Measles Outbreak In NYC

sandbagger writes "New York City may have to deal with a measles problem. New Yorkers are being urged to make sure all household members, including young children, are vaccinated. To date, there have been 16 confirmed cases and four hospitalizations. This follows news from the CDC in December that 2013 saw triple the average number of yearly measles cases. 2014 is off to an even worse start; there have been cases recently in the Boston metropolitan area and more than a dozen in the Bay Area as well. Vaccinations seem to be a victim of their own success — people look around and see no polio or measles and wonder why they should bother. Others repeat bogus claim about vaccines causing autism. How do you think we can get through to the anti-vaxxers?"

Comments

Thanks Jenny

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks a lot you dumb bitch.

Re:Thanks Jenny

[hrvatska]

Jenny McCarthy couldn't have done it without news and talk shows presenting her views as being just as valid as real medical experts. It isn't so much 'Thanks Jenny' as 'Thanks Oprah for being more interested in ratings than public health'.

Obvious Answer

[Anonymous Coward]

We should present to them the facts! That will sway their minds. /sarcasm...

Re:Obvious Answer

[Gr8Apes]

Expose them to measles, mumps, diptheria, etc seems to work. Maybe not compassionate, but neither is preaching ignorance and endangering society.

Re:Obvious Answer

[ibwolf]

Remember, those who do not vaccinate their children put their children at risk, but these are THEIR children, not 'ours'.

This is simply not correct. There are a number reasons some children can not be vaccinated, including allergies and other health problems. Generally, if vaccinations are widespread, those that can not be vaccinated will benefit from the herd immunity afforded by general vaccination. When the number of non-vaccinated kids goes up, the effect of the herd immunity goes down putting the children that can not be vaccinated at risk.

Re:Obvious Answer

[dentin]

Religion is no excuse to not be vaccinated. There should be no religious exception.

Tell them a story

[Anonymous Coward]

Tell these people a story about a kid that got sick and nearly died because of not being vaccinated. It was recently shown to be effective, which makes sense, since these people seem to think emotionally rather than rationally. Evidence does nothing to convince them.

People need to realize...

[dosius]

People need to realize that Andrew Wakefield, the father of the anti-vax movement as we know it today, was discredited and disgraced for the shoddiness of his so-called "research".

Oh yeah, and he had a vested interest in kids not getting MMR vax - I think he had ownership of a patent on a different rubella-only vaccine. Herp derp.

You won't get through to them

[egranlund]

How do you think we can get through to the anti-vaxxers?

Unfortunately, I don't think anything will get through to them until their kids and loved ones start dying from very old and highly preventable diseases.

Their mindset is one much like the followers of creationism, etc where they believe that:
1) All scientists have been bought out by "big pharma" or
2) That the consensus among the scientific community is some kind of organized ploy to sell more and more drugs.

Because of this, no matter what scientists or public health officials say, they just plug their ears and go "LALALALALA".

Why worry - its natural selection in action

[Viol8]

Its sad, but if the kids of parents who only think on a base emotional level die then its clearing out the human gene pool. We should thank them.

Cut them off

[Swampash]

If you don't vaccinate your child, fine. But if you reject society like that then expect society to reject you.

No vaccination? Forbidden from attending school. Forbidden from visiting a doctor. Forbidden from visiting any public facilities like libraries, train stations, or airports. Forbidden from riding a bus or train or taxi.

Re:Simple: Let them die.

[grapes911]

Call me selfish, but that doesn't help my 8 month old daughter who can't yet get the vaccine and relies on herd immunity for the time being.

Re:MMR Outcry?

[rickb928]

Casually watching the autism debate, I see that autism is:

- Now a spectrum, not a syndrome or disease. This has enlarged the affected population, enhancing the power of their advocates and increasing the urgency of finding a solution;

- Being blamed (root cause) on vaccines, diet, environmental effects, technology, with a de-emphasis on genetics and prenatal care.

- Used to describe many more behaviors, hence becoming a 'spectrum', not a syndrome or disease or even a process.

- Described as a growing treat, capable of potentially impacting a majority of the population, being caused by a multitude of toxins, exposures, and behaviors, hence the urgency to find 'a cure'.

This pattern is familiar to me. Have you other /.rs seen this before?

Re:Anti-Vaxxers? Try Population Density

[Just Some Guy]

I skipped the second M of the MMR (mumps), as my sons exposure risk was minimal and it's very treatable with lower bad outcomes than the vaccine.

Have you ever seen the mumps? What kind of sadistic bastard would rather see his kid suffer through that than a 5-second injection?

Re:A bit of common sense maybe?

[Just Some Guy]

And you would most assuredly be wrong. Certainly not recently. We are quite careful about what we eat, tending only to eat those things God fashioned and directed us to eat.

God provided me with a cheeseburger yesterday, and it was aluminumally delicious.

Yes, I'm making fun of you. All opinions aren't equal, and yours is incredibly naive and dangerous. You're endangering your kids for no legitimate reason, you're a bad parent, and I have no desire to be tactful about this idiocy anymore.