Slashdot Mirror
New York City Orders Mandatory Measles Vaccinations in Brooklyn (providencejournal.com)
"New York City officials on Tuesday declared a public health emergency and ordered mandatory measles vaccinations" in an area where most of the state's 285 measles cases have occurred. The Washington Post reports:
New York's mandatory vaccination order in four Brooklyn zip codes is by far the toughest action to date by state or local officials, as the disease's tally grows to 465 cases in 19 states. Officials there and elsewhere have sought to bar unvaccinated children from schools and other public places but have had limited success... The mandate orders all unvaccinated people in four zip codes to receive inoculations, including children as young as 6 months. Anyone who resists faces a misdemeanor charge and could be fined up to $1,000.
Long-time Slashdot reader Major Blud shares a BBC report that under the order, "any person living in the affected areas who has not been vaccinated must be immunised within 48 hours."
Long-time Slashdot reader Major Blud shares a BBC report that under the order, "any person living in the affected areas who has not been vaccinated must be immunised within 48 hours."
I think that a way to fight this would be to "leak" a document to wikileaks pointing out that the autism vaccine rumor was spread by alquaeda as part of a plan to attack the population with measles.
Before the vaccine, measles caused an average of about 2.6 million deaths per year.
You have a very funny idea of what constitutes a dangerous disease"
If you are vaccinated, shouldn't you not have to worry about getting measles? Only the un-vaccinated will be affected? Where is the problem?
As I said above, these people dont just die in their homes. They then go to some of the most expensive healthcare facilities in the world to be treated, wasting resources which could be better used elsewhere.
Then there is the exposure risk to infants too young to receive the vaccine. Should infants be exposed because some idiots think a measles vaccine is dangerous? Herd immunity only works if the herd all gets vaccinated...
If you are vaccinated, shouldn't you not have to worry about getting measles? Only the un-vaccinated will be affected? Where is the problem?
1> No vaccine is 100% effective. But vaccination can reduce the risk or the severity of the disease.
2. The population of Brooklyn is 2.65 million. You do not want a dangerously infectious disease to gain a foothold in a population that size.
3. There are legitimate medical reasons why everyone cannot be vaccinated. But you can protect the most vulnerable by immunizing those around them. Consider it a firewall..
4. We came within a hair of eliminating measles as we did smallpox. We could all-but-eliminate cervical cancer in the next generation. If we fail, the reason will there for veryone to see,
Calm down. From the article:
There are no strictures against vaccines in the Jewish religion and the overwhelming majority of American Jews are vaccinated. The reasons for the explosion of cases among members of insular, ultra-orthodox communities has more to do with their frequent contacts with Israel, which is undergoing its own measles crisis, combined with their insularity and general mistrust of government, say health officials.
In addition, a misinformation campaign, including phone calls, voice mails and pamphlets has targeted the community, say health officials and immunization advocates. One widely distributed booklet not only cites various rabbis questioning the obligation to vaccinate children, but also advances anecdotes and statistics in an attempt to connect vaccinations to physical harm and death.
[bold emphasis mine]
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
Wrong.
1. There are about 5% or less of those vaccinated for whom it doesn't "take". There's no easy way to test for this.
2. There are those who legitimately can't be vaccinated. Those who have compromised immune systems. For some vaccines, those who are too young.
3. Vaccines hold out the promise of completely eradicating a disease, like we did smallpox. Anti-vaxxer are working to ensure reservoirs of diseases remain in existence.
No, it's not. It's amazing how many people think herd immunity is some sort of mystical concept, when it's really very simple and straightforward If almost everyone in a community is immune, then there is no one the few who are not can catch the disease from. It's just that simple.
I think herd immunity is bullshit.
Do you believe in Smallpox?
Do you believe that there was ever a point in time where 100% of the planet was vaccinated? If you aren't sure, the answer is "no".
Smallpox is proof of herd immunity. Enough people were vaccinated that there were no vulnerable people to be infected, so the disease died off. That's the goal for all disease, but some people work extraordinarily to see that disease persist.
The only way to not believe in reality is to simply be delusional. That invalidates your opinion as well as most of your (incorrect) facts.
Learn to love Alaska