread through a community. These infants never should have been exposed to pertusis because all the people (children & adults) around them should have been immune. The hospital I work at requires every employee to be vaccinated for flu every year. Most of the working population of this hospital would not be at severe risk from flu. We don't get immunized to protect ourselves, we get immunized to protect the elderly and pediatric patients we come into contact constantly so we don't act as hosts to transfer the virus around the hospital. Immunizations should not be individual decisions - it places the whole population at risk, not just the unimmunized individual.

    2. Re:A little misleading by infalliable · · Score: 1

      It is misleading. The slashdot summary is setup to imply that parents are preventing their kids from getting the vaccine b/c the parents are stupid.

      In only a small fraction of the total cases is the reason for getting the disease b/c the parents declined to have their kids vaccinated. From the actual article: "Of those who were completely unvaccinated, 86% were because the parents declined vaccination." However, the vast majority of cases were for kids who were too young to be fully vaccinated.

      Sure, vaccinating everyone against it would eliminate the risk, but to date this vaccine is not often recommended for the general adult population.

    3. Re:A little misleading by dmr001 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Pertussis (booster) vaccination is indeed recommended (by the CDC) for all adults in the United States, ages 21-65, and for adults over 65 if they have contact with small children (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/adult-schedule.htm#hcp). Recommendations are similar in Canada, and Australia, and, I imagine, elsewhere.

    4. Re:A little misleading by berashith · · Score: 1

      I had this reccommended to me just a few years ago. My daughter was on the way, and my doctor advised me to get the DTAP or TDAP or whatever this one is to help protect her. There had been just enough time since my previous tetnis shot ( with diptheria which reacted to me and hurt like hell for days) and the imminent birth, so I went ahead and took a second shot in 3 years... knowing the pain it would give me. Really, just a few days of advil to remove a risk isnt a lot to ask. I think the doc may not have said that all adults need it, but he did ask us to have anyone who would be a cargeiver to get it done.

  27. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's more than that, in a certain percentage of vaccinated people the vaccine doesn't "take", i.e. these vaccinated folks are still vulnerable to the disease, that's why you have vaccinate everyone, these people aren't an effective vector for most diseases by themselves, if you add in conscientious objectors/abstainers, though, the combination of the two often is.

  28. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Vaccinations don't help just your child. Herd immunity. Diseases that were almost wiped out are now coming back. Yes, unnamed bureaucrats can make some pretty big blunders. Unnamed, anonymous bureaucrats can often be control freaks.

    But, if you want to be general, unless I do the research and be proactive, those same unknown bureaucrats are also why we have traffic laws that include stop lights and guard rails. You can trace back our lack of news reports on burning rivers to some random person in the DC Beltway. Congress does wrong from time to time, but they can also do good if we pay attention.

    Vaccines were a godsend to modern medical science. They've eradicated diseases. There are diseases that should have been eradicated by now if not for vaccine deniers. Yes, in general I agree with you, but this are times when not trusting them isn't an option unless you can put forward an alternative plan.

  29. Spontaneous Generation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I thought we got rid of the idea of diseases arising from spontaneous generation a few centuries ago. Where are these unvaccinated people getting exposed to whooping cough? I'll tell you. The same thing is happening in California, except they sweep some important details under the rug. Virtually ALL of the cases of unvaccinated persons with whooping cough in California are immigrants, and most of them are undocumented immigrants. They are not Jenny McCarthy disciples as some would have you believe. Most of these people probably don't even have a television, let alone know who Jenny McCarthy is. This is one of the side-effects of allowing millions of people from third-world nations to come pouring into the United States. You can be for or against amnesty or whatever, but you can't ignore the facts that bringing in a couple million people a year from places with no health care system to speak of also brings disease.

    1. Re:Spontaneous Generation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      " but you can't ignore the facts that bringing in a couple million people a year from places with no health care system to speak of also brings disease."

      So the 50 million people without health insurance in the US are all illegal immigrants?

  30. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Considering that most Slashdotters can't even manage a date, let alone sexual relations with a woman, I find the comment sadly ironic.

  31. Not a problem by gstrickler · · Score: 1

    While I personally am in favor of vaccination (the autism connection theory is too weak), I agree that parents should have the right to refuse to have their children vaccinated.

    When more than X% of a population is vaccinated against a disease, the chance of an epidemic or wide spread outbreak is low. As you increase the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated, the risks from the disease continue to decrease. At some point, the risk from the disease (risk of contagion times risk of significant impairment from contagion) becomes lower than the risks of the vaccine. The exact percentage necessary varies based upon the communicability of the disease, and the risks of the disease. The point at which the vaccine becomes more or a risk than the disease depends upon those, and the risks of the specific vaccine. So, as long as a significant majority of the population chooses to get the vaccine, everyone is better off.

    --
    make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
    1. Re:Not a problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interesting take on it. So, you believe that it's responsible to allow people to choose not to contribute to the herd immunity, leading to the potential to get below the threshold where we get herd immunity, thus exposing people who can't get immunized, or for whom the immunization is ineffective to the disease. In this case, 86% of the babies presented had opted out of immunization. The other 14% either could not be immunized (for various reasons), or the immunization did not affect them. I don't care about the 86%, we're better off without them in the gene pool, but those 14% who would have been protected by herd immunuty now face a life-threatening condition thanks to the ignorance of the people who refused vaccination.

    2. Re:Not a problem by PeterM+from+Berkeley · · Score: 2

      You're setting up a tragedy of the commons situation. The responsible get punished for the actions of the irresonsible and are in fact incentivized to be irresponsible themselves.

      EVERYONE should be made to bear the risk equally. Why should SOME benefit from the risks EVERYONE ELSE takes for the benefit of all?

      SCREW the vaccine refusers. Either force them to get vaccinated or show them the door of the country. "Don't want to get vaccinated? OK, when will you be exiting the USA?"

      --PM

    3. Re:Not a problem by Ice+Tiger · · Score: 1

      The babies had no choice, it was their fuckwit parents or those parents of kids who who not vacinated that caused it yet didn't pay the price.

      --
      "Because we are not employing at entry level, offshoring will kill our industry stone dead."
    4. Re:Not a problem by Ice+Tiger · · Score: 1

      So what do you propose when enough retards rejecting vacination causes the percentage of the immunized population to drop below the magic number? Let Darwin run his course?

      --
      "Because we are not employing at entry level, offshoring will kill our industry stone dead."
    5. Re:Not a problem by gstrickler · · Score: 1

      We're nowhere near that, and probably never will be. Let's worry about it if we start getting close. Until then, we've got many more important things to address than a small percentage of people who don't represent any significant danger to those who are vaccinated.

      --
      make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
    6. Re:Not a problem by gstrickler · · Score: 1

      Comprehension fail - If the vaccines are effective (and most are), then those who get the vaccine are at a low risk as long as a significant majority gets the vaccine. It's the people who don't get a vaccine who are putting themselves at greater risk.

      And, as I pointed out in my original post, at some point, the vaccine becomes more risky than not getting the vaccination, so the ideal lowest risk for EVERYONE is for some small percentage to choose NOT to get vaccinated.

      Your entire premise is flawed.

      --
      make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
    7. Re:Not a problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The only time where the vaccine would become more risky than not getting the vaccination would be the point where we stop reproducing...and when that happens we have a much bigger issue to deal with. Your point is only accurate if you assume a still standing population with no human turn over or growth.

  32. Herd Immunity vs. Individual Vaccination by Sevorus · · Score: 1

    What most people don't understand is that that immunization largely works through herd immunity. If a disease can't be transmitted through most of the hosts in a community it can't get a foothold and spread. Because of this, the un-immunized members of the herd nevertheless benefit because they are shielded by the immunized individuals around them. This leads to the, "I don't want my child immunized because it's unnecessary" mentality. Well at some point if enough of the herd is susceptible again that herd immunity breaks down and all of sudden the unimmunized are no longer shielded from the disease. So while the babies here are younger than the age of immunization, they are suffering because the other kids around them are not vaccinated. The hippies next door who don't believe in immunizations are putting your kids at risk. It's too bad it's going to take outbreaks of totally preventable diseases to remind people why immunizations are a pillar of public health.

  33. Misleading Summary Title by MarioMax · · Score: 3, Informative

    For those that want to give the anti-vaccinators something to argue about, the summary title is misleading. From TFA:

    "Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular-Pertussis vaccine (DTaP) is recommended for all children at 2, 4, 6 and 15–18 months of age, with a pre-school booster between 4 years of age and entry into kindergarten."
    "Infants too young to have completed the primary vaccine series account for the lion’s share of pertussis-related complications, hospitalizations and deaths (at least four in Oregon since 2003). We reviewed data on infants hospitalized with pertussis during a two-year period from March 2009 through February 2011. One hundred forty-six infants with pertussis were reported during this time, and 62 (43%) of them were hospitalized for a median of 3 (range, 0–32) days. The median age at onset for hospitalized cases was 8 (range, 2–25) weeks."

    So in other words, many children hospitalized for whooping cough were too young to have been fully vaccinated.

    1. Re:Misleading Summary Title by infalliable · · Score: 1

      Exactly, this topic is very misleading.

    2. Re:Misleading Summary Title by dmr001 · · Score: 1

      You could have read further in the article. Infants (who cannot yet be vaccinated) depend on herd immunity from people around them. The lack of vaccination occurs in the siblings, parents, and close contacts of affected infants.

    3. Re:Misleading Summary Title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      All the more reason to make sure everyone who can be vaccinated is. Those children would have otherwise been protected by the herd immunty, but the rest of the population wasn't vaccinated enough, so they weren't.

    4. Re:Misleading Summary Title by compro01 · · Score: 1

      Yes, and how did they get it?

      Because the people around them (parents, siblings, etc.) were either never vaccinated or haven't kept up on their boosters.

      TDaP boosters have been being recommended for expectant parents for years now.

      --
      upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
    5. Re:Misleading Summary Title by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      It's not misleading. Who do you think they caught it from?

    6. Re:Misleading Summary Title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Their older siblings are also unvaccinated. Newborns (most at risk from pertussis) rely entirely on herd immunity and not being exposed (traditional advice of keeping the baby at home for the first few months).

      Vaccines are STILL the answer. Recently, parents / carers of newborns have been offered the vaccine as it has been recognised that the vaccination is not lifelong (pertussis in adulthood is generally harmless) and that newborns had caught the disease from their vaccine-expired parent.

      This is even more of a reason to get your kids vaccinated for pertussis - social responsibility and not killing your next kid.

    7. Re:Misleading Summary Title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Misleading analysis of the document. You left out an important fact in your post:

      "The former group is too young to have started the vaccination series and is totally dependent on herd immunity."

      The children who are too young to receive the vaccination depend on everyone else getting the vaccine so they do not get infected.

  34. Wow it's almost as if we knew this would happen. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's pretty scary how quickly these diseases pop backup.

    Still, it's well outside the foresight of the selfish and dangerous ant-vac morns. Yes, dangerous. Real harm has been caused and here is proof. I'm not one for frivolous lawsuits but I'd love to see some celebrity vac deniers drug in to civil suits to bring attention to these dangerous lunatics.

    Not being vaccinated was once a social taboo and for some reason it's not anymore. We need to bring that back. Why are these kids allowed to attend school? Allowed to be at daycare? Those who are able to be vaccinated, but are not, need to be excluded from the general population because they are a danger to the general public. Even if they aren't' actively infected, they're a vector.

    Vaccines are a population wide tool and need to be used as such. They don't work if people get to pick and choose and make a dangerous situation for others out of ignorance.

  35. Microbiology by overshoot · · Score: 3, Informative

    In principle... pertussis could be eradicated; but we have a long way to go.

    Ummm .... no. Unlike measles or polio, pertussis is a bacterial disease. Bordatella Pertussis can live without humans. The only way to eradicate it is to sterilize all of its potential habitats (unlike viruses, bacteria don't need hosts per se) and clear the disease from any human carriers.

    Ain't gonna happen.

    --
    Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
    1. Re:Microbiology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also the vaccine isn't to the bacteria itself, but to the toxin it produces. The immunity fades every 10 years or so, but whooping cough generally does not kill adults, so no one really bothers getting vaccinated as an adult.

    2. Re:Microbiology by dmr001 · · Score: 5, Informative

      There's a lot of Bordetella out there, but the only known reservoir of Bordetella pertussis (the causative organism of whooping cough) is in humans. It cannot live without humans. While pertussis is exceedingly contagious, it is a "fastidious" organism, and can survive only a few hours outside of human hosts. It can be eradicated, in theory, by universal vaccination. The fact that it's a bacteria and not a virus is not relevant. (See Lancet. 2006;367(9526):1926, and Hewlett E. Bordetella species. In: Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 5th ed, Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R (Eds), Churchill Livingstone, Philadelphia 2000. p.2701.)

    3. Re:Microbiology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's a holy batman! citation post :)

    4. Re:Microbiology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See Lancet. 2006;367(9526):1926, and Hewlett E. Bordetella species. In: Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 5th ed, Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R (Eds), Churchill Livingstone, Philadelphia 2000. p.2701.)

      And you expect us to believe those so called "scientific" sources over a Playboy model?

    5. Re:Microbiology by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Pertussis being a bacterial disease is irrelevant. Pertussis only lives within humans, just like the viruses that cause polio and measles, and unlike the viruses that cause rabies and black plague, and the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.

  36. Re:I trust parents more than government by Atzanteol · · Score: 1

    I agree in principle. But sometimes, mostly by mistake, the politicians do make good decisions. In this case being one of them (following the science). This behavior should be rewarded - perhaps over time we can train them to not be morons?

    --
    "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

    - Charles Darwin
  37. Biggest shock of the day by bulldog060 · · Score: 3, Funny

    This far into a post about sickness in Oregon and there have been no comments about dysentery or loss of oxen ... thought it was just an odd day in the office, not on /. too.

    1. Re:Biggest shock of the day by Cheeze+ball · · Score: 1

      You've broken and axle and Mary dies of Typhoid. Do you wish to ford the river or float the river to the next Fort?

  38. Strange version of "no one" by overshoot · · Score: 1

    No one vaccinated for it.

    Rates for pertussis vaccination nationally in the USA have not gone below 80% since the vaccine was introduced before I was born -- and I well predate both polio vaccines.

    What's changed is that there is now an adult vaccine in addition to the childhood series.

    --
    Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
  39. Reading the data correctly by waterbear · · Score: 4, Interesting

    but 14% had been vaccinated

    No, what the article actually said was, that among the _completely unvaccinated_, the _reason_ for lack of vaccination in 86% of cases was parental refusal. That doesn't say that 14% were vaccinated: it says that in 14% of unvaccinated cases the lack of vaccination was _not_
    assigned to parental refusal as the cause.

    I'm afraid this is how numerical data gets mashed into garble.

    After considering the other numerical data the authors of the report concluded that "declining the vaccine carries a whopping risk for pertussis" (p.2).

    -wb-

  40. Re:I trust parents more than government by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There was a time when that was the mainstream belief.

    The odd thing about the anti-vaccination movement is that nobody benefits from it. It's happening without eccentric billionaires funding doublethink tanks to push their economic interests.

    Unless it's part of the general anti-science movement, which benefits people who owe their leadership to the ignorance of their followers.

  41. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yep, and you'll also be saying "i trust a government that forces me to live in a special camp, to protect me from terrorists, more than all those crazy folk who say the war on terror is just a ruse to take away my freedoms".

  42. this actually isn't a bad thing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1) stupid people reproduce and have stupid babies
    2) stupid people fail to vaccinate stupid babies
    3) stupid babies die from preventable diseases
    4) ???
    5) non-stupid people profit!

    1. Re:this actually isn't a bad thing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1) stupid people reproduce and have stupid babies
      2) stupid people fail to vaccinate stupid babies
      3) stupid babies die from preventable diseases
      3.5) stupid babies/people spread preventable diseases to smart babies/people who are not able to be vaccinated successfully
      3.75) smart babies/people die from preventable diseases they never would have had otherwise

      4) ???
      5) non-stupid people profit!

      FTFY

  43. Vaccine Safety. by crhylove · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I would not presume to guess as to whether vaccines cause autism, but the ingredients they've been using in vaccines for YEARS are in fact toxic. Not long ago mercury was one of the most common ingredients.

    Now, I understand the science behind vaccination, and am actually PRO vaccine, but when you can the ingredients to a box of cereal, but NOT the ingredients to a shot your a directly injecting into your infant, and more importantly a giant mega-corporation's shot with a proven track record of including known toxins like mercury.....

    Sure, there is ignorance out there, but blaming parents who want to protect their children is stupid. Blame the giant corporations who included mercury in the shots in the first place.

    --
    I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
    1. Re:Vaccine Safety. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course you get more mercury by eating part of a fish then was in those vaccines.

    2. Re:Vaccine Safety. by SpaceWiz · · Score: 1

      Thiomersal hasn't been included in vaccines since 1999. And Thiomersal isn't even mercury like Amalgam fillings were mercury. Still plenty of ignorance out there...

    3. Re:Vaccine Safety. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you understand the difference in methyl mercury and ethyl mercury?

    4. Re:Vaccine Safety. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why was it removed in 1999? According to the government (aka big pharma) Thiomersal was COMPLETELY SAFE.

    5. Re:Vaccine Safety. by blueg3 · · Score: 1

      You're probably thinking of thimerosal, which is a organic mercury compound. Not actually the same as mercury, although also potentially harmful.

      Of course they include toxic compounds. They use antibacterial and antiseptic agents in the production of vaccines to inhibit the growth of undesirable bacteria. One of the commonly-used compounds is formaldehyde.

      A few useful things to remember: One, almost everything is toxic above some level and harmless below some other level. Two, you are exposed, passively, to close to every chemical compound out there at some level on a daily basis. It's just that that level may be very, very low.

      So complaining about the "toxic" compounds in a vaccine is meaningless without quantifying how much is in them and how it relates to daily exposure levels and toxicity levels. You're exposed to these compounds constantly anyway. There's mercury in the air and water. There's formaldehyde in your blood. There's methanol in your beer. There's ammonia in your food. How much is important.

      In vaccines, there's very little.

    6. Re:Vaccine Safety. by Terwin · · Score: 1

      Now, I understand the science behind vaccination, and am actually PRO vaccine, but when you can the ingredients to a box of cereal, but NOT the ingredients to a shot your a directly injecting into your infant, and more importantly a giant mega-corporation's shot with a proven track record of including known toxins like mercury.....

      Sure, there is ignorance out there, but blaming parents who want to protect their children is stupid. Blame the giant corporations who included mercury in the shots in the first place.

      According to the FDA and Wikipedia the only commonly recommended vaccination for children under 7 years of age that still contains Thiomersal is an Influenza vaccination for children over 2 years of age.
      That suggests that those parents were not only panicky and over-reacting, but also over-generalizing and uninformed.

      Also, I am pretty sure that manufacturers are not allowed to put inactivated viruses inside a box of cereal they intend to sell in stores, but that inactivated virus is the entire point of a vaccine, making your box of cereal example less than useful.

      Finally, the reason that those Evil Giant Corporations put it in those vaccines in the first place might not be quite so evil...

      Thiomersal's main use is as an antiseptic and antifungal agent. In multidose injectable drug delivery systems, it prevents serious adverse effects such as the Staphylococcus infection that, in one 1928 incident, killed 12 of 21 children inoculated with a diphtheria vaccine that lacked a preservative.[4] Unlike other vaccine preservatives used at the time, thiomersal does not reduce the potency of the vaccines that it protects.

      (this is the first three sentences of the Use section of the Wikipedia Thiomersal article)

      References:
      http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiomersal

    7. Re:Vaccine Safety. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Very little" for whom? A 3 week old infant? And who says it is "very little"? The corporation selling the drugs? Give me a break, there is a reason they no longer make vaccines with mercury. They got caught and called out on it and now they use a different process.

    8. Re:Vaccine Safety. by Cheeze+ball · · Score: 1

      "Very little" for whom? A 3 week old infant? And who says it is "very little"? The corporation selling the drugs? Give me a break, there is a reason they no longer make vaccines with mercury. They got caught and called out on it and now they use a different process.

      You are missing his entire point that true risk involved here is based on a comparisons between daily environmental exposures and those specific to the vaccine. Not on the vaccine compared to the size and mass of the child.

      Whether the kid is 3 wks or 3 yrs doesn't change how much it is exposed to in the daily environment (unless of course the kid is in a NICU or PICU, but that's a different beast).

    9. Re:Vaccine Safety. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are a liar. Either that or you are the ignorant one.

      YOU actually need to find a better source, perhaps the CDC or WHO. Hell Wikipedia is more informed then you.

  44. Re:I trust parents more than government by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

    >>>I trust Government regulation based on scientific research

    I will never understand people who say "I trust government," and then 5 minutes later rail against the corporations and how they can not be trusted to take care of their employees/customers/factory environment.

    Governments==corporations==strangers youve never met. You can't trust ANY of them. If you distrust Microsoft or Goldmann-Sachs or Foxxconn, you should distrust the government just as strongly.

    --
    My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
  45. Re:a less totalitarian solution by QuantumRiff · · Score: 2

    Vaccinations aren't so much to protect your child, but all children (or people)..
    Infants can't get the vaccination until they reach a certain age.. it is VERY important that people around the infant NOT have whooping cough. There are some kids that can't get it for other reasons (maybe a weakened immune system or something).. your vaccinating your child, helps prevent the spread of these diseases to kids who can't get the vaccine.. if it was just 1% of the population that wasn't vaccinated, (well, less) they would die out, because there would not enough people coming into contact with each other to spread.. but more people go without, then the chances of that contact happening do go up.

    --

    What are we going to do tonight Brain?
  46. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Right. Thanks for letting some jackass parent make the decision that my child gets to go to school with their cute little virus incubator. Maybe little Suzie can manage to kick out a mutation that no one is safe from!

  47. Re:I trust parents more than government by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    Yeah, well, it's just a world, and we are born into it and we should want freedom, even freedom to be total asses, regardless of all the 'do-gooders' and people who stick their noses where they don't belong.

  48. Re:I trust parents more than government by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

    >>>Don't confuse politicians with the agency doing the science.

    Okay.

    The current head of the U.S. Dept. of Health wrote in multiple papers/textbooks that he thinks it is acceptable to inject women with sterilants after their 2nd child, in order to limit population. Now remind me again: Why am I supposed to trust people like him w/ injecting children and teenagers??? I cannot think of any reason.

    --
    My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
  49. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 2

    And you have all the right to say what you want to say.

    And it's their right not to care about what you say.

    You may be absolutely right, but it doesn't mean you should have any authority to enforce your ideas upon others against their will.

  50. W.W.D.D. by flyneye · · Score: 1

    What would Darwin Do?
    As time wears on I see the fruitlessness of protecting people from themselves. The line drawn on protecting them from each other is getting a bit blurry too.
    It could solve environmental problems, food shortages, over population, and reduce social anxiety as well as reduce the need for current broken forms of government.
    Cold? Yeah , but in light of where we came from and how we got here and what we're doing with it . I always think about it. I wish I'd quit.

    --
    *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    1. Re:W.W.D.D. by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Darwin never advocated Social Darwinism. Look elsewhere for the eugenicists.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:W.W.D.D. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Q: What would Darwin Do?

      A: Get the shots.

    3. Re:W.W.D.D. by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Not eugenics, nature.
      If left to more natural occurrences outside the artificial shell of "civilization" what would be our circumstance?
      Lol eugenics.
      Isn't that interpreting of lumps on the head, phrenology or something like that, part of your eugenics?

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    4. Re:W.W.D.D. by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Shot 'o whiskey has to be in you WHEN the snake bites you....

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
  51. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some people don't trust the government, and it's not always because of some famous idiot.

  52. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm willing to let people refuse to be vaccinated for stupid reasons, so long as they're willing to be shunned by and relocated out of modern society.

  53. My State Is On /.! by nko321 · · Score: 1

    As an Oregonian, it's always thrilling to see my home state in the news!! Uh... any publicity is good publicity, right?

    This is an entry point for solid debate. The USA values personal freedom. At the same time, you can't drive without training, you can't sell drugs, etc. There is the concept of one's rights ending where one's fist ends and the next person's nose begins. Does this extend to vaccinations? How well understood are the risks? Are they worth the opportunity to eradicate scores of hideous diseases?

    Someone want to play devil's advocate and argue "for freedom"? This being Slashdot, I know where approximately 100% of opinions are. I myself don't care passionately enough to pay attention long enough to make an opinion.

  54. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If your kids are vaccinated then what's your FUCKING problem?

  55. Summary Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The Summary is mis-leading - no one in their right mind would refuse a vacination for Whooping cough.

    The problem is that they're all-in-one vacinations - you can't get the "safe" vacination without getting the downs
    (un-safe) vacination. This is the heart of the problem - but you'll never hear this in the media.

    There are also no test to see if a vaccine is safe for that particular child or it's dosage. It's a shame we've
    come to this point in our health care in this country. Vacinations are a real problem - but the incidence rate of
    failure is very small - unless you're the parent of an unlucky recipant of one of these bad vacinations, but that's
    a risk they're willing to take with someone's else's child.

    Try having the lot# included on the offical record and see how far you get, or a sample saved. The manufacturer
    should be liable, but often isn't. Very sad...

  56. Re:I trust me, not other parents by berashith · · Score: 1

    and by this logic, we have given someone the right to cause pain harm and hardship, up to and including death, against the will of those who did not want to be sick or dead. I am sorry, but the people who have to have a pokey shot against their will are suffering far less than people put at risk of disease and death. Both have something done against their will. Why do you side with the passive allowance of one team versus the active authority of the other?

  57. This is a good point by Tancred · · Score: 1

    The anti-vax movement doesn't have the obvious economic or religious angle that some other anti-science movements have.

    Does that mean those other movements may not be as based in greedy self-interest as I thought, or that the harm done by pushing anti-science in those movements is spreading to other questions of science? I'm guessing the latter.

    1. Re:This is a good point by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      The anti-vax movement doesn't have the obvious economic or religious angle that some other anti-science movements have.

      In some ways it does. It heavily relies on a sort of "New Age" religion that rejects science and scientific solutions. Jenny McCarthy, one of the more prominent anti-vaxers, believed that she was an "indigo mom" and that her son (later misdiagnosed as autistic) was an "indigo child,": "The idea was later popularized by the 1998 book The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived, written by husband and wife self-help lecturers Lee Carroll and Jan Tober. They describe the goal of indigo children to be a remaking of the world into one lacking war, trash, and processed food. One of the main background ideas about the origin of Indigo children, as described by Jan Tober, is that they are spiritually highly mature "old souls", who had usually incarnated on Earth many times before and have lots of sub-conscious experience and deeper intuitive understanding of the nature of life than their current parents and teachers." Etcetc.

      Religious, but not the religions we may have blamed in the past.

  58. Fallacy of shifting the burden of proof by tepples · · Score: 1

    If you can't use a search engine, I can't be bothered to show you how.

    It appears you're trying to prove the following assertion: "The scientific consensus as of today is that the vast majority of autism spectrum disorder cases do not result from vaccines." But refusing to at least give guidance on choosing keywords for DuckDuckGo or Google as a starting point, apart from autism vaccines, means at least one of you is probably committing a fallacy associated with shifting the burden of proof.

    1. Re:Fallacy of shifting the burden of proof by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
      I thought that is how it works on slashdot? A commenter makes a claim and it is up to everyone else to provide support for his claim. Since we are not in school writing reports, all the rules for citing sources goes out the window (things learned in school don't apply outside of school, right?).

      person A) Vaccines cause autism and a 50% greater chance of winning the lottery in the future.
      person B) What? Where did you read that? That sounds bogus.
      person A) Is Google too hard for you? Do your own homework. Get informed and educate yourself before commenting again.

      Person A therefore wins. I'll leave it up to you all to validate this.

    2. Re:Fallacy of shifting the burden of proof by Myopic · · Score: 1

      Oh, okay, I'll keep that in mind next time I'm formally debating someone in a concert hall, being moderated by a debate professional. Until then, I'll be happy enough to provide the widely held and easily discovered scientific consensus, without being sidetracked by goons trying to question things that have been settled long ago. If I say gravity pulls things down, I don't feel a need to cite that; if I say that vaccines don't cause autism, I don't feel a need to cite that. But if you like, you may do so -- go ahead and take the time to look up well-known facts and present them in a bibliographic format. You will have my thanks.

  59. Re:I trust parents more than government by Myopic · · Score: 1

    Yeah, it's a balance between absolute freedom (which is anarchy, do whatever you want at all times) and absolute good life (whatever that means, but it would include things like society and technology and health, all of which are anathema to anarchy).

    But, to be clear, there is no place in the world where you have "freedom to be a total ass": everywhere you go, there are jails. If you push people, eventually pretty much everyone admits that government "do-gooders" do, in fact, "know better" than a rapist whether rape should be a crime.

  60. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Thanshin · · Score: 1

    please don't force your kids to infect the rest of the world with your 19th century diseases

    So unvaccinated kids infect your vaccinated kids with diseases that they are supposed to be vaccinated?

    Yes. Exactly. Some kids can't be vaccinated because of allergies or age. And unvaccinated kids are the cause of some of those kids dying.

    It's precisely that simple.

  61. mccarthy is an idiot, wakefield is a murderer by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Interesting

    everyone seems to blame mccarthy for this madness, wrong

    mccarthy is just an idiot, the loudest, dumbest soccer mom

    but this whole madness was started by this evil asshole:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield

    being stupid is no defense. but this guy isn't stupid. his action is an intelligent calculated preying on the stupid

    it was a calculated fraud. andrew wakefield is an evil mass murderer

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:mccarthy is an idiot, wakefield is a murderer by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 3, Insightful

      McCarthy has blood on her hands. She used her celebrity status to influence a generation of easily-swayed women to put their babies at risk. The madness would have gone nowhere without her help because the vapid 20-somethings never would have known about that "study" without the hype created by McCarthy. She became the mouthpiece of madness.

    2. Re:mccarthy is an idiot, wakefield is a murderer by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      yes, she has blood on her hands, out of stupidity

      this wakefield asshole knew better, and calculated the whole fraud. that's not stupid, it's evil, and the origin of this madness

      evil is far worse than stupid

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    3. Re:mccarthy is an idiot, wakefield is a murderer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She's just as guilty. She's the Squeaky Fromme to his Charles Manson.

    4. Re:mccarthy is an idiot, wakefield is a murderer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you see that Wakefield's co-author of the "fraudulent" study has been exonerated of all charges? The study has been declared valid, and Brian Deer who wrote and article in the British Medical Journal calling Dr. Wakefield's study fraudulent has been charged with libel?

      "...in the Royal Courts of Justice Strand, London, ruled on the appeal by Walker-Smith, saying that the GMC “panel’s determination cannot stand. I therefore quash it.” He said that its conclusions were based on “inadequate and superficial reasoning and, in a number of instances, a wrong conclusion.” The verdict restores Walker-Smith’s name to the medical register and his reputation to the medical community. This conclusion is not surprising to members of the Canary Party who have followed the case, as the GMC trial had no actual complainants, no harm came to the children who were studied, and parents supported Walker-Smith and Wakefield through the trial, reporting that their children had medically benefited from the treatment they received at the Royal Free Hospital."

    5. Re:mccarthy is an idiot, wakefield is a murderer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And whose blood is on whose hands for the death of Natalie Morton when she was injected with the vaccination that killed her? The facts show that vaccinations are still not %100 safe and might kill your child as her death shows. That people like you loudly trumpeted that vaccinations are %100 safe created a false balloon of safety that popped when the first child died.

    6. Re:mccarthy is an idiot, wakefield is a murderer by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Who trumpeted that vaccinations are 100% safe?

      Why does blood always have to be on somebody's hands? The fact is that giving a child a vaccine is safer for all involved than not giving them the vaccine. The fact that it doesn't always end well doesn't change the fact that on average it ends better.

      The focus should be on making the right decision in the general case, and not the specific outcomes. You can take a vaccine and die, or not take a vaccine and never get sick. Anecdotes shouldn't be used as a substitute for data. The fact is that clinical studies show that certain vaccines are both safe and effective when used as recommended, and as a result they should be used.

    7. Re:mccarthy is an idiot, wakefield is a murderer by T+Murphy · · Score: 1

      You have it the wrong way around. Wakefield's study was basically "MMR vaccine causes autism, get the individual ones instead". He NEVER suggested vaccines in general are bad, just the MMR vaccine specifically (the story goes that he was working with a manufacturer of the individual vaccines). It was the anti-vax idiots like McCarthy who took the Wakefield study and blew it into "vaccines are bad", ultimately killing children in the process. Wakefield was unethical but I wouldn't say he has blood on his hands.

  62. Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't vaccinate my kid. Not because I'm afraid of autism (as noted before, the autism link is flat out not there). But because the risks on either side are so minimal that I don't see the point.

    The odds of my kid being exposed to, say, pertussis are about 10%. The odds of her contracting the disease (ie the bacteria taking hold and causing symptoms) is about 0.5%. The odds of her having a serious case of the disease (involving hospitalization) is about 0.01%. The odds of her having any sort of permanent disability/harm are about 0.005%. And the odds of death are about 0.0001%.

    In contrast, the odds of having a mild reaction (mild fever, cold/flu symptoms, localized swelling) to a pertussis vaccine are about 1%. The odds of having a major reaction (lengthy illness, actually getting pertussis, etc) are about .01%. The odds of having a major allergic reaction to the vaccine are about .008%. The odds of having brain swelling, fever that causes brain damage, or other severe outcomes is about 0.005%. And the odds of death are about 0.00005%. And even with the vaccine, the odds of her still contracting the disease are about 2%--with all the odds of the above multiplied by a factor of .02.

    In short, the risk involved in either course of action is ridiculously small--similar odds with winning the Lotto. BUT getting the vaccine costs me money, time (a trip to the doctor), possible fear of the doctor (something I don't want her to be afraid of) and discomfort/pain to my child.

    I've weighed the risks. I've done a cost/benefit analysis for both courses of action. And I (and my wife) choose not to vaccinate. And yes, we have done similar comparisons for each and every vaccine that is offered, from the Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus (DTaP) vaccine to the HPV vaccine to the Chicken Pox/Varicella vaccine. And none of them make a definitive case that vaccination is orders-of-magnitude better than non-vaccination.

    I have not ruled out the possibility that I will reevaluate that cost/benefit and risk analysis at some later stage in her life (say, when she goes to pre-school) and come to a different conclusion.


    So again, I ask, what in all these odds and risks and everything, makes me evil for not vaccinating my child?

    1. Re:Am I really evil? by blueg3 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What makes you evil? Predicating your cost-benefit analysis on pertussis statistics that assume that everyone else is vaccinated.

      Incidentally, if you're in the US and have health insurance, the cost of vaccines for children should be zero and the time should be about two minutes tacked on to a pediatrician visit you're already making.

    2. Re:Am I really evil? by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      And the fact that your contributing to the breaking of herd immunity hasn't entered your equation, I gather.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    3. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, because it's not just your kid that's affected by your decision, but every other kid that is in contact with yours. If people stop vaccinating their youth, those small chances of affecting once child go up exponentially.

    4. Re:Am I really evil? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Look up the concept of herd immunity. That's why you are morally wrong for not getting your child vaccinated.

    5. Re:Am I really evil? by danbob999 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So again, I ask, what in all these odds and risks and everything, makes me evil for not vaccinating my child?

      Yes.

      Why? Because you only count the odds and risks for YOUR kid. You don't factor the global benefit of eradicating infectious deceases. Also, some people can't get the vaccine (because of allergies or whatever). And these people need the rest of us to be vaccinated.

      If it's not evil, it's at least selfish.

    6. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you don't vaccinate how is big pharma supposed to keep their profit train going? Think about it - all these new laws pushing for mandatory vaccinations. Who are they for?

      And I am a parent who DOES vaccinate his children - however I am very suspicious of these new laws and mandatory vaccinations.

    7. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are decreasing herd immunity (See the many insightful comments in this forum)
      You are adding to the risk of other kids getting sick in the unlikely event your children do get sick.
      If you understand these things, and still decline to vaccinate, I wouldn't say you are evil so much as you are selfish.

    8. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where did you get these figures from?

      1. You place no value on the health of other people in society in this calculation - this is anti-social and you are imposing your risky choice on every other person your child comes in contact with
      2. Even if we accept your statistics, your non-statistical reasons not to don't carry water: if you are on slashdot you probably have a job where you can easily afford vaccinations, and the time involved with one visit to the doctor in the context of decades of prevention is insignificant.

      Not being afraid of the doctor and avoiding minor, temporary discomfort? Will you forgo giving antibiotics because they taste bad? Does this mean you will not use rubbing alcohol on your child's cuts and scrapes because it hurts? Life involves doing things that are unpleasant sometimes - raising your child in a bubble where they never have to deal with unpleasant-but-necessary things is frankly doing them a disservice.

    9. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Those odds only work when everyone else is getting vaccinated. What happens when everyone makes the same decision you did? Vaccination is not just about individual protection, it's about protection of an entire society.

    10. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Eradicating infectious diseases?
      You cannot eradicate Pertussis. It's a bacteria that exists and thrives independently of a human (or any other) host.

    11. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While you showed that you are able to comprehend various maths, you did forget one important factor in your computations: other humans.

      Your risks are only for your precious little snowflake. What about kids that she'll end up interacting with at preschool? What about individuals with compromised systems in a hospital or doctors office?

      So yes, you are evil. Not because you have calculated the risks for your offspring, but because you completely neglect the health of every other human fucking being.

    12. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those odds go up with every person who decides against vaccination, and those numbers go up in turn when people like you advocate such behavior. Unless you strongly advocate vaccination for everyone else, you are helping to ensure that children in the future who cannot be vaccinated have a much greater chance of severe illness or death due to preventable causes. But hey, at least you don't have to go through all the trouble of bringing your kid to the doctor.

    13. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      I'm not "predicating" my cost-benefit on anything. I'm looking at the reality of the current situation. If vaccine rates drop significantly and diseases become more prevalent and more harmful such that the risk of my child having an extremely negative outcome go up significantly, then yeah, I'll probably vaccinate for some diseases.

      I am in the US and I do have health insurance, and the cost of vaccines for my child are non-zero ($10/shot, if I read my Benefits Summary correctly, though it might be $10 per vaccine course [a series of 3 shots for a specific disease would be $10]). And I would also be required to make additional pediatrician well-visits, which likewise carry an additional cost--2-week, 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 12 month visits are what I have now. With vaccines, a 2 month visit would be required, a 4 month visit would be required, and the 9 month visit would be changed to an 8 month and 10 month visit, totaling 3 extra visits. With a 45 minute drive to the pediatrician's office each way, it's also a time issue.

      So while the cost & time might not seem significant to you, it *is* significant to our family.

    14. Re:Am I really evil? by strikethree · · Score: 1

      Hm. I am unsure how you came up with some of those numbers but I suspects the odds will change a LOT if everyone made the same choices you are.

      The odds are that low now because most people are vaccinating their children. Your choices are directly increasing the risk of disease for your child and all of the other children out there. I really think you should reexamine your thinking and calculation of odds concerning vaccination.

      Regards,
      strike

      (CAPTCHA is mistake. Oy)

      --
      "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
    15. Re:Am I really evil? by cptdondo · · Score: 1

      The reason the risks are so low is because other parents have assumed the risks for their children.

      If everyone thought as you do, then lots more kids would die. With all due respect, attitudes like yours are much like those who say, I can dump *my* garbage here, it's such a small amount that no one will ever notice.

      In other words, you are a leach on society, expecting others to assume the risks you don't want to.

    16. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Headlines by generation:
      Generation 0: Statistics Show Vaccines Overrated
      Generation 1: Rising Death Toll Leads Many to Get Vaccinated
      Generation 2: Statistics Show Vaccines Overrated
      Generation 3: Rising Death Toll Leads Many to Get Vaccinated ...
      Generation n: Statistics Show Vaccines Overrated
      Generation n+1: Rising Death Toll Leads Many to Get Vaccinated

      This sounds like a great way to do things.

    17. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I understand your point, but you haven't addressed the reason why your child has such astronomically low odds of catching these diseases: everyone else who *has* vaccinated their children.

      I'm not going to escalate what you're doing to the level of "evil," but I will call it free loading. You'll let all of the other parents pay to immunize their children so you don't have to. You'll let all the other children take the risk of getting immunized so that your kid doesn't have to. In the event your child does contract one of these diseases, you're taking the chance of spreading it to child that couldn't get immunized for any number of reasons.

      That said, I think you essentially took the right approach. You absolutely should evaluate the benefits and risks of every vaccine, considering the particular healthcare needs of your child. But I think you should also take into consideration the larger picture. Herd immunity is protecting your family. You should "pay into it" so that everyone else can benefit from it too.

    18. Re:Am I really evil? by Xoltri · · Score: 0

      Your calculated odds of contracting the disease only work if everyone else is vaccinated. If everyone else thought like you, nobody would get vaccinated and those odds would surely go up. So basically, you are leeching off of everybody else to the detriment of those who cannot get vaccinated.

      So yes, you are evil. Plus, I wouldn't let my vaccinated kids play with your non vaccinated kids.

      --
      -Xoltri
    19. Re:Am I really evil? by blueg3 · · Score: 2

      If Obamacare isn't overturned (at least, this component), you should probably be pushed into a new insurance plan. Zero-dollar coverage of preventative care, which includes vaccinations, is required.

      That's kind of a weird schedule for well-child visits, but it's not actually mandatory to reschedule (or add more) visits to fit the vaccination schedule. They might try to suggest that you do so, in order to match the recommended schedule, but you can get vaccinations just fine on your schedule. It's better than none at all.

      Your cost-benefit is predicated on the fact that everyone else is vaccinating. That's why the pertussis numbers are so low. You're benefiting from the herd immunity granted by the fact that everyone else is vaccinating but not contributing. It's a decision that can be beneficially locally (that is, to you) but causes collapse of the system if applied by everyone. That's what makes it evil. It's like using the take-a-penny bin as a revenue source.

    20. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 2

      Herd immunity is only relevant to susceptible populations. If 90% of the population is vaccinated, then the remaining 10% of susceptible individuals have a benefit from those who have been vaccinated.

      So if I contribute to dropping that 90% vaccination rate to 85%, then I have hurt the 15% of people who are unvaccinated by increasing their risk of exposure to the disease. However, if I assume that those 15% of people (or their parents/guardians) have also made an educated risk assessment and have decided that the risk is acceptable, then why am I to blame?

      An argument could be made that some % of the population is unable to be vaccinated for some reason or other, and that by diminishing the herd immunity, I am contributing to the possible infection of the few people who fall into that category. But I'm not sure where our vaccination rate stands for Pertussis...if the rate is above the 90-92% required for herd immunity, then there's no problem and I have no guilt.

    21. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Nope. 95% or so of the other kids that come into contact with mine are vaccinated, and thus have nothing (or very little) to be concerned about. The vaccinated masses don't have a darn thing to worry about. Right?

    22. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      I'm quite familiar with the concept. So long as the vaccination rate remains above X%, the chain of infection remains (likely to be) disrupted. If the vaccination rate drops below X%, the susceptible (ie unvaccinted) population can become infected.

      As far as I'm aware, the vaccination rates in the US are well above X% for most, if not all, diseases that are significantly harmful (I exclude chicken pox, HPV, and a handful of others that have extremely low rates of significantly adverse outcomes per population infected). So no, I don't feel particularly bad about my child being outside the vaccinated herd.

      Oh, you weren't worried about the X% of vaccinated people getting infected, were you? Because they're like, vaccinated, right? So they don't have anything (or very little) to worry about.

    23. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      The figures are off the top of my head. I made them up today, because I didn't want to be bothered to do the research all over again. But the relevant information on risks of vaccination can be found in the VAERS database, and the risks of infection from the various diseases (and the expected outcomes) can be found on various immunology websites, like CDCP. Those sites are for the US and federally administered, so if you're looking for data for other countries, YMMV.

    24. Re:Am I really evil? by Noren · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Spreading misinformation like this is another reason why you're evil.

      The general category of all kinds of Pertussis is independent of humans, so your claim is technically correct for the all of Pertussis but entirely misleading for the subject of infectious diseases.

      The specific strain of Pertussis bacteria that infects humans is only known to live in humans, see this previous post in this very page.

    25. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I also didn't vac my kids until they were about 2 years old. I agree with parent reasons up till about the 2-3 year mark.

      FACT
      There are lower SIDs cases in europe and Japan. Both places delay the vacs until a later date.

      Our kids (and some of our relatives kids) had reactions to the vacs when we did give it to them. The relatives reactions was one of the reasons we did the research into vacs and delayed. OUR DOCS RECOMMENDED STOPPING THE VACS after the reactions.

      The only disease that is really bad is the whooping cough, and that is only really dangerous (read deadly or complications) through about age 9 months. And they don't recommend getting it till about 6 months (although some recommend it starting at 2 months). So we determined delaying was NOT a real issue.

      The ONLY cases of polio (is US at least) were all linked back to the live polio vaccine. We opted for the dead vaccine, which was a major pain at the time. The idiots in charged finally changed to the dead virus several years after we vaccinated our kids. Another strike against the CDC idiots.

      Rubella (German measles) was pretty much a non-issue to anyone (unless your a pregnant female - i.e. OLDER). Why do we have a vaccine??? Oh, yeah...the idiots in charge say we should. I'd rather my kids get rubella at a young age and have better immunity. The girls can get a shot before their child bearing years (just in case).

      We saw the alleged autism links when we researched, but that was just one problem of many (some listed above). DON"T PAINT US ALL with the over-reactors. WE DON'T ALL HAVE THE SAME REASONS.

      Yes, I'm yelling. I get sick of the pro-vacs ASSUMING some of our reasons and painting a few idiots on one side and IGNORING the idiots on the other.

    26. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The odds of my kid being exposed to, say, pertussis are about 10%. The odds of her contracting the disease (ie the bacteria taking hold and causing symptoms) is about 0.5%. The odds of her having a serious case of the disease (involving hospitalization) is about 0.01%. The odds of her having any sort of permanent disability/harm are about 0.005%. And the odds of death are about 0.0001%.

      I think you've miscalculated exposure. Exposure is ongoing day-to-day, year-to-year, etc, whereas a vaccine is (generally) one time. There has been an outbreak of pertussis in the past 3 years in all schools. You need to factor in the lifetime of your child and the numbers will be astounding. My children have been exposed to pertussis twice in the last 2 years in their classrooms so that would be 100% exposure--twice. They are vaccinated. They were not affected unlike some other unlucky kids.

      20+ years ago I got chicken pox when I was 20. This was before a vaccine was available. I passed it on to 2 people that I know of (probably several more strangers since I was in college at the time) Those 2 people passed it on to 5 other people that we know of. All of us were in our early 20's. 2 people had pristine complexions and ended up looking like Manuel Noriega. Now I was blamed for this outbreak but hey I got exposed from ??? as well.
      Albeit not life threatening, it had a definite impact on several lives. I always wonder what the actual number of people it spread to by me alone was.

      It's not just about "your child" it is also about all the children and adults that are exposed to your child as well. It's about the big picture...humanity.

    27. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Ah, see, I leaned too much on a different poster's information. I learn something new. Perhaps we can eradicate pertussis, in which case I may need to reconsider.

    28. Re:Am I really evil? by aweol · · Score: 2

      No your not, it's stiffiling the amount of flamed resposnes to this issue you get.
      I was personally affected by a hot batch when I was younger, and have had subsequent reactions to other vaccines since.

      This idea that herd immunity is some moral issue, on which we owe it to the social stucture is bull. Do people have reactions and die from these vaccines? Yes.
      How are these vaccines regulated? and tested on children espeically those under one year? Not very well.

      The moral issue here is not if you vaccinate your children, it really comes down to if we as a "society" accept that fact that we will kill children as an accepted risk to stop other diseases, and if that we as a "society" will allow a government to force a vaccination into our bodies and into our children.

      I personally won't accept this, if this means my children not participating in public education then so be it. But to say that your immoral, or to say that your "killing" others; and treat you as if that is the case. That is sensationalist bullshit.

    29. Re:Am I really evil? by Cheeze+ball · · Score: 1

      I don't vaccinate my kid. Not because I'm afraid of autism (as noted before, the autism link is flat out not there). But because the risks on either side are so minimal that I don't see the point.

      The odds of my kid being exposed to, say, pertussis are about 10%. The odds of her contracting the disease (ie the bacteria taking hold and causing symptoms) is about 0.5%. The odds of her having a serious case of the disease (involving hospitalization) is about 0.01%. The odds of her having any sort of permanent disability/harm are about 0.005%. And the odds of death are about 0.0001%.

      In contrast, the odds of having a mild reaction (mild fever, cold/flu symptoms, localized swelling) to a pertussis vaccine are about 1%. The odds of having a major reaction (lengthy illness, actually getting pertussis, etc) are about .01%. The odds of having a major allergic reaction to the vaccine are about .008%. The odds of having brain swelling, fever that causes brain damage, or other severe outcomes is about 0.005%. And the odds of death are about 0.00005%. And even with the vaccine, the odds of her still contracting the disease are about 2%--with all the odds of the above multiplied by a factor of .02.

      In short, the risk involved in either course of action is ridiculously small--similar odds with winning the Lotto. BUT getting the vaccine costs me money, time (a trip to the doctor), possible fear of the doctor (something I don't want her to be afraid of) and discomfort/pain to my child.

      I've weighed the risks. I've done a cost/benefit analysis for both courses of action. And I (and my wife) choose not to vaccinate. And yes, we have done similar comparisons for each and every vaccine that is offered, from the Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus (DTaP) vaccine to the HPV vaccine to the Chicken Pox/Varicella vaccine. And none of them make a definitive case that vaccination is orders-of-magnitude better than non-vaccination.

      I have not ruled out the possibility that I will reevaluate that cost/benefit and risk analysis at some later stage in her life (say, when she goes to pre-school) and come to a different conclusion.

      So again, I ask, what in all these odds and risks and everything, makes me evil for not vaccinating my child?

      Just to share the "thought" between most of the Medical providers I work with is: When it comes to statistics everything is really remote in Medicine, but while you might be the .01% to the rest of the world, it's 100% to you.

      So for you the risk may be .02% but if your child does get it and is horribly ill or dies... from there point of view it's 100% and YOU could have prevented them from experiencing it.

      Something to think about... we do (providers).

    30. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      what are the odds of passing a mild case of pertussis on to someone who is either too young, too old, immunocomprimised or that got the vaccine and it didn't take? How are their odds? and what about them passing it on in turn? how many can they infect in turn? and again down the road further?

      The longer that cycle continues the closer the chance of death occurring due to not vaccinating(either by choice or not) approaches 1. You have the ability to stop that with an exceptionally small risk.

    31. Re:Am I really evil? by Cheeze+ball · · Score: 1

      Does your cost benefit analysis then also include the cost in time to drive to and from the Hospital or the deductible for the week or longer stay if you child does get sick? Does it also include that since you chose not to vaccinate, something covered by your insurance they CAN deny coverage and reimbursement for said sickness because it WAS preventable (something still legal under Obama's reform)?

      I'm quite sure those costs in time and money are more than the ones you have mentioned. So I guess it comes back to your risk analysis... are they more likely to get it or not. Then you have to balance that chance vs, the cost of of care if they do become ill.

    32. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Like I said, I'm going to reevaluate at various points in the future. Most likely the one that may change the equation is going into school. PreK age here is 3years old, so we very well may start vaccinating around age 3. The cost/benefit & risk profile changes quite a bit at that point, so it's worth reconsidering.

      Thanks for lending your voice & support.

    33. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Your kids are in school, well past the time frame (0-9 months of age) when pertussis is considered significantly life-threatening. Yes, it's an inconvenience and an illness, and everything else that is negative about getting sick, but they were unlikely to be really, long-term injured from getting pertussis (unless they are otherwise part of an at-risk group that I don't know of). I'm sorry that kids got whooping cough. But since you don't mention any deaths/hospitalizations, what's the difference between this and, say, influenza or food poisoning?

    34. Re:Am I really evil? by digitallife · · Score: 1

      Is there any chance you have the research you've done on other vaccinations, and can post it for others to read? I've done significant research myself, but the problem I always ran into was suppressed or redacted information, so I feel the conclusions I've come to are somewhat inaccurate.

      In general however I've concluded basically the same thing as you: it's a risk assessment, and the risks on both sides (in the current world situation) are negligible. The added inconvenience is a factor for deciding to not get the vaccinations, although I have to admit my defacto position on medical procedures and drugs is to avoid unless there is compelling reason not to, and that is my largest deciding factor. Too many times I've witnessed medical procedures and drugs which were recommended and then discovered to be harmful.

    35. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Thank you. This gets treated as a "Public Health trumps all" issue when it's really a "risk mitigation" issue. We could spend $X trillion dollars and wipe out all communicable disease, but at the expense of everything else that happens in our society. We have to balance costs, risks, and health outcomes all the time. End the hyperbole, start doing evidence based medicine, and quit the overreaction.

    36. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that's a consideration. And a valid one. But at what cost are we willing to shift the .01% to .005%? That's halving the rate of $Negative_Outcome, but at what cost? $1 billion? $1 trillion? For how many lives saved?

    37. Re:Am I really evil? by TheSpoom · · Score: 1

      You assume that you are special, and make calculations assuming nobody else can make the choice you made. All of your numbers shoot up as soon as more people start making the same choice you did.

      --
      It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
      - E. Debs
    38. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      The odds of getting a mild case of pertussis = small.
      The risk of spreading pertussis from a mild case = smaller.
      The exceptionally small risk of vaccination = small.
      You're saying I have the ability to prevent $Event (with very small risk) by choosing $Action (with very small risk). This is true. But don't compare "Chance approaching 1" with "exceptionally small risk". The risk of both events are pretty darn small.

    39. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like how you think.

      My only question is, are the odds regarding pertussis exposure/disease/etc based on today's world where most are immunized? I'm assuming they are. I'm a nerd, so I think of it like a machine. If everyone thinks like you do (quite rationally I think), nobody gets immunized and the next generation pertussis flares up. The odds change, everyone gets immunized for a generation. And back again. ie, it's unstable. We need some additional control here to prevent this flapping.

      That's kind of how I came to the decision to immunize my son. I agree with you, I couldn't really justify it when I look at it 100% rational "just about him." But I saw the problem such thinking leads to and decided to follow the old "do unto others as you would have them do to you" proverb :)

      So I don't think you're evil, you could just afford to be a little more caring about society in general :)

    40. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, you are not evil.

      The CDC website falls over itself trying to explain that side effects are minor for most major vaccines. What they fail to tell you is the efficacy percentages, which you do a fine job of pointing out.

      The fact is, that aside from tetanus, which is everywhere and almost unavoidable, most vaccines address a problem that proper hyegine already solved. In fact, if you read up on the history of polio, it actually was not an epidemic until people began moving into the squalid neighborhoods of 19th century industrialized cities. Shit, that's where polio comes from. And that's why proper sanitation took care of it too, not the 50's polio vaccine.

      And as for pertussis, well, that's bacteria. And we all know what happens when you push a bacteria through a 99% hostile environment, it usually comes out stronger on the other side. Witness the California pertussis epidemic a few years ago. Most kids affected had been vaccinated. Hello, MVR pertussis.

      I really can't believe the faith some people put in the medical establishment, especially when the companies that control the drug and vaccine supply go out of their way to make sure you "know" what's best for you, as opposed to treating a minor bacterial infection in the throat (mycoplasm) with a salt water gurgle and some soothing tea. No, anti-bacterial chemicals are surely better in the long run. Fuck nature, it doesn't have shit on us. We have antibiotics.

    41. Re:Am I really evil? by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      You haven't factored in the odds that I will shoot you if your kid(s) give my kid some disease like pertussis, diphteria or chicken pox, and my child happens to die from it.

      What, you think I'm just gonna let you get away with killing my child because you were too lazy to go to the doctor and put up with a cranky kid?

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    42. Re:Am I really evil? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      This article describes 3 different diseases where there have been breakdowns in herd immunity in the US:

      http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/05/health/la-he-vaccines-herd-immunity-20110801

      If you do further research you will find that in Europe the problem is much worse. For example post the Wakefield article in Lancet measles vaccination rates dropped to 80-85% causing several outbreaks and the British Medical Society to declare measles as endemic in GB.

      Are you sure your children will never want to travel to Europe? Or somebody from Europe will never visit your town? Last year the largest outbreak in the US in 15 years occurred from this source.

      http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2011-10-21/Unvaccinated-behind-largest-US-measles-outbreak-in-years/50852098/1

      A lot of people are going to the London Olympics this year. Some have predicted it will trigger a measles epidemic in the US.

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9156762/London-2012-Olympics-may-spark-measle-outbreak-US-warns.html

      People like you are compromising the society you live in by playing at amateur epidemiologist. It is immoral behavior.

    43. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those aren't odds. Those are probabilities.

      Please cite your sources of those risks estimates. I am betting the probability of being exposed to pertussis over a year or two is more likely >50%.

    44. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Presumably, your kid is vaccinated. So there's a darn low chance of him/her getting infected in the first place. Further, the odds of him/her dying due to pertussis, diptheria, or chicken pox is even smaller. So yeah, I have factored in the odds that a) my kid gets sick, AND b) gives it to your kid (who has been vaccinated), AND c) your kid happens to die, AND d) you know that my kid was the definitive source, AND e) you know who I am/where to find me, AND f) you have the balls to follow through on your threat and not just make pseudonymous statements online.

      And I'm not really worried about it. Have a nice day.

    45. Re:Am I really evil? by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      So in short, you base your calculations solely on what happens to your kid and toss away every impact on anyone around you. That's what I thought - you are indeed evil. And you're right, the odds are that I will shoot you is low. That just leads to jail. Far more effective to change the laws around mandatory vaccinations, and to change the mindset of the public to regard anti-vaxxers in the same light as serial killers. Vigilante justice is reserved to the rare times where it either prevents a crime or the chance to get away is 100%.

      By the way, you made a mistake in your calculations. The correct calculation includes the odds that someone - not just me - wants to exact some revenge on you for not vaccinating your kids and spreading a deadly disease. Do you still feel lucky?

      Have a nice day.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    46. Re:Am I really evil? by dmr001 · · Score: 2
      As the (family physician) who submitted this story, I'd prefer not to address your being good or evil, but the cost benefit analysis you've made. The odds of your kid being exposed to pertussis are variable: pertussis tends to come in outbreaks (in 2 to 5 year cycles) that spread like wildfire (incubation period 1-3 weeks, with attack rates of 50-100% reported in susceptible household contacts). If you're in a place with low penetration of vaccination (say, Boulder Colorado, or Lagos Nigeria) your risk will be higher than if you're in a place with widespread vaccination. Only 10% of cases are in industrialized countries, but that's 10% of an estimated 20-40 million cases a year.

      That's maybe not a big deal of you're an adult: you get the 100 day cough and feel like you're going to hock up a piece of your lung. But if you've got a newborn, or your neighbors have a newborn who is too young for vaccination, you literally risk their life. California (with decreasing vaccination rates) is famous for having 1300+ cases in the six month period between January and June 2010 with something like 14 deaths.

      The way we (medical professionals who offer vaccinations) figure it, you've decided the risk of a sore arm (and infinitesimally smaller risks of more significant reactions) outweighs the small risk of a potentially fatal disease because you have not been witness to people getting killed by the disease. You have also made this decision in the context of depending on most people around you getting vaccinated. You would probably reconsider this decision if you were living in Lagos. But, by declining the vaccination, you bring us all closer to living in an epidemiological Lagos: a decision you make not just for yourselves and your family, but for everyone around you. As you note, the vaccine isn't 100% protective, so you put even vaccinated families at risk.

      Oh, and for the HPV vaccine, the prevalence rate in any (female) who ever has sex is about 70% over time, which explains why about 10% of my Pap smears in young adults are abnormal.

    47. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Thank you for being the first to address my point--that it's a cost-benefit/risk-weighted decision rather than an "OMG EVERYONE MUST VACCINATE OR YOU'RE STUPID" issue. I disagree with your conclusions, though I appreciate seeing the rationale.

    48. Re:Am I really evil? by zzyzyx · · Score: 1

      Your child will now additionally contribute to the spreading of the disease in the population. That may cause another child to get sick or die. I didn't make the calculations, I'm sure you can do them.

      I don't know if you're evil, but your decision makes you egoistical and cynical.

    49. Re:Am I really evil? by outsider007 · · Score: 1

      One thing you haven't factored is this. If you vaccinate and have a bad outcome you're a saint. if you don't and you do? You're basically Hitler.

      --
      If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
    50. Re:Am I really evil? by outsider007 · · Score: 1

      That would actually improve society a great deal by taking out a gun nut, a vaccine nut, and both their progeny in one fell swoop.

      --
      If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
    51. Re:Am I really evil? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Your argument points out exactly why you shouldn't be given this choice in the first place.

      Let's assume for the sake of argument that your numbers and logic (in the individual case) are 100% correct.

      You are clearly doing yourself and your child a service by not getting vaccinated. Thus you make this decision.
      The situation would be no different for any other parent or child, so they should make the same decision.

      Now we live in a world where NOBODY is vaccinated, and now the chances of us all getting exposed aren't the hypothetical 10% you tossed out, but the near 100% rates during childhood that existed before the vaccine was available.

      You just illustrated the tragedy of the commons, and an externality. If we all make the best decision in our own interests then we all perish together. When situations like this come up, the best solution usually tends to be to legislate the decision away from individuals, so that all benefit.

    52. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you realize that your statistics depend on everyone else being vaccinated????
      If 20% of parents followed your logic then those numbers would change significantly.

    53. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Except, the rates of infection prior to the introduction of the vaccine were NOT near 100%. Infection rates plummeted from the early 1900s through the late 1930s, as did the deaths-per-100,000-people rate. The vaccine was used nationwide beginning in the late 1930s. Presumably, the improvements in hygiene (preventing the spread of the disease) and medical care (treating the people who did get infected to prevent severe adverse outcomes) had a lot to do with this, even prior to the vaccine. Sure, the vaccine helped--and has the potential to eradicate some diseases, which is non-trivial.

      And as a greater percentage of people opt out of vaccination, the potential harm due to not vaccination climbs, shifting the cost-benefit. Which means that somewhere, we'll hit a balance--not at 0% vaccination nor at 100% vaccination. It's not an all-or-nothing thing.

    54. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your statistics have been pulled directly out of your arse.

      Risk of exposure to pertussis - depends on herd.
      Risk of contracting pertussis - unknown in children, 20-50% of exposed adults contract disease (http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/heic/id/pertussis/)
      Risk of severe illness if you contract it - 1 in 8 pneumonia, 1 in 20 encephalitis, 1 in 100 to 200 die. (http://www.who.int/immunization_safety/aefi/immunization_misconceptions/en/index4.html)

      So if we use your 10% exposure risk, and a conservative contraction risk (20%), then her risk is 2%, with a 0.3% chance of some badness and a 0.02% risk of death. This is a great deal higher than any vaccine risk.

      You are relying on everyone else getting their kids vaccinated to validate your statistics. You expect them to take the risk for you to get the reward. That makes you an asshole, and also evil.

      Your cost benefit analysis is flawed (risks are not accurate, but also due to douchebags like you fucking up the numbers - they only apply in a vaccinated population) so the risks of vaccination remain fixed but the risks of not vaccinating have increased. Herd immunity drops dramatically after only losing a few percentages of vaccinated kids. That means you are exposing your kids to an increased risk than you think. That makes you stupid, but not inherently evil in itself.

      I don't want to share a community with people like you. I took the small risk of vaccination for my kids and am happy to benefit those around me. I hope you never suffer the guilt of a bad outcome on your child (and the risks they will transmit it to others, including their own children some day) because of your selfish choices but I can guarantee that if you and the other non-vaccinaters get together in a community then children will die and suffer severe permanent disability, and I would rather that happened to you than expose my kids and the kids who have a genuine reason no to get vaccinated to both an increased risk from vaccination and an increased risk from reduced herd immunity and increased exposure.

      Your sums only work because other people aren't dicks, and you have made up figures.

    55. Re:Am I really evil? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      And as a greater percentage of people opt out of vaccination, the potential harm due to not vaccination climbs, shifting the cost-benefit. Which means that somewhere, we'll hit a balance--not at 0% vaccination nor at 100% vaccination. It's not an all-or-nothing thing.

      Ok, suppose the best cost-benefit is at 80% vaccination (again, for the sake of argument). How do you propose to achieve this?

      By your math you'll always be better off as an individual not getting vaccinated. So, if you leave it up to individuals and let these facts be known, then you'll end up with a 0% vaccination rate, which by your own admission is not adequate.

      The only way to end up with an 80% rate in a situation where individual decisions are rationally against vaccination is to mandate that doctors roll a d100 or something and vaccinate on a roll of 80 or below. Good luck getting that made policy. The only real way to achieve an 80% vaccination rate if your math is right is to mandate 100% coverage.

      And this is a classic example of the tragedy of the commons.

      Now, I'm not convinced that your math is right, but I'm conceding that for the sake of argument. Back in the 1930s they certainly didn't have any trouble getting people to take the vaccine, and it was no more effective or safe back then. Whooping cough, even for adults, isn't exactly a trivial problem.

    56. Re:Am I really evil? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Hate to double-reply, but I was reflecting on this further and since you seemed to be at least reasonably well versed in math I wanted to share my thoughts, which you might find useful.

      Let's suppose for the sake of argument again that at the present overall vaccination rate the rational decision is to not vaccinate. Let's suppose that the ideal rate is 80% (an arbitrary value - s/80/x if you prefer).

      If the rate is above 80% rational actors will choose not to vaccinate. If the rate is below 80% rational actors will choose to vaccinate. However, this isn't exactly true, since the rational actors probably don't base things off the vaccination rate itself, but rather on overall prevalence of the disease, which is of course a function of vaccination rate.

      So, now we have defined a function that is self-correcting - an oscillator. If the output is above 80 it will have a downward force applied, and if it is below 80 it will have an upward force applied. A self-correcting function is dampened, and lots of interesting things can happen with dampened systems.

      However, that corrective force is a function at best of overall vaccination rates, and at worst a function of disease infection rates. The former is probably reported to the public with a year or two lag, and the latter has a much longer delay since you need people to walk around, get sick, spread the disease, and then for the CDC or whatever to pick up on it and for figures to become accepted - perhaps 5-10 years could easily pass before the vaccination rate impacts published infection figures.

      Any changes in the corrective force will therefore have a significant multi-year delay applied to them. Now let's talk about the corrective force.

      People tend to over-react to news of health issues - just look at current vaccination trends as a result of Wakefield/etc. People will tend to not wait until science is established, but will rather take knee-jerk reactions. If there was a lot of evidence that DPT was net-harmful the vaccination rate wouldn't drop from 90 to 80, but probably from 90 to 30 or something like that.

      So, what happens when you have a dampened function where the corrective action is large, and the delay in applying that correction is large? You get an overdampened system. Such a system will tend to oscillate wildly, and will spend very little time in the optimal range. If vaccine rates are low epidemics will break out, and everybody will get vaccinated bringing rates to 100%. Then after a decade of that the disease is nearly eradicated and pundits will talk about how the vaccine is more trouble than it is worth and rates will drop close to 0% until a substantial portion of the population is vulnerable, and then suddenly we'll have epidemics again.

      So, even if you wanted to keep the overall rate near 80%, allowing individual decisions on the basis of your argument is not a way to accomplish this. If any engineer ran into a system that behaved as described they'd, well, engineer it better. That would involve replacing the control mechanism with one that worked better, either a complicated one that keeps rates near 80 (roll the dice and vaccinate accordingly, and punish doctors who deviate too far from the norm?), or a simple one that just pegs the rate at 100% since the outcome at 100% is way better than the outcome at 0%.

      Again, I'm not convinced the odds really are as you suggest, but the fact is that individual actors making individual rational decisions in a situation like this can lead to very bad behavior, not unlike what is seen in dysfunctional stock markets and such.

    57. Re:Am I really evil? by Anonymus · · Score: 1

      You're not evil, I just hope your kids end up smarter than you.

    58. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Yes, if only we could engineer human behavior to act only within strict tolerances, removing individual choice and freedom in the process...That sounds like Freedom (TM)

    59. Re:Am I really evil? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      I do too.

    60. Re:Am I really evil? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Yes, if only we could engineer human behavior to act only within strict tolerances, removing individual choice and freedom in the process...That sounds like Freedom (TM)

      So, true freedom is letting people for tribes and pillage each other. Let the best warlord win. You have the freedom to defend yourself, if you're able to.

      Most people are willing to give up the freedom to rape their neighbor in exchange for the security to be able to sleep at night without maintaining an armed watch. Or rather, they are maintaining an armed watch, but we all pitch in to make a police department.

      So, once you accept this you're accepting social engineering - using designed processes and infrastructure to keep random individual behavior in line. After that, it is all a slippery slope to full-scale eugenics and mind control.

      Arguably your paradise of true freedom still exists today. If you want to grab a baseball bat and start clubbing people, nothing is preventing you from doing so. If you're good enough at it, nobody will be able to stop you. However, the most likely outcome in a modern society isn't all that different than what would have happened to a cave man - sooner or later you'll run into a bunch of people who are better armed or organized, and that will be it.

    61. Re:Am I really evil? by clay_buster · · Score: 1

      That's only true if the 100% of vaccinations lead to immunity. They don't. Your impact is greater than you stated.

  63. Re:I trust parents more than government by Tancred · · Score: 1

    But these are not cut and dry cases. The freedom of the 'do-baders' to not immunize their children puts my child at risk. I'd like my child to be free from preventable diseases.

  64. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Citations?

  65. Why the anger? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

    As noted elsewhere, bacterial diseases like Pertussis are NOT going to be eradicated, ever. They don't require a human host, so there will always be a risk of infection. So, taking the "disease eradication" out of the argument, why do you insist that everybody get vaccinated?

    If you and your child are vaccinated, what is the risk to you if they come into contact with the disease? You've already given your kid immunity (or something like 95-99% immunity), right? So if my kid happens to carry the disease, you shouldn't have to worry about it.

    So why do you care?

    1. Re:Why the anger? by slimjim8094 · · Score: 1

      Your post is essentially 100% wrong.

      First of all, as noted elsewhere, the Pertussis bacterium can not survive outside of humans for very long, and so can be eradicated like a virus. But that's irrelevant.

      You make the assumption that everybody can be vaccinated. Immunocompromised kids, or kids allergic to egg proteins or other components of the vaccine, or kids that are simply too young can't be immunized. As a society, we made the decision decades ago that those kids shouldn't be placed at risk because your perfectly-vaccinateable kids didn't get the shot.

      Like somebody else said, it's pure-and-simple child abuse. Imagine a parent wasn't sure food was really the right choice for their kid, or maybe had some vague believed risks. Or, hell, let's be less abstract - a parent who thought that "mystic healing pyramids" or something were going to cure her kid's broken leg, ear infection, or pneumonia. Nobody (except mystic healing pyramids people) will object to the government taking her kids away because she's not getting them appropriate medical treatment. Except with vaccines, you get the extra bonus of putting everybody else's kids at risk, too!

      Vaccines are appropriate medical treatment. There was never a question about that, other than one found to be made by a profiteering "doctor". It's awful lenient, actually, to merely require vaccines for admission into public school, since kids interact outside of school, but it so far has been sufficient.

      In short, I care because your kids are putting mine, and everyone's, at risk. You know why you don't have a healthy fear of pertussis?? Because your parent's generation vaccinated all their kids! Before the vaccine, kids died of whooping cough all the time! Now that parents aren't vaccinating their kids, they're dying of whooping cough all the time! Except those parents could have done something about it.

      --
      I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
    2. Re:Why the anger? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      http://www.whale.to/a/image/gr2.html

      I don't have a healthy fear of pertussis because the general improvement in hygiene and medical care in the early half of the 20th century--even prior to the widespread use of the pertussis vaccine--dropped the mortality rate and rate of significant adverse effect of the disease significantly. The vaccine helps keep the infection rate down, which is good, but not nearly as heroically life-saving as many care to think. (For pertussis. Other diseases vary.)

      As for the notion of wiping out the human-communicable pertussis strains, I have been corrected. I relied too much on someone else's post in here that turned out to be incorrect. Sorry. That remains a valuable goal, and one that is making me re-evaluate the cost-benefit that I have spoken of elsewhere on this thread.

    3. Re:Why the anger? by mhotchin · · Score: 1

      The *particular* bacterium that causes pertussis is, in fact, hosted only in humans. It doesn't survive for any appreciable time outside its host.

      For other deseases I'm sure your are right, just wanted to point out that for this one, it is eradicatable.

    4. Re:Why the anger? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I've been corrected on this point a few times through the thread. I relied too much on another commenter's post, to my detriment.

    5. Re:Why the anger? by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      So why do you care?

      For the same reason that free-loaders in general are shunned from all societies: because you are piggy-backing on the effort that others are putting into improving social conditions in general, without providing anything in return.

      I'm really not sure why that concept is so hard to understand.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    6. Re:Why the anger? by Anonymus · · Score: 1

      No, as YOU keep saying, it will never be eradicated. You're the only poster who keeps noting that. A lot of other people have replied to your various posts, pointing out that while it's partly true on a technical level, it's actually wrong.

    7. Re:Why the anger? by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      I've been corrected. I relied too much on another poster, prior to all the well-informed rebuttals to that misinformation. If you'll look through any of the half-dozen or so replies noting that eradication of the human-infecting Pertussis bacterium actually is possible, you'll realize that I've accepted that I made a mistake. So glad you bothered to read any of the prior posts...

    8. Re:Why the anger? by Xarin · · Score: 1

      If you and your child are vaccinated, what is the risk to you if they come into contact with the disease? You've already given your kid immunity (or something like 95-99% immunity), right? So if my kid happens to carry the disease, you shouldn't have to worry about it.

      So why do you care?

      Because infants under 8 weeks can not be vaccinated for Pertussis so if you come down with it you may inadvertently wind up killing an infant. Also vaccines do not always work so you may wind up killing someone that was vaccinated and for some reason it was not affective. Not getting vaccinated is like drinking and driving. It is unfair to the others around you.

  66. Non-vaccinated autism excuses by bryan1945 · · Score: 0

    So what do these "I know better than scientists, because Jenny McCarthy said so" parents say when they do not get the vaccinations and the kid develops autism?
    Global warming, pollution, fracking, black mold, Republicans/Democrats, what? How about just bad luck? Sometimes bad things happen for no reason (OK, the technical reason is a genetic mutation, but you get my point).
    And on top of that, they're placing our kids at risk. Vaccinations are not 100%.

    --
    Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
  67. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Hentes · · Score: 1

    if your kid is vaccinated, then why are you afraid of the infected others?

  68. Re:I trust parents more than government by darronb · · Score: 1

    There are people that benefit. I know a person who for a time was brainwashed to "reject negative thinking". This in fact effectively meant rejecting critical thinking. Since, "maybe this sugar water doesn't cure my ills, and the person selling it to me is a scumbag" is a negative thought. It leads to the most ridiculous things.

    Luckily, she didn't seem totally committed to the concept... I can't imagine it's actually possible to live that way. She mostly just used it to justify what the said snake oil salesmen sold to her.

    However, I think these are edge cases and it's much more just a general anti-science thing. America's taught a couple generations that their opinions are important... even entirely unfounded BS opinions. That supposed authority spouting 'facts' is really just another guy's opinion... so who's he to tell you what's right and wrong?

    *sigh*

  69. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 1, Interesting

    That, in the end, is the dream of guys like roman - down with civilization, give us a survival of the strongest libertarian paradise. Of course, guys like roman think they'd end up as the strongest, getting fellated by their subjects on an hourly basis, when in reality, the local warlord would pull them out of their basements within days and render them into objectivist jerky for the occasional snack.

    --
    Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
  70. Fight for the Right to be Wrong by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 1

    How is the absurd idea of believing vaccines cause autism, any different than believing that serpents tell people to eat forbidden fruit or that Thetans are making you unhappy?

    You have the right to be absurdly wrong and harm yourself and your children by applying that belief. It is horrible but the alternative is (subjectively) just as bad. We see a child hospitalized or even dying because of this nonsense, but some people see innocent children being Damned To Hell For All Eternity (compared to which, hospitalization and death are nearly nothing) due to not worshipping the one correct god. We let those people anguish over all the lost souls or lost course fees, so why shouldn't believers in medicine similarly suffer? It's painful, but no one said freedom would be free.

    --
    "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
    1. Re:Fight for the Right to be Wrong by s73v3r · · Score: 1

      Here's the fucking problem: By being absurdly wrong, they are not only causing harm to their children, but the children of others as well.

  71. Re:I trust me, not other parents by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

    So unvaccinated kids infect your vaccinated kids with diseases that they are supposed to be vaccinated?

    Yes. Exactly. Some kids can't be vaccinated because of allergies or age. And unvaccinated kids are the cause of some of those kids dying.

    What you're actually saying is that unvaccinated kids infect other unvaccinated kids. What the GP said was that your vaccinated kids have nothing to worry about. Right?

    Those that have to take the risk of exposure to the disease because of allergies or other factors are an entirely different matter.

  72. Let's face it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you are a true and just, honest christian your babies will be safe. Alternatively, if you are sane you would want you babies protected.

    the real scare is this autism BS, even thought the Wakefield research was thoroughly debunked and numerous statements were made that completely dismantle the nonsensical notion that vaccinations cause autism in babies.

    P.S.

    The amish, don;t even friggin start with that crap.

  73. Re:I trust parents more than government by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 1

    In your place, I would start to think about why exactly my opinions are basically indistinguishable from trolling every time I post them. The result might enlighten you.

    --
    Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
  74. Laws already in place? by Ogive17 · · Score: 1

    When I was about to begin kindergarten, it was required that all kids had their MMR vaccinations. I know this continued at least through the 90s in my area. I'm curious if that has since changed.... it would be unfortunate if it did.

    --
    "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
    1. Re:Laws already in place? by wardred · · Score: 1

      I think they had to have the vaccinations to attend public schools, not that they absolutely had to have them. So, either home schooling or maybe some private schools would be a way to "opt out" of this requirement.

  75. Re:I trust parents more than government by Muad'Dave · · Score: 1

    That's funny - the handful of anti-vaxxers I know are neo-hippie earth-children, not conservatives.

    --
    Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
  76. vaccines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    but, if your child is vaccinated, are they at particular risk?

    i'm not an "anti-vaxxer" or whatever the hell pejorative du jour for people questioning the motives of pharmaceutical company lobbying efforts (oh, i mean all-knowing Scientists); however, there is precedent for distrusting the motives (money comes into play) and thoroughness of research into medicines. it is easy to sit here and scoff at the supposed slack-jawed imbeciles that dare question convention and don't (perhaps in some cases with irony) act in complete blind faith that everything set for encouraged public consumption is good fer ya.
    consider (just regarding autism): .75% (1 in 150) children have autism these days, compare that to 1 in 10,000 a couple decades age. sure, that interesting factoid doesn't implicate vaccines, but it does suggest something is influencing the rate of affected. take away being, there isn't a causation theory yet demonstrated. and frankly, the notion that vaccines causing autism is obviously wrong because not everyone receiving vaccines gets autism is as flawed as suggesting that a carcinogen doesn't cause cancer because not everyone exposed gets cancer. i would not try to encourage people against vaccines with this kind of logic, just saying it is understandable where some skepticism is given breath.
    just consider the number of vaccines (try using google) that are pulled off the market after causing significant problems and see how many are not put through the kind of rigor that scientific process warrants. oh, then just dished out to the public through clinics like they have had due diligence.

  77. Re:I trust parents more than government by Ice+Tiger · · Score: 1

    And you got other peoples opinion of your opinion, live with it.

    --
    "Because we are not employing at entry level, offshoring will kill our industry stone dead."
  78. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I agree. So many of your other posts are full of troll/flamebait, moderators really don't need to waste mod points downmodding the few that aren't.

  79. No more advance solutions. by jellomizer · · Score: 0

    We want simple solutions to our problem.
    We have a rise in Autism. What is the cause?
    Vaccines or Increase in obesity in the mother during birth combined Foods with advance pesticides the parent injects during pregnancy and improved detection of autism. (And I am just making a random assertions of what could be the problem not a claim that any of those cause the rise in autism)

    We have a problem with our lives?
    The problem is Big Government Controlling our lives... Or The Problem is the Corporations are too big and are controlling our lives.

    We are looking for a simple problem that can be fixed.
    We found CFC causing a hole in the Ozone Layer. We found a replacement for CFC and reduced our use of CFC and the problem while not solved is not growing as fast as it was before. Not all problems are that easy to fix. Sometimes there are a lot of factors involved and most people just don't want to hear it. They just want to know what is that one thing that is causing the problem.

    The Devil ins't in the details. The Devil is the Details.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  80. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Government regulation isn't based on scientific research. It is based on Big Pharma and their lobbying efforts.

  81. Re:I trust parents more than government by theguyfromsaturn · · Score: 1

    I think the problem with vaccination is its own success. Very few thought ill of vaccination when smallpox, polio, etc. were a very real possibility for most people. Here was something that could save you and your kids from those deadly swords of Damocles.

    Now, though, those threats seem remote to most people. The devastation of so many infections diseases has been so successfully achieved through vaccination campaigns that lots of people have forgotten why they are necessary. People who are not vaccinated get away with it because most of the population is, and suddently they think it's nothing but a "government conspiracy" to get money into the pockets of pharmaceutical companies. Unfortunately, many of these people would only learn the error of their ways if enough people believe them for such deadly diseases to become common place again. I hope they don't get their way.

    What's scary is people sharing chicken pox infected candy and cloth over mail with total strangers. Let's not trust "government" vaccination, let's just trust a total stranger to send me something "knowingly" infected with something. Nothing can go wrong with that scenario can it? Surely someone I don't know a thing about who is willing to send a disease to me via mail could never think of doing something bad could they?

    The logic of people sometimes baffles me. It's like a portion of the population is addicted to being afraid. So if no imminent threat is detected, one must be manufactured.

    --
    I like my dinosaurs feathery, and my pterosaurs hairy (or is it pycnofibery?)
  82. Re:I trust parents more than government by blueg3 · · Score: 1

    Because how well someone can manage a national vaccination program has very little to do with their opinions on unrelated matters.

    You don't have to trust him personally with injections, anyway. What are the chances that the head of the Department of Health is going to give you a shot?

  83. Re:I trust parents more than government by Jason+Levine · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People do benefit from it. Ex-Playboy models can sell books and go around talk shows. Discredited doctors can get grants from people desperate to find an autism cure. Alternative Medicine companies can sell sugar pills... I mean, Homeopathic remedies for diseases. There is money to be made here. Probably a lot more than to be made by selling vaccines.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  84. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    Unlike you, with your appropriate nickname over there, I actually have principles, and all my positions result from my principles, and I do not change them based on the changes to my own circumstance.

  85. Re:I trust parents more than government by HappyHead · · Score: 1

    The "lead" antivaxers do benefit from it though - they sell books, get paid to make public appearances and speeches, get their egos stroked with the attention they crave, and the fraud who started the whole thing did it entirely for profit - he was at the time very much involved with development of a non-functional "alternative" to vaccination, and attempted to use the bad publicity he was creating for vaccines to promote his snake oil replacement.

    Also, I'm not sure he qualifies as a billionaire, (possibly only a multi-millionaire) but Jim Carey was definitely eccentric, and was pushing funding into the movement while he was sleeping with the porn star who is it's main spokesperson.

    That, combined with the general anti-science movement you mentioned earlier, which has taken up the cause with enthusiasm, for exactly the profitable reason you mention. It's kind of funny, in a sad way, that the people screaming "CONSPIRACY!!!!" the loudest here are the ones being manipulated for profit.

  86. Re:I trust parents more than government by Javit · · Score: 1

    I think that's a dangerous line of reasoning, that we should defer to experts alone and enforce their views. It's anti-democratic, and you end up in many cases deferring to the powerful. Condoleezza Rice knows a lot more about government and foreign policy than just about anyone, but I'll be damned if I'm going to follow her into another war to secure American dominance.

    The natural sciences may be somewhat immune from distortion given that reality imposes a harsh discipline, but there's a lot out there from individual studies to whole disciplines that are categorized as "science" when it's a complete misnomer.

    I'd rather we resort to education. New York City's anti-smoking campaign has been much more successful through education and incentives than the country's drug policy has been through force. If we want to get the vaccination rate up, I say we spend the money on educational campaigns rather than on the heavy hand of law enforcement and various Child Protective Services agencies.

    --
    Support NRA, America's oldest civil rights group.
  87. Dr. McCarthy? by superdave80 · · Score: 1

    Anyone taking medical advice from Jenny McCarthy http://www.generationrescue.org/ has no one to blame but themselves when their child is injured or killed by an easily preventable disease.

    1. Re:Dr. McCarthy? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      Jenny McCarthy should be brought up on manslaughter charges.

  88. Looks like Big Pharma's work is done here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How about a bit more critical thinking folks?

    This is just another case of Individual Freedom vs. Superior Centralized Planning

    It's temptingly simple to rely on the "expert" to tell you what to do. Sometimes this works, but on average, in the long run it doesn't.

    Why?
    The decision is best made by the one closest to the consequence.
    Centralized planning is eventually co-opted for the purposes of the elite.

    1. Re:Looks like Big Pharma's work is done here... by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Except that the consequences of large numbers of people not vaccinating their children is the breaking of herd immunity and the potential serious threats to children who for a number of reasons cannot be vaccinated.

      Or, to put it another way, complete Libertarianism is evil and its adherents are sociopaths.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  89. AG needs to press manslaughter against parents by peter303 · · Score: 1

    Its a totally preventable death. So sad.

  90. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think it was mainly promulgated by parents of autistic children looking for someone to blame. Shit happens. Some people can't deal with that.

  91. Re:I trust parents more than government by geekoid · · Score: 1

    Giovernemn is reletivly open, you can get records on mos tof that they do, and it has a oral res;ponsibility to all the people.

    Corporations are largly secreitve, amfd have no responsibility with to the people.

    That's why the default position should be to trust the government.

    Also, 'The Government' is made of many separate agency, many different groups. A corporation only works on it's products.

    Most of what the government says can be verified.

    Note: I am talking about the government employees and records, not politicians.

    This doesn't mean be stupid and stop thinking. Not at all. I can list several things I am unhappy with. Interestingly, all of the issues where forced on by politician, not decided on by knowledgeable people.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  92. Other countries? by bryan1945 · · Score: 0

    Do other countries have this anti-vax problem? I would hope there's an "Jenny McCarth anti-stupidity" barrier to keep the rest of you safe. There's enough idiocy here.

    --
    Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
    1. Re:Other countries? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes. For example a world-wide effort to eradicate polio is stymied by Islamic fundamentalists in Nigeria who spreading a rumor that the shots are really intended to sterilize male children.

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15819797

      Ignorance spread intentionally for political reasons has to be the most evil of all human activities.

    2. Re:Other countries? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Ignorance spread intentionally for political reasons has to be the most evil of all human activities."

      So ask yourself who in our goverment stands to gain from having a recommended 40 shot vaccine schedule?

    3. Re:Other countries? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Before you cast the first stone, go look up AIDS and the Polio vaccine.

      Note the overwhelming evidence in favour that Salk et al fucked up big time on that one.

    4. Re:Other countries? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is it worse than spreading a rumour that the vaccinations are really part of a CIA intelligence operation?

  93. Re:I trust parents more than government by Brian_Ellenberger · · Score: 1

    The only people I trust less than qualified, vetted, officials is uneducated jackasses pretending to understand the world around them when really they are just ignorant twits. There is a mantra from conservatives "They think they know better than you!". Um, yep. I think the scientists and knowledgeable health professionals "know better" than the backward backwater assholes who raise their children as if it were the year 1512.

    I am very much pro-vaccination. I do have to point out it wasn't a "uneducated conservative" who started this mess, but Andrew Wakefield who was considered a "knowledgeable scientist and health professional". And there are thousands of examples where the scientists and medical professionals were wrong and/or completely changed their consensus (ex. breastfeeding bad/good). Someone breastfeeding in 1969/1970 may have been considered a ignorant, backwater redneck for choosing archaic breastfeeding over the scientifically developed, precision method of delivering nutrition that is Infant Formula.

  94. Re:I trust parents more than government by geekoid · · Score: 1

    So when your neighbor plays music at 135 db you won't stick your nose into their business?
    If someone parks in front of your drive way?
    If you see people in danger you wont call for help because you don't stick you nose into other peoples business?

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  95. Two words. by ericloewe · · Score: 1

    To whoever thinks that vaccines are bad/cause autism/whatever, and to those who started and fuel those rumors:

    Fuck you.

  96. Re:I trust parents more than government by geekoid · · Score: 1

    This makes it a troll:
    " I don't trust the people inside the DC Beltway. They are sick (control freaks)."

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  97. the UK tabloid news made it worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rags like the Daily Mail used Wakefield's single (falsified) study to create a huge scaremongering campaign. IMO, they are just as much at fault as he is.

    It's pretty much a continuous pipeline of fear-based (not fact-based) headlines, usually linking nonsense together just for the pageviews. "X + Y and THEN CANCER" is a popular one at that place.

    Such a waste.

  98. Parent's choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As a parent who has personally felt the terror of a child's negative reaction to a vaccination, I can state that no one will ever coerce me into vaccinating a child. Pisses off the doctors because I always ask for background literature and then do my own research before allowing any vaccination. Oh well. If they can't be bothered to learn enough about what they want to inject into my child to already know the answers to my questions, fuck 'em. My child will get the vaccinations I decide are worth the risk, when I think it is appropriate. MMR? Sure. Hep? Now that she is old enough to possibly be exposed, ok. Gardasil for a 12 year old? Are you kidding? Pertussis? Not going to happen. Risk-reward isn't there. Meningitis? Again, now that she is out in the world where she has a significant risk of exposure, fine.

    I work in medical research. I have close ties to many aspects of the healthcare industry, including directly with big pharma and I have studied the FDA and FDA law quite a bit. Individually, the people involved are good people trying to do good. Collectively, they'd sell their grandmother for another point of market share.

    Do you own research, think about your child's environment. As a parent, you are ultimately responsible for the health care of your child.

  99. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 1

    Principles are worth shit. Pol Pot had principles. Stalin had principles. Torquemada was a very principled man. Principles neither shield you from being an idiot nor from being downright evil.

    --
    Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
  100. Stiff Penalties by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How about if a parent WILLINGLY refuses the vaccination and their child dies from an easily preventable disease, charge them with MURDER, because let's face it, that's exactly what it is.

  101. Re:a less totalitarian solution by tverbeek · · Score: 1

    "Troll"? I was serious. On one hand you have the libertarians freaking out at the idea of the government mandating vaccinations, and on the other hand you have the social-welfare advocates freaking out about child abuse. It seems to me that a solution that gives people a theoretical "out" while still having the desired effect in most cases would be a classic compromise.

    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
  102. hmm by buddyglass · · Score: 1

    Four deaths in 8 years, given the number of children who are vaccinated, is a pretty small number. Out of curiosity, I wonder how many children died from severe reactions to the pertussis vaccine during this same period? (Not saying it's higher; just wondering).

    1. Re:hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Due to negative publicity about this vaccine, the use of the pertussis vaccine decreased in many areas of the world. For example, in Japan, children stopped receiving the pertussis vaccine by 1975. In the three years before the vaccine was discontinued, there were 400 cases of pertussis and 10 deaths from pertussis. In the three years after the pertussis vaccine was discontinued, there were 13,000 cases of pertussis and 113 deaths from pertussis! It should be noted that although the side effects of the old pertussis vaccine were high, no child ever died from pertussis vaccine.

      http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/a-look-at-each-vaccine/dtap-diphtheria-tetanus-and-pertussis-vaccine.html

  103. Good News by gelfling · · Score: 1

    It's a self correcting problem in the long run. Go be a left wing green weirdo equivalent of modern day voodoo. Please.

  104. "Children who can't be vaccinated" by Animats · · Score: 1

    children who can't be vaccinated

    There are very few "children who can't be vaccinated". They're immunosuppressed after a transplant, have a self-allergy problem, or have AIDS. Children in any of those situations are being kept alive only by extensive medical efforts. They're not normal, healthy kids.

  105. Re:I trust me, not other parents by HappyHead · · Score: 1

    So unvaccinated kids infect your vaccinated kids with diseases that they are supposed to be vaccinated?

    The short answer: Yes.

    The long answer involves two factors:

    First, unvaccinated, disease-ridden older children who go near children too young to be vaccinated (or children who could not be vaccinated for health reasons such as a compromised immune system) cause those children too young to be vaccinated to become infected, and often to then die horrible painful deaths. This is the fault of the parents who refused to vaccinate their child, and said parents should be arrested and put on trial (and then imprisoned) for said death in the same way they would if they'd been planting random explosives around the suburbs and had blown the children up instead. The net result is the same, even if the explosions are slightly less painful.

    Second, when a sufficient number of unvaccinated people become infected with a disease, this weird thing called "mutation" happens, and the vaccines become ineffective as the new strain created by irresponsible parents refusing to vaccinate their children then spreads unchecked. This is why the Flu vaccines that are available need to be re-done every single year, and while it's entirely possible for it to happen with even a single infected carrier, as more people become infected, it becomes more likely. Again, the parents responsible for this should be put on trial and imprisoned in exactly the same way they would had they used their own personal lab to cook up a bio-weapon and spread it around town to slaughter the neighbor's children.

    Yes, it's true, you're totally free to go and build your own explosive devices*, or cook up designer virii** in the privacy of your own mad science lab, but it becomes illegal once you start spreading it around town where people will get hurt. The same thing should apply to deliberately allowing your children to go unvaccinated - if you are turning your children into a public health risk, you should be keeping them away from the public that you're risking.

    * Technically this does require a license to work with explosives in some areas, but not all.

    ** This one however, there are currently no actual laws against that I am aware of. Yet. Most laws like that show up because someone, somewhere, demonstrated that it was necessary.

  106. Law & Order: Vaccine by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 2

    you forgot to add in the massively increased chances of getting the disease when herd immunity is removed. The increase would not be insignificant.

    This is why - when the inevitable child death happens due to some other parents' anti-science bullshit - those 'attack vector' parents should be arrested and tried for the crime of manslaughter at very least. Though a case could be made for straight murder, given the willful intent of the decision.

  107. Re:I trust me, not other parents by jason777 · · Score: 1

    No, FUCK YOU. You DO NOT have the right to tell me what to do with myself or my kids. FUCK YOU.

  108. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

    Wrong.

    Many individual health decisions affect not only the person making the decision, but also people NOT making the decision. Vaccines depend on a certain percentage of the population (say 95%) of the population to prevent the disease from spreading to those who for health reasons could not take the vaccine, or for those whose immune systems reacted in such a way as to make the vaccine ineffective.

    If YOUR decision only affects YOU I don't care. But it affects others too, and that's when you lose the right to make it on your own.

  109. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    By the same token, I am not allowed to:

    -drive my car on public roads with the catalytic converter bypassed, even though it improves fuel economy

    -sell someone else the prescription narcotics I have left over from a surgery

    -drive my car on public roads with 3' spikes on the front bumper

    -install new electrical outlets in my home by myself

    -build a bonfire in my backyard

    Your argument is invalid, and you are a bad person.

  110. Contrast by scubamage · · Score: 1

    Does anyone else think its an interesting contrast how people in Haiti right now are literally begging for vaccinations against cholera because they know it will kill them, and helicopter parents in the US are fighting vaccinations for the one in a trillion chance that it may in some way cause autism (despite a huge amount of evidence otherwise).

  111. Re:I trust me, not other parents by danbob999 · · Score: 1

    if your kid is vaccinated, then why are you afraid of the infected others?

    Because the vaccine doesn't have a 100% success rate.

  112. Re:I trust parents more than government by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    Since when somebody playing music is a problem exactly? Do you mean playing it at night, when people are intending to sleep?

    That's actively interfering with people's life, and anybody can come to that neighbour and it's between them two.

    Your examples are about somebody actively getting in front of you, doing something to you.

    But this is about doing something to oneself, not to you. If you were allergic to red hair, would you then expect all people with red hair to shave it off, just so that you wouldn't have a reaction to their hair? They are not getting in front of your drive way with their red hair on purpose, they may just walk by one day.

    You are not talking about somebody limiting your freedom, you are talking about limiting freedoms of others even in the sense that they have to do something actively to accommodate you. Well, tough luck.

  113. Jenny too by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    It's the children that died, not the fuck twads that listen to Jenny and watched Oprah. What the parents deserve to get is prison time.

    As does Jenny McCarthy for being more deadly than any prick yelling 'FIRE' in a crowded theater.

  114. Re:I trust me, not other parents by ajlitt · · Score: 1

    Because vaccines can't guarantee an effective immune response against a pathogen, although they significantly improve the odds.

  115. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by geddo · · Score: 1

    You got it right but you could have just used one sarcastic example of the over simplified idiocy of some Public Health arguments: - Women have babies that can lead to them becoming sources of communicable diseases or even worse, murderers, we should enact a law that vaccinates all women from having children in the name of 'Public Health'. Yeah thats what we need, more nanny laws like Vermont wants to enact. Biology isn't a one size fits all science, try giving everyone a dose of pencillin the wonder drug and see what the results are. If people are so worried about the potential disease riddled children affecting theirs, get yours vaccinated... problem solved. But no that's not good enough we have to enact laws to tell everyone how they should live, eat, breathe, love, cough, fart.....

  116. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    Principles is what makes a person. Not having principles is being just another animal, but I am not surprised at your stance, Mindcontrolled.

  117. stupid stupid stupid by pak9rabid · · Score: 1

    And these are probably the same hippy mom types that opt not to have given birth to their children in a the safety of a hospital too.

  118. Re:I trust parents more than government by compro01 · · Score: 1

    the fraud who started the whole thing did it entirely for profit - he was at the time very much involved with development of a non-functional "alternative" to vaccination, and attempted to use the bad publicity he was creating for vaccines to promote his snake oil replacement.

    No, Wakefield wasn't quite that evil. The company he had stake in made separate measles and mumps vaccines rather than the MMR combination vaccine he was trying to discredit.

    --
    upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
  119. Re:I trust parents more than government by compro01 · · Score: 1

    You're not going to convince Mr. Mir of that.

    The Good Libertarian Solution would be to sue the person who infected your child.

    --
    upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
  120. Re:I trust parents more than government by s73v3r · · Score: 1

    Too fucking bad. You do NOT have a right to put others at risk.

  121. Re:I trust parents more than government by s73v3r · · Score: 1

    There's the anti-science movement, and a lot of the shitbags peddling this filth are also heavily into homeopathic medicine and other "natural" bullshit.

  122. Re:I trust parents more than government by s73v3r · · Score: 1

    No, we won't, you pile of shit.

  123. Re:I trust parents more than government by s73v3r · · Score: 1

    I will never understand people who keep bitching and moaning about government, and yet, still continue to live here and enjoy all the benefits and privileges that we get from our government.

    and then 5 minutes later rail against the corporations and how they can not be trusted to take care of their employees/customers/factory environment.

    Ahh yes, the retarded argument that "corporations and government are the same!" Completely disregarding the fact that I have a say in how government is run. I don't have a say in how the company is run. And that companies have far more power than I do.

  124. Re:I trust me, not other parents by compro01 · · Score: 1

    What you're actually saying is that unvaccinated kids infect other unvaccinated kids. What the GP said was that your vaccinated kids have nothing to worry about. Right?

    Wrong, because vaccines aren't 100% effective in producing immunity. Following current protocols, they're generally 80-90% effective.

    Also, the pertussis vaccine isn't started being administered until 2 months and is given in 4 doses at 2, 4, 6, and 15-18 months, followed by a booster at 4-6 years. That results in a rather wide window of vulnerability where herd immunity is critical.

    --
    upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
  125. Re:I trust parents more than government by s73v3r · · Score: 1

    Proof needed on that.

    And remember, we have say in who these people are. We don't have any say in anything going on in the banks, or in Microsoft.

  126. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I trust my child who has 1 switch - loud/quiet. I have a 10 week old at home who has yet to be vaccinated. He is healthy, strong, learning to sign and smile. My wife and I are doing a delayed vaccination schedule. I have a good friend who has a nine week old and, at their 8 week appointment they got the whole set of vaccinations - 6 shots. SIX WTF. Their child was MISERABLE. He was such a mellow baby and he fell completely off the deep end for over a week. Both parents said the wouldn't do it again and have since done significant research. YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT BACK. Do any of you actually know what happens? Does anybody?

    Those who hand their health over to somebody who, frankly, just doesn't give a SHIT, good luck. A chicken pox vaccination? Really? Was it THAT bad? As you raise your child maybe you should look into the lack of support (until recently) that the government had for breast feeding mothers. Maybe you should look at the development differences between babies that develop on formula vs breast milk. Maybe you should look at US society as a whole giving NOTHING to new parents (12 weeks of unpaid leave...right, that's exactly what helps in a DEPRESSION). Unless of course they fall below the poverty line. In which case those resources are just being consumed by derelict parents.

    For you mindless health monkeys: WHY THE FUCK do they give a Hep B vaccine to a newborn? Why was it only last few years that the government supported breast feeding Mom's by making it FSA eligible? Why don't you ask questions instead of spouting off your narrow minded ideas about what constitutes "ignorance and bad parenting." Where the hell are the slashdotters and who has hacked these accounts? Do you actually understand that a live virus, in the wild or a tube is THE SAME. Why smash everything into an accelerated window during critical stages of development?

    Some vaccinations = good, but to you mindless twits that shovel down everything you are fed, keep your grandstanding to yourself. In the meantime enjoy the myriad of unknown and perhaps unknowable side effects that happen when all this shit gets cross linked within the same system. This is NOT THE AGE OF SCIENCE. This is the age of BIG BUSINESS. Think about that.

    RSVP now: Chicken Pox party at my place. Sometime during K-12.

  127. Re:I trust me, not other parents by compro01 · · Score: 1

    1. The pertussis vaccine is given in multiple doses over several months (2, 4, 6, and 15-18 months). There's a rather large window of vulnerability where one may not have immunity.

    2. Even with such multi-dose measures, vaccines aren't 100% effective at provoking immunity. For various reasons, they simply don't work sometimes, about 5-20% of the time, depending on the vaccine.

    --
    upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
  128. Idiots by Adolf+Hipster · · Score: 0

    Any moron that intentionally doesn't get their kids vaccinated should have their kids removed from their custody permanently, and face criminal charges.

  129. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

    I'm glad you found an excuse to justify the intentional murder of other human beings. It's always nice to see horrible inhuman monsters who feel they have the moral high ground.

    The consequences delineated in the article are the inevitable consequence of non-vaccination by a statistically significant portion of the populace. That's just the nature of diseases.

  130. Why the hell don't we vaccinate the adults??? by s0nicfreak · · Score: 1

    Whooping cough is often seen in infants too young to safely get the vaccine, because it wears off. So adults get whooping cough, and then give it to the infants. So why aren't we vaccinating the adults instead? Maybe it isn't safe to vaccinate a pregnant or breastfeeding person, but if all the adults around her are vaccinated, it will stop spreading. Another way to help would be to stay home when sick, keep your kids home when they are sick, and keep your kids away from sick people. I would say this is more caused by lack of doing those things than by lack of vaccination.

    1. Re:Why the hell don't we vaccinate the adults??? by gdemeester · · Score: 1

      When I was 37, I when to the Dr with a nasty cough ... only be to dismissed as having Asthma and given puffers. It wasn't until my infant daughter started showing symptoms that Whopping Cough was even considered. She hadn't been vaccinated, but my 8 year old had been... and she got it to. Getting vaccinated is no guarantee.

    2. Re:Why the hell don't we vaccinate the adults??? by StarWreck · · Score: 1

      100% of Doctors in the United States recommend that parents and primary caregivers get a TDAP booster vaccination if they've never had one when the new baby is on the way.

      --
      ... and in the DRM, bind them.
    3. Re:Why the hell don't we vaccinate the adults??? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Keeping sick people quarantined is at odds with our highly competitive culture.

      I can take a day off from work anytime I want if I claim to be sick, and generally speaking it won't be questioned. However, I'm still expected to deliver all my work on-time, which means I end up behind. I'm effectively punished even if I just use vacation time.

      We've moved to a world where people aren't just paid to show up, but they're accountable for results. In such a world you put yourself at a competitive disadvantage if you just check out for a day. If you show up at work you get more done than if you don't in many cases. Now, that puts everybody else at risk, but since you're evaluated on a bell curve against them it is actually to your advantage to make everybody else in your department sick.

      With kids it is no different - you miss school, you still take the same test as everybody who was there. We even give awards for perfect attendance, suggesting that this is something that is within an individual's control.

      What is really sick is the whole system...

    4. Re:Why the hell don't we vaccinate the adults??? by s0nicfreak · · Score: 1

      I have 4 kids, and I have never had it recommended to me, as an adult, that I get the TDAP. And they are told "if they've never had one" - are they told they need to have one if they haven't had one in the past few years?

    5. Re:Why the hell don't we vaccinate the adults??? by s0nicfreak · · Score: 1

      I understand that completely, but it makes absolutely no sense in a society where results aren't always dependent on attendance, and the majority of work and schoolwork can be done just the same remotely. For some reason we still act like we're in the factory working days, where production would go down if workers weren't in attendance, instead of the computer age we are actually in, where letting sick people work/learn from home would make "production" go up.

    6. Re:Why the hell don't we vaccinate the adults??? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Well, the problem here is the same problem that leads so many businesses to build warehouses full of cubicles when for a far lesser investment people could be just as effective working from home. Bosses like to survey their empires, and being able to hand out offices as perks makes them feel important. Even today in most offices looking busy matters more than being productive, and looking busy usually means putting out lots of fires. Effective and productive employees are usually given more work until they're no longer effective and productive. And so on...

  131. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually, he does have the right to tell you that, in the same way that you have the right to tell him to go jump off a cliff, and the same way you have a right to ignore his well reasoned advice, and deliberately expose your child (and other's children by proxy) to harm out of a stubborn desire to "prove yourself independent" or whatever bullshit reasoning you've come up with. Unless of course you somehow found yourself psychically forced to do what he told you to do - then we might have to do some testing and decide on telepathic licensing requirements, but I somehow doubt that will be an issue.

    I remember back in grade school, one of the older students told a younger kid "Don't climb on those monkey bars, the bolts are loose", and the younger kid immediately responded "YER NOT THE BOSS OF ME! I CAN DO WHAT I WANT!" and promptly hospitalized themselves. You're doing the same type of thing - good move.

  132. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I trust that Government regulation is bought and paid for by big-pharma who wants to push these vaccines onto us.

  133. Re:I trust me, not other parents by DeadCatX2 · · Score: 1

    You don't have the right to infect my kids with your easily prevented diseases.

    No, good sir. Fuck you for your wanton disregard for my own child's health. Fuck you.

    --
    :(){ :|:& };:
  134. Re:I trust me, not other parents by berashith · · Score: 1

    I ask again then, what in your principles makes it ok for someone to subject me to significant harm that does not allow me to prevent that? Your freedom to swing your fist stops at my face. If you are actively engaged in behavior that can harm me, I should be allowed to do what I can to stop it, and prevent it from continuing.

  135. Re:I trust parents more than government by Myopic · · Score: 1

    Yes, that's fair. Although the "You always know what is best for you in every situation" ideology comes mostly from the right, a majority of the anti-vax bullshit comes from the loony left. My comment was directed more at that political/ideological statement than at anti-vax crows specifically; in fact, that post didn't even mention vaccines or autism. Still, I could have been more clear that the screed against conservative nonsense was ancillary to the present topic.

  136. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    I explain to you once more: there is nothing that is actively done to hurt you.

    In fact, when did /. not only lose its individualism but also its intelligence? If you have your vaccine, your kids have their vaccine, what do you worry about? That some other people, who do not have that vaccine may get sick?

    It's their problem, not yours. You want to vaccinate yourself and your kids - it's your choice.

    They don't want to vaccinate themselves and their kids - it's their choice.

    If they get sick with something that you are vaccinated against, they are clearly not hurting you in any way.

    If they get sick and you are not vaccinated against it, well, it's like everything else in life. Do you want everybody who is outside to stop driving before you go outside, because they may run you over?

    When did this place become a place of unintelligent paranoid pussyfied slaves exactly?

  137. Re:I trust parents more than government by Myopic · · Score: 1

    Well, the cost of liberty is eternal vigilance, sometimes against wrongheaded experts. Fair point, and I hope I never said anything to the contrary. Even though experts are usually right, sometimes they are wrong. (But, I don't think "should we go to war" is a question which even tenuously attaches to a scientific fact.)

    Your example of smoking in New York, though, I don't think is a strong example. You can call it education if you want, but I think it is extremely high taxes and strictly enforced no-smoking in many public places. We've had education all over the country for longer than I've been alive; nobody alive today doesn't know that smoking causes cancer. Education can take society a long, long ways (and has!), but it can't take it all the way, because there will always be a metric shit-ton of willful ignorance out there. You can't cure willful ignorance with education, but sometimes you can overcome it with a little social or legal pressure.

  138. 'Vaccination' is a myth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.whale.to/v/hadwen1.html

    Still waiting for ANYONE to refute anything Dr.Hadwen has said about 'vaccination'.

    Why is that?

    Still, I guess it beats THINKING. Just go along with 'the party line' (the Slashdot party line, apparently - the same one which believes in man-made global warming...) and you don't have to reveal that you don't know what you're talking about. How pathetic.

    So, can anybody rebut Dr Hadwen's talks? Or show me a rebuttal? What's that you say? You can't?

    1. Re:'Vaccination' is a myth by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      Why couldn't you have posted with an account? Attach a name to these crazy claims. It's like you're afraid of looking like the rest of the anti-vac group. (Which is, a little crazy).

    2. Re:'Vaccination' is a myth by Wain13001 · · Score: 1

      I fail to see anything here that accounts for the number of annual polio infections in the US going from 38,000 to 161 in 8 years in the 1950s where sanitation was never an issue. Every fact Hawden brings up as a possible explanation for the decline of infection is one that would have had no impact whatsoever on the US in this time period.

      Oh wait...it couldn't have been the March of Dimes Polio Vaccination campaign that started the minute the vaccine came out in 1953 and was proven to be 70-94% effective depending on the particular strain now could it????

  139. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 1

    No vaccine works for 100%. So even vaccinated, my kid is put at additional risk by your uninformed decision. Another risk factor lies in the fact that many vaccines can only be administered safely after a certain age. Below that age, my kid depends on herd immunity. But, well, scientific facts obviously are for unintelligent paranoid pussified slaves. You know what, roman, if I'd really wanted to curse you, I'd wish your libertardian paradise upon you. But I am a humanist, so you can rest assured that I, together with the reasonable majority of people, will keep on saving you and the likes of you from themselves.

    --
    Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
  140. Half-Assed Trolling by Niscenus · · Score: 1

    You forgot they're Hardworking American Christian Values that the Leftist Elitist Radical Liberal Extremists that incompatible with the 100% Christian Founding Fathers defined to NOT be overturned by Activist Judges attempting to destroy the Constitution the Greatest Nation God Ever Created.

    Troll Right, Asshole.

    --
    "Yeah...it was the numbers that were irrational, not the murderous cult of vegetarians...." -- Hippasus of Metapontum
  141. Are all vaccinations inherently good? by Wulfrunner · · Score: 1

    I recently encountered this conundrum as well with a new arrival in my family. Without having been exposed to the recent "controversy" and the usual polarization of "you're either for vaccination or you're with the child pornographers", I did what I usually do and that is question the merits of whatever course of action has been recommended to me. Living in Canada, vaccines are crowd sourced, so money does not factor into my decision making. There is actually a pretty good federal resource here, so it is convenient to inform myself.

    The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends vaccinating your child against 13 separate "diseases". My "cohort" has been vaccinated against maybe half that number. Why the change? Why those 13, why not more, or less? What are the risks and benefits for each one? Are they all equal? Are some more beneficial than others? Who made these decisions? What research was used in each case? How long have they been in general circulation? Unfortunately the government FAQ doesn't contain that information.

    We ended up getting the DTaP-IPV-Hib (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough, Polio, Hib) and Pneu-C-13 (Pneumococcal disease) vaccines but opted out of the Rot (Rotavirus) vaccine after weighing the risks and benefits. I am still not sure if I have made the right decision; it seems that there are people on both "sides" using emotional arguments to try and sway me one way or the other. The nurses looked at us like we were criminals for not getting the Rotavirus vaccine. In the coming months, we will have to choose whether to vaccinate against Influenza, Varicella, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Meningococcal disease. Wait, why are Chicken Pox and the Flu on the immunization schedule now? I don't get the free flu shots every year and I had chicken pox when I was younger, to no great detriment of which I am aware. Do I blindly trust what the health agency recommends? Policy and science do not always go hand in hand -- I'm a scientist and I work for government so I know how that shit works.

    I once had a serious adverse reaction to a vaccine and want to avoid that risk for my children where possible, if it is reasonable to do so. Maybe I will only give my child a few of those vaccines... Have I made a horrible mistake? Do I deserve to burn in hell like some of the commenters suggest? Do I get to wear an "anti-vaccine" badge now? In which bi-chromatic "camp" do I belong?

    1. Re:Are all vaccinations inherently good? by StarWreck · · Score: 1

      There was at least one study that showed people who had the regular flu vaccine for the past 10 years was immune to swine flu. Remember, the reason swine flu was so "scary" was because it killed people with healthy immune systems instead of old people and babies like the regular flu.

      --
      ... and in the DRM, bind them.
  142. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    I am doing my darnest to live in as close to a libertarian society as I can possibly find. I do not in fact have a problem with vaccines, whatever the hell you may believe, but I do have a problem with assholes like you, telling other people how to live their lives, no matter what it is.

    You are absolutely free NOT to send your kids to a place where other children can congregate, you are also free to sit in your house and not go outside, you may get hit by a car.

    As I said, your nick is appropriate.

  143. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When did this place become a place of unintelligent paranoid pussyfied slaves exactly?

    Since you and extreme Libertarians have been posting. More and more people have been affected with "oh god not more libertarian whining"-itis, a condition which has no vaccine so everybody is vulnerable.

    The condition arises when people get sick from hearing the same old mantras from libertarians over and over again. Once infected, their brain effectively shuts off when confronted by Libertarians

    Of course, the ones most hurt by "oh god not more libertarian whining"-itis isn't the ones infected, but Libertarians themselves (i.e. you), since you find yourself talking to brick walls and nobody takes you seriously, with the inevitable outcome being the world moving more and more towards totalitarianism

  144. Re:I trust me, not other parents by berashith · · Score: 1

    what an incredible job of trolling you have done. I do not feed trolls, have a good day.

  145. Re:The murderer in question is British not America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Being stupid is no defense, but preying on the stupid is something worse: it's evil.

    No, it's called RELIGION.

  146. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    AFAIC you are the troll obviously, as you pretend that you have a shred of intelligence, declaring that your vaccinated kids are somehow in danger of contracting a disease from unvaccinated ones, so you want everybody to do as you please, for your pleasure, and you'd use gov't threat of violence to achieve that goal also, and you are calling me a troll? You are not only a troll, you are the real danger to society, as you'd descend it into the dark ages of tyranny with your well laced intentions.

  147. Re:Microbiology -- Thank you by jacksdl · · Score: 1

    Yours was a response based on logic and backed up with (attributed) facts. You caused me to think and learn something.

    Thank you.

  148. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fair enough, but if my child dies because of a preventable disease that your child wasn't vaccinated for and infected my child with, I will put your brains onto the wall in front of the rest of your family, and maybe your wife's too.

    Turnabout is fair play.

  149. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 1

    Here we go again. Your freedom trumps everything - anyone else has the "freedom" to not venture where your divine feet tread the earth. In other words - "freedom" is for you, fuck everyone else. You are a pathetic little sociopath. It'd be funny if not for the sadness of observing such a wretched mind.

    --
    Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
  150. Re:I trust parents more than government by Tancred · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but I keep trying to debate the litigious libertarians. Most frequently, this is related to pollution and suing whoever was responsible for whatever harm it caused. But the debate always ends before the libertarian can explain how to assign blame to polluters in any but the most cut and dry cases.

  151. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    Wrong... If YOUR decision only affects YOU I don't care. But it affects others too, and that's when you lose the right to make it on your own.

    You drive a car. Your car outputs poison into the shared atmosphere, meaning your driving a car affects the health of others. Therefore, by your reasoning, YOU don't have the right to decide where and when you drive, but rather society does. That's just one example from my list; there are several others.

    The slope, she is slippery.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  152. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    You got it right but you could have just used one sarcastic example of the over simplified idiocy of some Public Health arguments:

    - Women have babies that can lead to them becoming sources of communicable diseases or even worse, murderers, we should enact a law that vaccinates all women from having children in the name of 'Public Health'.

    Damn, that is a good one!

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  153. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    Freedom does trump EVERYTHING.

    You are absolutely right about it. My feet are none of your concern, and clearly you are taking an argument into something it is not - making it personal? I wonder why, is it because you have no more arguments left? Obviously you do not.

    1. I have no problem with vaccines.
    2. You are free to have your vaccines.
    3. Other people who may have problems with vaccines must have their right not to be abused by the threat of violence because of assholes like you.
    4. You are free to avoid those other people, you can go as far away from them as your little heart desires, not only can they give you a communicable disease, they can also kill you accidentally or even on purpose!

    Run.

  154. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    I'm glad you found an excuse to justify the intentional murder of other human beings. It's always nice to see horrible inhuman monsters who feel they have the moral high ground.

    Ah, no. BTW, if you hear a knocking, that's probably the Hyperbole Police coming to take you to Exaggeration-Traz.
    Pro-birther, I presume? The rhetoric fits...

    The consequences delineated in the article are the inevitable consequence of non-vaccination by a statistically significant portion of the populace. That's just the nature of diseases.

    If a society has guns/cars/unhealthy foods/scientific research/etc., inevitably one individuals use of them is going to negatively affect someone else, and possibly the population at large. That's the nature of humanity.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  155. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 1

    Well, I am taking my freedom to just tell you to fuck yourself, you pathetic little creep. Guys, mod the idiot up to expose his sociopathy to the world. Preferably as "funny".

    --
    Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
  156. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am with you.

    I don't let my fucking neighbors have an unvaccinated dog in my neighborhood, I don't want their unvaccinated little bastards in my nieghborhood either.

  157. Re:The murderer in question is British not America by X86Daddy · · Score: 1

    Being stupid is no defense, but preying on the stupid is something worse: it's evil.

    I would argue that the stupid exist to be preyed upon, and there is nothing immoral in that; in fact it is just, in that their stupidity usually causes splash damage for which they should pay. Any time a stupid person gives his or her money to a self-centered charlatan who spends it on entertainment, there are less dollars that stupid person can spend buying theocratic laws, etc...

    However, an immoral act occurs when stupid people are used as a resource to commit harm to the population at large, such is the case with the autism/vaccines scare, and most religious and political efforts... the Catholic Church's efforts against prophylactics, the selling of the Iraq war, the selling of the upcoming Iran war, etc...

  158. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're are a sheep. You're on the other side of the fence, but a sheep nonetheless.

  159. Are all vaccinations equal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mandatory vaccination is great... up to a point.

    Polio, whooping cough, etc - yes.

    Do you really need mandatory vaccination for chicken pox? Do you need to compel those who did not vaccinate against varicella to do so? We know "natural immunity" lasts a lifetime... but we do not know how long the immunity from vaccination lasts - and estimates are that 30% of the kids vaccinated do not get immunity seems bad.

    So: mandatory vaccination laws have a downside.

  160. I think I see your groupthink by Agent0013 · · Score: 1

    Go ahead and mod me down! I will only get stronger!

    It's pretty amazing to me how violent a lot of people on here sound when talking about this issue. Things like "You and your spawn deserve to die" and other very pleasant thoughts. I am not against vaccines, but I think a parent needs to decide which ones are needed and not get every one of the hundreds they want to stick into a person. Ohhh, this vaccine is for a disease that is as bad as getting a cold, but it is super rare that you would ever get it!!! I must get that vaccine right away, I don't want to get a COLD!!!~ [end-sarcasm]. And yes, there are vaccines for things that are that mild.

    And don't forget the studies that have shown the hazards of injecting aluminum into your blood. A single vaccine in an adult may not be very much aluminum, but when it's a 2 or 3 month old infant and they want to stick 6 or more vaccines into them at once, all with their own dose of aluminum, it adds up. The studies to see what level of aluminum is safe for an infant have not been done. Then you also see stories like that cheerleader that got all messed up. Vaccines aren't perfect either, but most people on here think everyone had better get every damn shot your great and powerful gov'mint says you should get. Be sure to drink your fluoride while your at it (toxic leftover waste from munitions production).

    It comes down to risk assessment. Each vaccine must be weighed in on the severity of the disease for the person and the rest of society balanced against it's rarity and the makeup of the vaccine itself and any questionable ingredients that can cause problems (infected monkey kidneys used in polio vaccine). The problem is that most people are very bad at risk assessment. And they don't want to think for themselves. They want to be told what to do and just do it (and buy it)!

    --

    -- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
    1. Re:I think I see your groupthink by Cheeze+ball · · Score: 1

      And don't forget the studies that have shown the hazards of injecting aluminum into your blood. A single vaccine in an adult may not be very much aluminum, but when it's a 2 or 3 month old infant and they want to stick 6 or more vaccines into them at once, all with their own dose of aluminum, it adds up. The studies to see what level of aluminum is safe for an infant have not been done. Then you also see stories like that cheerleader that got all messed up.

      You are ignoring the fact that vaccines are spread our and children only get certain vaccines at certain points in life to prevent the very thing you bring up. Skipping vaccines and forcing us providers to attempt to adjust a "catch up" schedule for you actually places your child at more risk for what you have mentioned here. Why because we as providers cant keep track of all the ingredients involved and adjust the timing in our heads in your 20 minute appointment. The charts that 'recommend' when you should get vaccines are published by the FDA and updated when vaccine recipes are changed, or new vaccines added... again because of the very concern you have just listed here.

    2. Re:I think I see your groupthink by Agent0013 · · Score: 1

      That's fine. Let the people who are two lazy to keep track of their own kids vaccine schedule dump a dozen into them at once. I do agree that for most people that is the preferred method. I would rather risk your kids dying from some horrible problem with the vaccine than you not getting them done right. But I don't want to risk my kids. I will keep track of the schedule and make sure the needed vaccines are done at the right times.

      Like Hepatitis B vaccine for a newborn?! That's a sexually transmitted disease. I think you can wait until they are at least six years old before you have to worry about them having sex!

      --

      -- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
  161. Re:The murderer in question is British not America by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    what you just wrote is stupid. i'm seriousness. the callousness you display can be manipulated just as much as any other form of stupidity

    irony takes care of the rest of my comment

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  162. 4 deaths since 2003! Someone do something! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    4 deaths since 2003? Not so bad really. I would take those odds any day... Unless my child became one of them. I would change my mind then.

  163. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because the world does not consist of booleans. A vaccine strengthens your immune system; it doesn't provide 100% absolute, always on, 1960's Superman invulnerability to disease. It does increase it to the point where, in a society where your *exposure* is going to be very low because nearly everyone around you is vaccinated, and, so, is unlikely to be carrying a full-strength, raging, infection, your immune system will most likely handle whatever exposure you DO get.

    If you are constantly barraged by full-strength infections from all the unvaccinated people around you, though, the odds of one of them slipping by your defenses, become greater. Each unvaccinated child raises the danger level for your vaccinated child.

    Think of it as wearing armor. If one person throws a rock at you, it will almost certainly bounce off. A dozen people, you're still probably safe. A few hundred people -- sooner or later, a rock will go through your eyeholes, crack your skull, and kill you. Now, to extend the metaphor, anyone else wearing the same armor can't throw any rocks, or, at best, very tiny pebbles. So, you're all safe from each other; the amount of harm you can do to each other is negligible, and while the chances of a pebble getting through your armor aren't ZERO, they're sufficiently low that they fall into the realm of "What if I get hit by a meteor?" or "What if a poisonous spider crawls into my bed?" Low probability events occur, but only a moron rejects a system that provides 99% protection because it doesn't provide 100% protection, when nothing can.

    Parents who do not vaccinate their children do not just place their own children at risk -- if they did, we could stand back and let evolution do the rest. They place OTHER PEOPLE'S children at risk. There are few drives stronger than the drive to protect one's children. A parent who allows their unvaccinated child to interact with other children is threatening those children as surely as if they were handing out live cobras as party favors, and everyone who lives near that person ought to treat them accordingly.

  164. "vaccine scare" mentality should be researched by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

            Oh wait, it already has been:

    From herd immunity and complacency to group panic: How vaccine scares unfold

                    How to predict ways in which population vaccinating behavior might unfold during a vaccine scare

                    Worries over vaccine risks can allow preventable contagious diseases, such as measles and whooping cough, to make a comeback. A new study, published in PLoS Computational Biology, shows how to predict ways in which population vaccinating behavior might unfold during a vaccine scare.

                    "These findings might help in evaluating and developing global immunization programs and public health policy", said Professor Chris Bauch of the University of Guelph's Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
                    Prof. Bauch and Samit Bhattacharyya of the University of Utah developed a mathematical, "Behavior-incidence" model based on game theory and social learning. They tested the model with real data from two infamous vaccine scares in England and Wales: the 1970s pertussis outbreak and the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine scare in the 1990s. In both cases, the publication of alleged vaccine risks was followed by a media firestorm in national newspapers, television, and radio. In light of this, the fact that it took 4-5 years for vaccine uptake to bottom out was puzzling. They found that the model could explain the patterns of the vaccine scares very well, and could also be applied predictively to the data sets.

                    The model captured the interplay between disease dynamics and vaccination behaviour during those episodes. One of the theoretical dynamics for the model was the phenomenon known as "herd immunity"; an entire population—including unvaccinated individuals—can be protected from infection by vaccinating only a certain percentage of the population. This suggests that immunization programs can be victims of their own success as past vaccinations drive disease incidence to such low levels that unvaccinated individuals feel no incentive to get vaccinated, creating ideal conditions for vaccine scares and thus future outbreaks.

                    Due to these conditions, as Prof. Bauch says, "Vaccine scares could become more common as eradication goals are approached for more vaccine-preventable diseases. Such models could help us predict how vaccine scares might unfold and assist in mitigation efforts."

  165. Think of it as evolution in action by jnork · · Score: 1

    As the parent of a non-autistic child I say: vaccinate. Statistically it is safer than not doing so.
    As the parent of an autistic child I say: correlation is not causation. Don't be a moron. Vaccinate yer damn kids.

    --
    Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
  166. Teaching oneself experimentally by tepples · · Score: 1

    If I say gravity pulls things down, I don't feel a need to cite that

    That's common knowledge in the sense that it is something a child can teach himself experimentally on the playground through any form of play that involves a ball.

    if I say that vaccines don't cause autism, I don't feel a need to cite that.

    Medicine is a far more advanced topic, something that one can't teach oneself experimentally. One can practice intramural sports in middle school; one needs a doctorate to practice medicine. So instead, one must learn by reading, and a lot of people happen not to have already read news reports about the latest findings about the lack of correlation between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders.

    1. Re:Teaching oneself experimentally by Myopic · · Score: 1

      one must learn by reading, and a lot of people happen not to have already read news reports about the latest findings about the lack of correlation between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders.

      Yes! And those people should use search engines to find out these commonly understood facts.

    2. Re:Teaching oneself experimentally by DrGamez · · Score: 1

      One needs a doctorate to practice medicine, or a kid to throw all that medicine out the window and do what "they think is best".

    3. Re:Teaching oneself experimentally by tepples · · Score: 1

      And those people should use search engines

      And thus we come back to "give guidance on choosing keywords".

  167. Anyone see that Law & Order SVU episode? by CCarrot · · Score: 2

    There was a Law and Order SVU episode in 2009 that addressed this issue, titled 'Selfish'. (Season 10, Episode 19).

    I thought it brought up a lot of good points, and was well written. IMHO, kids of parents that refuse vaccination should not be sharing public spaces with other people's kids. That includes schools, parks, busses, etc. If you choose not to vaccinate your kid, be prepared to pay for private schooling / home school, pay for cabs or drive them everywhere, pay for private play spaces (or just let them rot inside their rooms), etc. Also, be prepared to bring up an antisocial, spoiled brat.

    Parents who choose not to vaccinate their kids and then allow them to come in contact with the rest of society fully deserve to bear the brunt of any criminal or civil charges when someone else loses their kid (too young to be vaccinated, unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons, etc.) due to exposure to their germ-ridden snot producer.

    --
    "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
  168. Re:I trust parents more than government by digitallife · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Don't be a smartass; it doesn't help the conversation.

    1) No one is more familiar and in a better position to understand a child than their parents. Parents spend huge amounts of time dealing with their child and learning their quirks, emotions, and knowing their history.

    2) Parents expend vast, enormous amounts of resources raising their children, and are directly and massively affected by the decisions that affect their children.

    3) Without a doubt and by orders of magnitude, parents are most invested and concerned about their children's well being. There is simply no comparison to the love and care a parent feels towards their children. If there are people who can be trusted to do their best for a child, it's their parents.

    4) Parents are legally obligated to provide the resources necessary for a child until they are 18, and to deal with the results of that child.

    5) Parents MAY not always be the most rational decision makers concerning their children, and MAY not be the most expert on the decision at hand.

    The obvious conclusion from this information is that PARENTS, by large orders of magnitude, are the ones who should be making decisions for their children. They are the defacto most trusted, invested, and authoritative people capable of making the decisions. In my opinion, the government should only step in when it is clear that the parents are giving worse general and long term care than the alternative (IE foster homes, etc.). That line is very, very low.

  169. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    -install new electrical outlets in my home by myself

    -build a bonfire in my backyard

    Wait wait wait... Where are you you can't do these? Bonfire I can understand ie in a city, but the new electrical outlets shouldn't be a problem, and at the very worst should just need to be inspected once finished.

  170. Re:I trust parents more than government by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

    >>>" I don't trust the people inside the DC Beltway. They are sick (control freaks)."

    Have you bothered to read the crap the D.C. politicians and bureaucrats are putting out? When they take-away the right to trial (NDAA), arrest Amish farmers for selling natural unpasteurized milk, forbid little girls from drawing guns in school (and then arrest the father of said child), give laptops to kids for the purpose of spying on them at home, send out VIPR teams to social security centers and post offices to force people to submit to breast & crotch-groping patdowns, regulate that it you deposit more than $1000 cash you should be placed on a Terrorist watchlist, and then put warning labels on bottles that say "Water does not cure dehydration".....

    Well it's damn obvious they are a load of control freaks.

    --
    My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
  171. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    Sure, it's your freedom to say whatever, however that freedom is only between you and your government, and we all are well aware how far your government is willing to go when they decide that they do not like what is being said.

    You want your government to control what goes into you, well, you already have that. You have no freedoms, given your self-description on this site it doesn't bother you too much. So when exactly did they attach that mind-controlling slug, that parasite to your head? Don't you scratch it?

  172. Re:I trust me, not other parents by mhotchin · · Score: 1

    No vaccine is 100% effective. Some have failure rates as high as 10% or 15%. In those cases, the only thing protecting the 'vaccinated' person is herd immunity.

  173. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

    Yes, but in those cases, those people make CHOICES that directly instigate the harm, and can be held accountable. Here the harm is purely statistical in nature, and the instigators are those who choose to create the risk. Hence liability law. You're actively endorsing the death of other people. You're just happy about it.

  174. Re:I trust parents more than government by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 1

    Except that these unimmunized children can then spread these same diseases to other children. So, no, it's not just the parent's business when their choices can cause harm to those around them.

  175. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    You're actively endorsing the death of other people. You're just happy about it.

    Didn't your mother ever tell you, if you can't say something without being a hyperbolic douche about it, don't say anything at all?

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  176. Re:I trust parents more than government by Darinbob · · Score: 1

    True that vaccines don't make money. Many pharmacies would prefer not to waste time on them because the profit it so small.

    There are two factors I think that are encouraging this anti-vaccine crowd. First is the entertainment industry, plenty of people with empty minds watching daytime talk shows which means the producers of these shows have to keep bringing in all the controversial subjects and guests that they can even if this means inventing controversy where there is none. Second is the anti-mainstream-medicine feeling that is so common, where any alternative medicine is treated as authentic and superior. It's a bit of a persecution complex I think where some people feel that mainstream medicine is holding society back, or that it's all about making huge profits, or that they haven't cured my cancer with a pill whereas I heard Bob's sister's cousin was cured with a pill down in Mexico. After all a retired school teacher knows more about how to cure the common cold than all the scientists in the world, it says so on the label!

    Ignorance grows and thrives unless it is fought.

  177. Re:I trust parents more than government by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    A parent who wants to immunise his kid will do so, and the one who doesn't immunise his kid won't, so one kid had the vaccine, the other doesn't. So if the one who doesn't have the vaccine gets sick, supposedly this won't be transmitted to the one with the vaccine, so this point is a ruse.

    Your hidden point is of-course that you want to force people to take that shot and if they don't want to you want gov't to force them. That is you, using threat of violence to force other people to behave the way you want. By that logic, by the way, you should use gov't to stop everybody from driving as well, after all, what if they run you over when you get out of your basement?

  178. Re:I trust parents more than government by Darinbob · · Score: 1

    This would be prove if you could show that the majority of parents are highly informed and educated on all the issues. Instead I see lots of ignorant parents, I see lots of apathetic parents, I see lots of abusive parents. No doubt what you say is true for some parents but sadly I think it is true only for a small minority of them.

    You can't assume a parent will do what's best for their children if they don't actually know what is best and refuse to listen to experts. There is no magical force that causes parents to know this stuff, and it is not instinctual.

  179. Darwin Lives! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jesus doesn't, and neither do the children of his children.

  180. Re:I trust parents more than government by digitallife · · Score: 1

    You're disingenuously arguing this topic by focusing on just one of the points I raised (5).
    However, yes, parents are not always 'highly' informed and educated on all issues. Are you seriously suggesting that a person needs to be in order to make a decision?

  181. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

    I'm not being hyperbolic. Lack of vaccination is literally proportionate murder in my eyes. That reflects a just if you drained 1/5th the blood to kill a person, and the next 4 people came along and did the same. There's a direct liability, and I see an ethical failing in ignoring it.

  182. Re:I trust parents more than government by Javit · · Score: 1

    I'm concerned more about when experts are merely powerful people advancing their own best interests, which seems to come up peculiarly often. Granted, that is not the case here, and my example of deferring to Condoleezza Rice's foreign policy expertise is dramatic.

    Even so, the political question of whether or not we should force parents to vaccinate their children is not a question of science but of subjective human concerns like justice, fairness, morality, ethics. There's little doubt that a child is better off vaccinated, and that the society is healthier if everyone is vaccinated. On the other hand, and we're probably talking past each other here, I'm extremely loathe to force parents to vaccinate children. It does not strike me as an issue that is appropriately dealt with through law enforcement or child protection agencies, which is how such matters would ultimately be enforced. As with the case of NYC and smoking, however, I would support fairly heavy incentives and launching an educational campaign. Video of children disabled by easily preventable diseases is just as thought-provoking as elderly people dying of lung cancer.

    --
    Support NRA, America's oldest civil rights group.
  183. To what end... by flameproof · · Score: 1

    ...is it any of the state or government's business whether or not I accept or decline their offer of help? "Thank you, yes" or "thank you, no" should be enough.

    You're only welcome in my house if I invite you in. Short of that, you're an interloper.

    --
    ~Just as a thing fails if it lacks a kernel, so too it fails if it lacks a skin. ~ Rumi, Discourses
  184. Really? higher amoung un-vaccinated eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    New research reported by Reuters reveals that whooping cough outbreaks are HIGHER among vaccinated children compared with unvaccinated children. This is based on a study led by Dr. David Witt, an infectious disease specialist at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael, California.

    As Reuters reports: (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/03/us-whoopingcough-idUSBRE832...)

    In early 2010, a spike in cases appeared at Kaiser Permanente in San Rafael, and it was soon determined to be an outbreak of whooping cough -- the largest seen in California in more than 50 years. Witt had expected to see the illnesses center around unvaccinated kids, knowing they are more vulnerable to the disease. "We started dissecting the data. What was very surprising was the majority of cases were in fully vaccinated children. That's what started catching our attention."

    Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035466_whooping_cough_vaccines_outbreaks.html#ixzz1rriIV7gN

    1. Re:Really? higher amoung un-vaccinated eh? by DrCJM · · Score: 1
      Reuters is your reference source for scientific news? Hmmmm... Anyway, there is an undoubted recent increase in pertussis cases amongst immunized children due to:

      1) Shorter protection time than expected indicating boosters are required

      (See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22423127 for example)

      and

      2) Emergent bacterial strains with modified surface antigens being selected due to evolutionary pressure (gasp!) from the acellular vaccine

      (See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22416243 for example)

      If you want to understand the science, go to the scientific literature. Not 'naturalnews.com'...

  185. Re:"Public Health" = Bullshit by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    I'm not being hyperbolic. Lack of vaccination is literally proportionate murder in my eyes.

    Well, then, if you feel so strongly about it, perhaps you should be pressuring your representatives to pass a law making refusal of vaccinations grounds for murder charges. Arguing with me isn't going to get you anywhere.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  186. Re:I trust parents more than government by DrGamez · · Score: 1

    I can see if you have red hair, just like I can avoid cats because I'm allergic to cats.

    I cannot see if your child isn't vaccinated for the mumps, and I cannot get the vaccination because of a LEGIT medical complication.

    But yeah I can see how a disease can be the same as an allergy to a color of hair.

  187. Autism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If your gild doesn't have it you shouldn't be commenting because you have no idea what it is like..

  188. Re:I trust parents more than government by Thiez · · Score: 1

    > However, yes, parents are not always 'highly' informed and educated on all issues. Are you seriously suggesting that a person needs to be in order to make a decision?

    If the stakes are high enough, that does seem like a reasonable position to take. If your child has appendicitis, will you remove it yourself, or visit a hospital with a highly informed and educated specialist to do the surgery for you? Are you better qualified because nobody knows your child better?

  189. The problem here ... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... is that with pertussis, you can't vaccinate the small children who are likely to suffer the most from catching this. So its necessary to vaccinate the people they come in contact with. Parents and older children, no problem. But how do you vaccinate the general public?

    Back in 'the old days' mothers stayed home most of the time with young infants, reducing their exposure to the public. But now, try telling mom that bringing baby into Starbucks for a couple of hour yak session with the girls while sitting next to the hobo with the TB cough isn't a good idea.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  190. Re:I trust parents more than government by digitallife · · Score: 1

    Any person who performs surgery on another without proper training is likely mentally unstable, barring extraordinary circumstances. Anyways, this example is about action, not decisions. The appropriate comparison would be if the parent made the decision to not have surgery done. And yes, that decision should be (and is) within the parents rights. What should happen (and what does) is that the government takes the child away if the parent makes a grossly dangerous decision (such as not allowing surgery for a life threatening affliction). That's fine and good, in my opinion.

    Are you seriously suggesting that a person needs to be in order to make a decision?

    If the stakes are high enough, that does seem like a reasonable position to take.

    It doesn't seem reasonable to me. I agree that its DESIRABLE for a person to be as highly informed as is practical to be, but not that they NEED to be. Do you think the government should step in and make decisions for you for everything that you are not an expert at?

  191. Re:I trust parents more than government by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

    1) They may understand their children well, however this doesn't make them experts in medical issues surrounding vaccinations.

    2) Ok. Except that many of the results of those decisions may only occur later on in the child's life, when the parents may well be dead and gone.

    3) This is also suspect. Parents love and care for their children enormously (or at least, the good ones do), however this is not the same as them having the most investment in their children's well-being. In the case of vaccinations it is the other children with whom they interact that have the greatest investment.

    4) Ok. Except that the 'results' of that child may include increasing the likelihood of other people getting sick. Further those results may also effect other people in myriad ways, and the parents are not legally obligated to deal with all of these.

    5) Quite.

    Your premises are largely false, and thus so is your conclusion. This is also why parents who refuse medical care for their children because they want to pray the disease away, end up in jail.

  192. Re:I trust parents more than government by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

    He was such a mellow baby and he fell completely off the deep end for over a week

    A whole week. Goodness.

    RSVP now: Chicken Pox party at my place. Sometime during K-12.

    Chicken Pox isn't on the schedule in NZ, where I live. My kids all got it. They were very very miserable for more than a week, and were left with a few scars too. But in your books, that's better than a week of misery to avoid many many different diseases (mostly much more unpleasant than Chicken Pox).

    Other than that point, I agree with your other points.

  193. Gitmo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What's the difference between anti-vaxxers and the current inmates of Gitmo?

    One are irrational disease ridden fundamentalists and the others are just Muslim.

  194. Re:I trust parents more than government by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Sebelius
    That person? Doesn't seem likely, also I can't find any citations for your claim. It seems extremely likely to be false. I hope she doesn't decide to sue you for slander (or libel, or defamation, or whatever it's called) because I expect you would lose.

  195. Re:I trust parents more than government by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

    This is so irrational. Do you seriously believe that those advocating compulsory vaccination believe that just because they want people to be given shots?

    As has been explained in multiple posts, vaccination is not 100% effective and only works properly when more than a certain number of people have been vaccinated. Vaccines slow down diseases, and if enough people are protected in this way then the disease cannot spread. Vaccination is not 100% immunity.

    You clearly have an opinion on this subject. Please try to turn it into an informed opinion by reading something on the subject.

  196. access to raw data? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've got my own wacky theory... are there any raw data sets I can access to measure my theory? I'm aware that odds are it's almost certainly wrong... but I am interested enough in this that I would learn much from following through on the exercise... it's been a while since I've exercised my stats skills.

  197. Alternative to vaccines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd suggest that opting out of vaccination be made a legal alternative, with the requirement that you allow you and your child to be inoculated with the disease-causing organism instead.

    This should rapidly remove the problem...

    1. Re:Alternative to vaccines by DrCJM · · Score: 1

      Oops - just realise I wasn't logged in when I posted this. It was Me! It was Me! Does that stop me being an anonymous coward?

  198. Ventilation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let me make something very clear, since no one seems to get it (and I've said this before). The cure to the common cold and the flu and most respiratory ailments is an open window. I hardly ever get sick and the reason I don't get sick is because I keep my house ventilated.
    The chemistry is very simple. It's practically chemistry 101. Think of what happens when you insulate a container of water. The water doesn't evaporate away, instead, it stays in the container. When you remove the insulation, ie: take off the cover, the water evaporates.

    Now your body can be modeled like a container of water. The virus in your body is like water and the virus in your environment/house/the air you breathe is like water vapor. What happens when you insulate yourself? The gas/virus takes the form and volume of your house. The (net) diffusion rate of virus into the air that you breathe is much slower because the air that you're breathing contains viruses as well. Now, you open the window and diffusion forces will powerfully and quickly force the viruses outside of your house. Diffusion forces are powerful and quick. So now you constantly breathe in clean air with no viruses. The powerful and rapid diffusion forces will quickly force the virus outside of your body. and the more viruses you have in your body relative to outside your body, the greater the pressure gradient of viruses in your body to viruses in the clean air that you're breathing in and out, the more powerfully and quickly the virus will be forced outside of your body through diffusion forces. Hence the equilibrium point of virus production vs virus expulsion results in a much lower number of viruses in your body. Now to get sick you must have a virus that multiplies very fast and even then you will be much less sick and will get over it much quicker since your immune system doesn't have to work so hard to overcome its apparent virus production rate (that is, the apparent virus production rate to your body is now the virus production rate minus the virus expulsion rate due to diffusion which is now much greater, so the net virus production rate is the virus production rate minus the virus expulsion rate due to diffusion minus the virus destruction rate due to your immune system. As your immune system builds up, that last figure increases. In the meantime, with sufficient ventilation, the net virus production rate will hit an upper limit due to the fact that diffusion forces increase as viral concentration rates increase. The more ventilation you expose yourself to, ie: go outside, the more powerful the diffusion forces and the more rapid the viral diffusion rates and so this equilibrium point gets lowered. Your immune system's necessary viral destruction rate to create a net viral reduction rate is now much less).

    Plus, half the time you are sick, it's actually due to toxins that your body releases (and toxins that you release into the environment via glass cleaner, air sprays, etc... Remember, when you clean your glass with Windex and you wipe all of the Windex with a napkin and throw away the napkin in the trash can in your house, what happens to all of the Windex that was on the Napkin as the napkin dries up in the trash can? All of it enters your environment and you breathe it. That's bad for you. Same thing applies to just about anything including surface cleaners. As the surface dries all of that stuff enters your environment and you breath it, no different than had you simply sprayed it in the air directly). For example, when you take your socks off after wearing your socks and shoes all day, your feet stink. That's because your skin is constantly releasing toxins. Yes, that bad smell is toxins, your body is telling you that it stinks because it's bad for you. Notice how your exposed forearms don't smell as bad? Because your arms were releasing those toxins the whole day, where? Into the air that you breathe. In fact, if there is little resistance to the release of toxins (ie: via clothes, like the clothes on your feet) the exposed parts of your body

    1. Re:Ventilation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, it's a good idea not to put a lot of biowaste (ie: food that rots over time) in your trashcan and leave it sitting in your house for a long time. That stuff produces toxins and disease that also gets in the air you breathe and that's also unhealthy.

    2. Re:Ventilation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Another thing ventilation does is it reduces the chances of those around you getting sick from your sickness since it reduces their viral exposure rate.

  199. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Rich0 · · Score: 1

    If you have your vaccine, your kids have their vaccine, what do you worry about?

    Here is the problem with that line of argument:

    1. I might not have the vaccine, and neither might my kids. Either can happen due to medical reasons completely beyond anybody's control. In this situation, your chances of getting a disease are strongly influenced by voluntary decisions by others to not vaccinate.

    2. I might have the vaccine, and yet I can still get sick and die from the disease the vaccine is designed to protect against. Vaccines are not 100% effective, and they never will be.

    Both of these situations come up fairly rarely, but statistically they matter. Let's suppose each group is 1% of the population. Now let's consider two worlds:

    In world #1 vaccination is mandatory except for medical reasons. In this world 99% of the population is vaccinated, and 1% of that group is vulnerable without realizing it. Now a random sick person enters the population. Chances are they will not spread the disease much, since only 2% of the people they run into are vulnerable. The disease is contained, and not much happens.

    In world #2 vaccination is voluntary. In this world 60% of the population is vaccinated, and 1% of that group is vulnerable without realizing it. Now a random sick person enters the population, and 40.6% of the population around them is vulnerable, so an epidemic breaks out. Within the area of the epidemic (just an entire town if you're lucky) the 39% of the population that chose to not be vaccinated gets sick, as does the 1% who couldn't be vaccinated, as does an extra 0.6% of the total population (people who did get vaccinated but were not protected).

    So, that 2% is protected in world #1, and vulnerable in world #2.

    Now, in the perfect "libertarian" paradise we can then all go to court and sue each other (well, I guess you sue the estates of the dead people) and vaccine manufacturers (who are guilty I guess of not achieving perfection), and lots of lawyers get rich, and plenty of money changes hands. Nothing changes the fact that there are lots of sick/dead people in a completely preventable calamity, with 1.6% of the entire population of the area impacted despite not having made any personal choice to expose themselves to that risk.

    Now let's step back further and consider that those who aren't vaccinated often don't make this choice for themselves in the first place - their parents make the choice for them.

    I used libertarian in quotes up there as I don't really see this as a legitimate libertarian position. It really sounds more like anarchy. Most libertarians consider it a fundamental purpose of government to ensure that people are secure in their freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I'd be the first to agree that government should not protect people from themselves. However, in this case we're talking about protecting people from the actions of others, which is pretty much the job description for the police.

  200. Re:I trust parents more than government by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    No, what is irrational is the idea that you can force people to do something to their own bodies that they clearly are objecting to.

    NOTHING is 100% effective, you walking on a street is not always going to end well because there are other people around you, you can get hurt. Why don't you quit walking or maybe become a dictator and force everybody else to be wrapped in pillows while walking around?

    My opinion on this subject is always the same: you are the enemy of freedom, a wannabe tyrant.

  201. Re:I trust parents more than government by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    Well, isn't that just sad that you can't get your vaccine? Well, you'll just have to take your risks, or do you also walk around wrapped in bubbles and with a helmet on? Because, you know, you can fall or somebody can run into you.

  202. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    I might not have the vaccine, and neither might my kids.

    - well that is YOUR problem, not a problem that government is supposed to be "fixing".

    strongly influenced by voluntary decisions by others to not vaccinate.

    - it's their choice. It's their bodies.

    How about abortions, do you want government to control who gets them and who doesn't, if they are legal at all or not?

    I might have the vaccine, and yet I can still get sick and die from the disease the vaccine is designed to protect against. Vaccines are not 100% effective, and they never will be.

    - do you walk around with a helmet on? Because you know, something may fall on your head too. Somebody can run into you!

    Your examples, I am not going to quote, I'll just say this about them: I do not want to live in a world where people are forced to do things to themselves. It's a freedom concept you are missing. It's the same with the TSA in the airports, I am AGAINST TSA in the airports, yet it is POSSIBLE that a 'terrorist' can bring some weapon on him. I rather live in a free society than in a bubble wrapped one with chains on top.

    Now, in the perfect "libertarian" paradise we can then all go to court and sue each other

    - you can't win a lawsuit against somebody just because they sneezed on you on a street.

    I used libertarian in quotes up there as I don't really see this as a legitimate libertarian position.

    - being a 'libertarian' implies having a position, as in a principle. I don't think you ever had them, people don't drop principles just because their circumstances change. It means you never understood what the hell you thought you were.

  203. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "The greater good" is a concept generally lost on people such as yourself. Americans (I assume you are one) love to talk about freedom, but rarely consider the effects of their actions upon other people. They appear to believe that they live in a moral, ethical and social vacuum.

    Anyway;

    supposedly this won't be transmitted to the one with the vaccine, so this point is a ruse.

    Is what you said. And I pointed out that this isn't true, and that the story is rather more complicated than that. And then you started banging on about pillows and dictators.

    Luckily for everyone else, neither of us is ever likely to become a tyrant or dictator. The pillow idea does sound cosy though.

    (AC because I can't be bothered logging in)

  204. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't think you ever had them [principles]

    Most people don't have principles, since you can't eat it, and you can't trade it for food. There is no value to having principles.

    In fact, principles is what tyrants and governments sell: they'll "protect" the principles you value (even though there's no real value to it) in exchange for your wealth and freedom (which actually has real value)

    Nobody should have principles, as they hold no value. Give me enough money (real money, that I can trade for things of with real value) and I'll believe whatever principle you want (well, I'll *say* I believe it)

    Discarding principles is the first step towards a true freedom. Ditto morals, ethics, faiths, etc. When you don't have any of those, there's nothing government can use to lure/entice you.

    It means you never understood what the hell you thought you were.

    Nobody should ever understand what the hell they thought they were. The fool thinks he knows; the wise man knows he doesn't

    Everybody should know that they'll never truly understand themselves, so no matter what they thought they were, they could be wrong, and they should be ready to change themselves at any time. Principles, faith, beliefs, trust, etc. everything about themselves can change.

    True freedom starts by ridding yourself of all those attachments

  205. Vaccination or not by Bigfield · · Score: 1

    With every vaccine there are side effects; sometimes minor and sometimes major. Depending on the disease it may be worthwhile to do the vaccinations or not.

    It may be a good idea to vaccinate against whooping cough but sometimes the disease itself is easier on you than the vaccinations. This was the case for example in Finland and Sweden with the swine flu vaccinations. Of those who got swine flu less than 0.02% died. That would be around less 10 deaths in Finland. Of these people none were really healthy in the first place. They were in the risk group so basically they would have died anyway of common cold, flu etc. In this case it happened to be the swine flu. BUT regarding the vaccinations: Pandemrix and Arepanrix vaccines contained immunologic adjuvant that triggered narcolepsy on several dozen (a hundred?) children. These children have the narcolepsy for the rest of their lives. Narcolepsy of course occurs also naturally but it has been clearly proven that the vaccine (or the adjuvant) multiplied the narcolepsy cases 4 to 9 fold! That is statistically significant. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemrix . There is also speculation regarding the connection of other autoimmune diseases and vaccines. But these are more or less speculation still.

    During the swine flu outbreak the government and the health officials here in Finland basically said that you are crazy if you don't take the A(H1N1) vaccine! People should _think_ if taking a particular vaccine is better than suffering the disease. Mandating the vaccinations by law is stupid but I guess in the US people like laws and lawyers... ;-)

  206. Re:I trust parents more than government by Myopic · · Score: 1

    There's little doubt that a child is better off vaccinated, and that the society is healthier if everyone is vaccinated. On the other hand, and we're probably talking past each other here, I'm extremely loathe to force parents to vaccinate children.

    Indeed. It's a tough issue and those two sentences sum it up pretty well. I too would have serious reservations about forced inoculation, but so do I have serious reservations about the lack of it. It's hard.

    I don't disagree with anything you said. You sound quite reasonable and thoughtful. (So, what the hell are you doing on the internet?)

  207. Disappointed... by Guru80 · · Score: 1

    I don't see one reference to Oregon Trail anywhere. Surely that would be a modern age scenario if the game was made today

  208. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Rich0 · · Score: 1

    I might not have the vaccine, and neither might my kids.

    - well that is YOUR problem, not a problem that government is supposed to be "fixing".

    I suppose it is my problem if my next door neighbor hires a bunch of thugs to steal my car? What makes the latter a problem that the government is supposed to fix, and not the former?

    strongly influenced by voluntary decisions by others to not vaccinate.

    - it's their choice. It's their bodies.

    How about abortions, do you want government to control who gets them and who doesn't, if they are legal at all or not?

    Well, that's opening a can of worms, but I maintain that the government has the right to restrict the actions of those who cause harm to others. In this case we're talking about harm to an unborn child, so I'm fine with the government outlawing abortion except where the life of the mother is at stake (since in that case we're weighing life against life and not life against personal convenience).

    On the other side of the fence, I'm also fine with the government outlawing conception without a license as well. That makes the issue of abortion fairly moot, since it is pretty unlikely that somebody who went to all the trouble to get permission to breed would then neglect the child they already so heavily invested in. Criteria for such a license is the subject of an entirely different debate, and I realize it is a can of worms. However, if you want to protect children you're generally better off regulating who becomes parents than trying to control what they do after the fact.

    I might have the vaccine, and yet I can still get sick and die from the disease the vaccine is designed to protect against. Vaccines are not 100% effective, and they never will be.

    - do you walk around with a helmet on? Because you know, something may fall on your head too. Somebody can run into you!

    In this case, my choice of wearing a helmet only impacts my health, and not others. That makes them none of your concern. However, your choice to vaccinate or not DOES impact the health of others, which makes them my concern.

    Your examples, I am not going to quote, I'll just say this about them: I do not want to live in a world where people are forced to do things to themselves. It's a freedom concept you are missing.

    Most would disagree with you to some degree. I understand that there is a difference between forcing somebody to take a positive action like vaccination vs forcing somebody not to take a negative action like not killing their neighbors. However, the end results are the same in both cases, and the means are not unreasonable, so I think the end does justify the means in this case.

    Now, in the perfect "libertarian" paradise we can then all go to court and sue each other

    - you can't win a lawsuit against somebody just because they sneezed on you on a street.

    All the more reason to just prevent the problem in the first place. The threat of civil lawsuit is not sufficient deterrent to cause behavior in the public interest.

    I used libertarian in quotes up there as I don't really see this as a legitimate libertarian position.

    - being a 'libertarian' implies having a position, as in a principle. I don't think you ever had them, people don't drop principles just because their circumstances change. It means you never understood what the hell you thought you were.

    Where do I show conflicting principles in my argument? I haven't dropped any principles because of changing circumstances - my principles are just different from yours. I'd argue that my principles are fairly libertarian, and so would you, which just means we disagree on the definition of the word. That's OK, my principles say that you're welcome to be wrong in this case without any interference from me. :)

  209. Re:I trust me, not other parents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it were easier to pickup and move, I would 100% support the right of you and others like you to live the life you so seem to desire. The people who don't want vaccines can all move to the same block of land and govern themselves as they see fit, while everyone else governs themselves as they see fit. They would be two different countries, and the pro-vaxxer side could restrict the anti-vaxxers from entering their country. Or would that impinge on some sort of freedom to travel thing?

     

    well that is YOUR problem, not a problem that government is supposed to be "fixing".

    One of the functions of government is to "protect" the people. Not from themselves, but from each other. It's why we have such things as anti-trust laws, consumer-protection laws, workers-rights laws, hell, even laws that require information on food packaging letting users know if there may be trace elements of peanut in the product. Does it sometimes go too far? You bet your ass! But you are wrong to say that vaccines are something the government should not get involved in.

     

    -do you walk around with a helmet on? Because you know, something may fall on your head too. Somebody can run into you!

    You keep bringing that up (or shit like it) like it is a relevant comparison. You have yet to prove that it is. And yes, the onus is on you to prove that it is, not on me to prove that it isn't.

  210. Re:I trust me, not other parents by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    I suppose it is my problem if my next door neighbor hires a bunch of thugs to steal my car? What makes the latter a problem that the government is supposed to fix, and not the former?

    - you are correct, this is also NOT a government problem. It is your problem.

    Have you ever tried asking government to watch over you, what do you want, an armed guard? They can do it, it's called a jail cell.

    Police can come afterwards and clean up the remains, whatever mess there is on the floor and the walls, but that's all. They can start an investigation, but the purpose of it is not to help you, the purpose is to get rid of the type of people who do not care about authority. What good is it to you, if you are dead?

    If you need actual protection from thugs, that's your problem, you didn't know that? It's your problem, and you can deal with it, it's called private security.

    so I'm fine with the government outlawing abortion except where the life of the mother is at stake

    - so you are consistently into other people's business, that's at least something.

    In this case, my choice of wearing a helmet only impacts my health, and not others. That makes them none of your concern. However, your choice to vaccinate or not DOES impact the health of others, which makes them my concern.

    - that's your business to walk around with a helmet, but it's none of your business to force other people from walking around you without pillows strapped to them, or to prevent other people from driving where you are going, because you know, they can run you over.

    However, the end results are the same in both cases, and the means are not unreasonable, so I think the end does justify the means in this case.

    - the ends never justify the means, when the means are restriction to individual liberty to do with ONESELF as one sees fit. It's not about your health, it's about ability of person to control his own body.

    All the more reason to just prevent the problem in the first place. The threat of civil lawsuit is not sufficient deterrent to cause behavior in the public interest.

    - yeah, well, you are wrong on this completely.

    The only interest that is of any consequence is that of an individual, preserving his freedom. There is no public interest that is above individual interest, not with a government threat of violence, that is. A personal choice of doing something for so called 'public interest' is just that - a personal choice.

    --
    And the last part - you don't have principles, if you had them, you wouldn't be changing them. What you change are not principles. You can have principles and change characteristics of it when you develop the principles further, but saying that you had principles and then you went away from them and changed them to something else, that is the point - you never had principles.

    Principles are not a pair of socks.

  211. Vaccines are pure fraud by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm not going to debate on here, I just want to say my 2c, so there is another voice on here.

    First of all polio shots do steralize, and the UN, which is steeped in Eugenics, has been caught on record causing abortions throughout africa with their "shots". Look it up.

    Second, why don't you google "sv40 cancer virus" and do some reading. Tens of millions of shots with a cancer causing monkey virus were injected into Americans for decades with full knowledge from the maker from the get go. One of the leading scientists is on record laughing about it. Yes folks, evil people do exist, it's not a conspiracy "theory".

    Third why don't you go and look at the charts for the historical reduction in these various childhood diseases, and tell me if there is any evidence whatsoever that vaccination either contributed to or hastened the decline. There is none. Go look.

    Vaccines are a product, a drug. And a deadly and dangerous one at that. Read the side effects on the inserts.

    Fact: polio today is spread BY the vaccine. It hasn't been found "in the wild" for decades. If you want to get Polio, here's how you do it - take the polio vaccine, eat lots of white sugar. Sure success.

    Vaccines DO cause: cancer, infertility, diabetes, reduced IQ and a host of other problems. Customers for life.

    In my extensive experience, which includes talking and / or reading and learning from many experts, with current medical licenses, PhD's, specifically relevant to the topic, I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt of the following. Vaccines are a biological weapon - their purpose to reduce IQ, and population both through introduction of disease, weakening of the immune system so it is more susceptible to viruses both in the vaccines and in the wild. Not everyone who works on vaccines may know this but those at the top of the manufacturing chain do. The major pharmaceutical corporations of today most of them were the broken up pieces of IG Farben, Hitlers war machine, that experimented on humans, and yes, was heavily involved of course in Eugenics and genocide.

    It's impossible to cover this topic in a comment box. But I hope I have given at least some of you with an open enough mind to consider the mere possibility that you are wrong, and the system is concertedly lying to you not least because simply, so many refuse to investigate. The same people who run the corporate media sit on the pharma boards, don't wait for them to tell you about it. Do your own investigation. As I said, many credible experts crush the lies of the pharmaceutical lobby. Do not, under any circumstances, vaccinate your children, or anyone for that matter - this is based on my considered experience and research, though it's only my "opinion' (I am merely a thinking human being not a Godly Ordained "expert"), there is absolutely repeat *absolutely* no need to, they don't work anyway, and thirdly, the harms are real and not just a remote statistic. Again, in my humble opinion, you WILL receive damage from these things, with no benefit. The question of damage is only how much, and when. Don't be lazy. Do your own research. Take the time necessary it's a big fraud and it takes a lot of information for people to finally realise the truth. As J Edgar Hoover said - The average person is crippled by coming face to face with a conspiracy so enormous he cannot believe it exists".

  212. Trust the government? Vaccines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most support for vaccination is generally bogus as there is no data presented about the health problems, deaths, etc. of those children who did receive the vaccine. There is just as much faith in the system and those who 'trust the government' are generally ignorant about the dangers of vaccinations openly admitted by doctors in general. The proliferation of vaccines given to children in an attempt to avoid minor colds rather than let our bodies build up stronger immune systems has led to this increase and as a result we have an ongoing mutation of these viruses leading to more and more vaccines pushed on us.

    1. Re:Trust the government? Vaccines by lpq · · Score: 1

      Moron.
      What do you think vaccines do?
      They do exactly what you claim needs to be done. They stimulate the immune system with an 'irritant' so it builds up muscle against that 'irritant' -- making for a stronger immune system.

      The way that you get a weak immune system is by not exposing to any foreign substances. so that it becomes a muscle that is never exercised and is worthless as you grow older.

      Our culture's obsession with cleanliness and things being sterile and clean for baby is a two edged sword. Their immune systems need to be exposed to small amounts of pathogens in order to be stimulated to grow. Of course too much and their immune system is overwhelmed and they get sick. That's why vaccines were developed -- to give what is 99+% of the time, a safe dose of a pathogen (or a safe form of the pathogen). They are exactly what makes immune systems stronger.

  213. Re:I trust parents more than government by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

    People have gotten too used to finding conspiracy theories everywhere. Never attribute to malice what you can explain with stupidity. Most of the dumb stuff in the world happens because people have silly beliefs and make dumb decisions, not because there's a giant conspiracy.

  214. Topless please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And make her testify topless so that it is at least entertaining!

  215. Stick to the facts by Dareth · · Score: 1

    Stick to the facts! No need to bring wild fantasy into this.

    --

    I only look human.
    My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
  216. If only ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If only life were so simple. My kids are vaccinated but only for the serious stuff (like whopping cough, measles etc). Seasonal flu vaccine? You must be kidding.

    Cochrane Review - Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults
    http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD001269/vaccines-to-prevent-influenza-in-healthy-adults

    That is but one example. Dig around the cochrane.org web site for influenza vaccines and you get quite an eye opener.

    I think a lot of this has more to do with the medical establishment pushing ALL vaccines as safe and effective. They are not being honest to their patients. When they realize that things like the seasonal flu vaccine don't work any where near the claims they figure "The doctors lied or were ignorant of that so they are probably wrong on these other ones as well".

    First if you really want people to get vaccinated for the stuff that does work then stop pushing the ones that don't. Admit you were wrong and get on with it.

    Second get rid of all the excuses around preservatives like aluminum, mercury and go with clean single dose shots. No more 100 dose jars going around.

    Take away the excuses and quit lying about the effectiveness of the ones that don't work.

  217. WoW: I'll actually AGREE w/ you there... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't go as long w/ out women as you do, but I don't get "attached" like I used to within the 1st few months when I was a younger guy circa 17-25 or so.

    No, I know better & just like anyone else? You go through the "school of 'hard-knocks'" to get there.

    No, I "hold off" on 'total commitments' in a lot of things the past couple decades now, because of the above, and especially in sexual relationships (@ least not right away, and pretty much for the reasons you stated)...

    * So, for once? I'm inclined to agree w/ you on what you stated for the most part.

    HOWEVER - I don't call it "freedom" or find it "intoxicating", but I do find that my life's a LOT MORE PEACEFUL w/ out what happens anytime you bring someone into your life: Complications!

    I.E.-> Their hassles often tend to become your hassles because you give a damn about their well-being.

    Finding the "right someone"? It is TOUGH & takes time. It's a process, & often a long, SLOW process... you find out things (once the 'rose colored glasses come off' after the first few months to a year or so that is) & you find things out about women that you DO NOT LIKE or can deal with, especially LONG-TERM...

    However - They do the same with us though, in their defense on that note... and, they ought to as well.

    (No, it's not easy and probably not meant to be, and that's what makes the entire process hard - can you accept they have faults is the big thing, and can you deal with them the rest of your days, etc./et al)

    I say that, because once that ring goes on their finger, imo @ least?? You've not only made a commitment to them, and yourself, but also to God (yes, I believe there is a god, where there are those that do not).

    APK

    P.S.=> Now, I just wish you'd quit trolling/harassing me when you do (if not 'downmodding' every post I make with no valid computing technical justification when the topics involved are along those lines) - because, as you can see? This is no "troll" on my part, & yes, we actually do see some things, the same... apk

  218. Refuse vaccination ... by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
    ... watch your children die.

    It's not difficult.

    It's probably just as well that they died young ; they'd have suffered more at the hands of such stupid abusive parents if they'd lived longer.

    --
    Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  219. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And don't believe the agency is always right. I'm generally pro-vax, but generally anti-quality of medical research papers. By and large, they're written by people who don't understand statistics, and have never heard of selection bias. Do you want to count the number of drugs that have been approved and put into wide use beased on a frankly dubious study, and turn out to be completely useless?

  220. The slippery slope by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 1

    Breastfeeding to age 2+ has been shown to reduce disease (WHO). Eating a great vegetable-heavy diet based mostly on vegetables, fruits, and beans has been shown to reduce disease (Dr. Joel Fuhrman). Getting enough sunlight or supplements to get vitamin D has been shown to reduce disease (Dr. John Cannell). Having a less stressed-out household, have all been shown to reduce disease (Dr. Andrew Weil). Exercise has been shown to reduce disease. Some of these have actually been shown to be more effective than immunization for some diseases (like vitamin D and the flu in some studies), Hardly any US American families do any of these things to a significant degree.

    For an example of what I'm talking about, see:
    http://www.drfuhrman.com/shop/ChildBookReviews.aspx
    "Dr. Fuhrman has the solution for your frequently ill child. Backed up by a multitude of scientific studies, he explains how eating particular foods and how avoiding others can have a significant impact on your child's resistance to dangerous infections, their intelligence and success in school. For example, a change in dietary habits can have a dramatic effect on reducing the occurrences of illness like ear infections, asthma and allergies. The right foods introduced early in life can increase your child's IQ. Dr. Fuhrman presents the fascinating science which demonstrates that the current epidemic of adult cancers and other diseases are closely linked to what we eat. In the first quarter of our life, he explains that eating right in childhood is the most powerful weapon against the growing cancer epidemic. Also, he reveals how the seeds for future auto-immune diseases are sown in childhood, and how by eating right today, children can be healthy tomorrow."

    So, are parents who do not maximize their children's and their own health not equally culpable? Or are parents who do not get their children to do such things even more evil, because while vaccines have demonstrable risks (and some questionably science behind some of them full of conflicts-of-interest), most of these more basic approaches to healthy living do not have significant associated risks (except maybe some forms of exercise) and all are based on fairly solid science.

    Also, it seems sending a kid to school or sending a kid to a doctor's waiting room is one of the fastest ways to get a kid exposed to pathogens. That is something else to consider for those parents who choose to not to have personal physicians or who choose not to homeschool. Where is the moral outrage for parents who choose to send their children to schools and thus participate in spreading disease? Or where is the moral outrage for people who take unnecessary car trips (including to schools) and create traffic hazards? And so on, for all sorts of things people do that can create risks for others (including making the world a more depressing place by too much competition and greed).

    The posts to this story frequently show an extreme moral outrage about parents who for whatever reason do the cost-benefit analysis and say a specific vaccination does not make sense for their child (as if parenting wasn't hard enough already involving many sacrifices and tough judgement calls). Yet, given the sad state of health for most people in the USA always getting colds and flus and so many being obese, the hypocrisy and ignorance in these posts is mind-boggling for anyone who knows something about how to ensure good health like through the above approaches. See, for more details:
    http://www.changemakers.com/discussions/discussion-493#comment-38823

    I wish people posting here would apply even 10% of their moral outrage about vaccination to those who eat poorly or make risky lifestyle choices and thus become disease carriers. I'd suspect that outrage would apply to most people posting on slashdot (including most of the outraged people).

    But I don't think we'll see th

    --
    A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
    1. Re:The slippery slope by TheRedSeven · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the support!

  221. Please see my reply to someone who replied to you by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 1
    --
    A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
  222. Been able to talk moms into vaccinating their kids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, I am a soccer mom/slashdotter.

    I thought about not vaccinating my 17yo when she was an infant for like half a second...This was when the "vaccines cause autism" research came out and all the internet moms had all these "ideas" I realized I wanted my baby as healthy as possibly regardless of autism and if anything happened (getting a disease) due to my own neglience I would never forgive myself.

    I have actually talked about 2-3 moms into vaccinating their children. This was mostly before the autism research was discredited. They had
      wonderful arguements. In NJ where I live you need to be vaccinated to go to school. They had all these plans to homeschool their kids. Everything.

    After they let me know about all of this, I quietly stated, "Would you rather have an autistic child healthy child or a dead child due to something you could have prevented?"

    I hope this helps someone else.
    Every child should not have to suffer over an illness or disease that could have been prevented.

  223. So you're opposed to vaccinations by clay_buster · · Score: 1

    I'm sure the rest of the "I'll rely on others to protect my children" crowd enjoyed reading your posting.

  224. Story Correction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but the stories I read surprisingly indicated that fully vaccinated children were MORE LIKELY to acquire whooping cough and that 80% of cases were in fully vaccinated children as reported by Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/03/us-whoopingcough-idUSBRE8320TM20120403

  225. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't be a smartass; it doesn't help the conversation.

    1) No one is more familiar and in a better position to understand a child than their parents. Some parents spend huge amounts of time dealing with their child and learning their quirks, emotions, and knowing their history.

    2) Some parents expend resources raising their children, and are indirectly affected by the decisions that affect their children.

    3) Many/most parents are concerned about their children's well being. There is simply no comparison to the love and care a parent feels towards their children. If there are people who can be trusted to do their best for a child it should be their parents.

    4) Parents are legally obligated to provide the resources necessary for a child until they are 18, and to deal with the results of that child.

    5) Parents ARE NOT always the most rational decision makers concerning their children, and are usually not the most expert on the decision at hand.

    The obvious conclusion from this information is that PARENTS, by large orders of magnitude, are the ones who make decisions for their children whether or not they are qualified. They are the defacto authoritative people making the decisions. In my opinion, the government should only step in when it is clear that the parents are giving worse general and long term care than the alternative (IE foster homes, etc.). That line is very, very low.

    FTFY

  226. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dr. Paul Offit, inventor of the Rotovirus vaccine gets paid for its use, and also makes money on speaking, books, etc to denounce anti-vaccine advocates. According the "themedica.org" : The global vaccine market stood at US$ 11.42 billion in 2006, growing at a rate of 16.52%, it is said to touch US$ 21.05 billion by 2010, and up to $23.8 billion by 2012. If you want to attribute motive to money, please consider all the players.

  227. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because they are "scientists" educated by main stream media headlines and monied propaganda efforts. Their tireless research and in-depth knowledge of the facts far exceeds your parental instincts and the thousands if not hundreds of thousands of anecdotal cases of cause = effect. But alas, they like to call everyone else sheep. I'm sure very few of these commenters actually have children, have actually done any research into any of this except for formulating their own 2nd grade conclusions, or actually know anything about the immune system and its many complicated pathologies of which even the state-of-the-art science cannot even understand. They are good at calling everyone names, threatening everyone's freedoms, and doing what all good pawns do - mindlessly defending to the death the interests of others.

    Unfortunately we are people and we believe that we will always be the smartest we'll ever be. We never learn from the 2 decades we spent defending smoking as perfectly fine, the X-rays we used to give pregnant women, and the DDT we used to spread willy nilly, all defended by "science" as perfectly safe.

    "We" (you and I) are hopeless believers in "conspiracies" and blindly attribute malice to corporations and governments, yet they - the mindful defenders of all things good - would never construct or believe in the discrediting constructs of the other side, they are far too open and educated for that. Of course, they have listened with their own ears to the words of Dr. Andrew Wakefield - they would never just blindly believe he was behind some large profit-making conspiracy, they would actually listen to his interviews and lectures, because WE are the conspiracists, not they.

    They would also never ascribe profit motives above public health to corporations, because that never happens, and they would never never ascribe anything but the best intentions to our governments, because they have always been 100% honest with us about everything. They are right, good, and educated. You are just a parent with actual information.

  228. Re:I trust parents more than government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And what of the many, many drugs which have improved or saved lives? Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater!