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If only it were this easy

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vaccines we need: measles and parental ignorance
By Michael Ramirez

 

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Pied Type

Susan Richards is a retired editor living in Thornton, Colo., near the family and mountains she loves. Her long-standing Pied Type blog contains some 3,800 posts dating back to 2002.

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16 thoughts on “If only it were this easy”

    1. I’ve got a pretty good idea, I think. But I can’t imagine being in your position and seeing the kids and their parents every day and having to deal with the situation first hand. I’d probably get fired for assaulting some anti-vax parent. Keep fighting the good fight. Those kids need you now more than ever.

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  2. One thing that bothers me is that little is being said about the danger to adults of child rearing age. So many parents struggle with fertility, how terrible it would be to finally become pregnant only to be exposed in a public place like mall, airport to measles by an unvaccinated child. Measles in pregnancy causes miscarriage, birth defects such as heart conditions, blindness, hearing loss…(more), low birth weight – and life long problems. Adult men who get measles can become sterile.Hearing loss is a common result of getting measles in older kids/adults.
    Why can’t parents who have kids have a little consideration for those who are trying to have kids?
    I was teaching Jr during an earlier epidemic. One boy spent 3 weeks in the hospital. Another very beautiful young girl returned to school after 3 week of hospital with terrible scars all over her face that will never go away. (Her mom was in tears….she said that it seemed like kids didn’t get measles any more and she got busy and just didn’t take time to get her child that shot….)
    What is wrong with people?

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    1. I don’t know. I can understand that some children (a very few) have medical conditions that preclude their getting vaccinated, but I don’t buy “religious” or “philosophical” exemptions (and unfortunately we allow both in Colorado). I read an article somewhere yesterday that concluded there is no religion specifically forbidding vaccinations. That leaves only parents saying “I don’t wanna” and that doesn’t fly with me. The very lives of other people are threatened by the unvaccinated. Not to mention, as you said, the vulnerabilities of pregnant women, the dangers to newborns too young to be vaccinated, etc. If it were my decision, I’d be throwing the book at these people. Doctor-certified medical exemptions only. Anybody else, line up for your vaccinations. Now.

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      1. Maybe 7th Day Advocates or Christian Scientist – but those are the only 2 I know of that have actual religious grounds (no blood transfusions and stuff either…that about that whacky another day)
        People used to voluntarily do the right thing and do what is best for all – not any more. Laws only seem to make people want to protest and get angry about intrusiveness. Life is far too easy and safe here. It may take something drastic to shock people back to sense.
        Felt really sad about a young pediatrician on tv this morning begging people to get their kids vaccinated. His 3 yrold daughter is fighting leukemia. (she can’t be vaccinated)They went in to her clinic for treatment this last week and just got a call yesterday that they were in the clinic waiting room with an unvaccinated by parent choice child who now has measles. So his kids’ doc pulled them in to give both the 3yr old and his 10 month old son measles anti-bodis which give some protection, but not certain. He is beggin people to talk with their pediatricians and get real info – and consider that there are sick kids under treatment that cannot get vaccines, so it would really help if everyone else that could would.
        We have friends who were/are plaintiffs in the original vaccine lawsuit. The last time we asked, the dad admitted that genetic testing had proved both he and his wife had damage on the genes that affect autism in offspring. If only one of them had it, their sone might have been ok, but with both of them, he was pretty much destined to be damaged before birth. They will have no other children now. We asked why he was still in the lawsuit knowing it wasn’t the vaccine that caused it. He said his son was never going to be able to live on his own and if there was any chance of getting any money for his future….
        Sad all the way around

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        1. The article I read included 7th Day Adventists and Christian Scientists (they’re the ones I always think of) and concluded that even their views do not preclude vaccination. Wish I could find the article again, but it blew holes in all religious exemptions.

          I heard about the little girl with leukemia. Just another tragic example of what the unvaccinated are doing to other people.

          Your friend with the autistic child — admirable that they are admitting to themselves and others that they were wrong about the vaccine. Maybe that will change a few anti-vaxxer minds. And I can appreciate their hoping they might still get some money to help their son, but I can’t imagine any awards if they’ve admitted the vaccine didn’t cause the autism. Oh, wait. They’re probably part of a class action. Have they now vaccinated their son, to ensure measles won’t add to his problems?

        2. Doubtful. They divorced – conflict over how to raise/treat their son. She drags him from one snake oil promise/diet/ Mexican clinic/”new guru” to the another while Dad wanted to go with Grandin’s routines and protocol. Difficult to watch. Kid’s aging out of the school system now. Everything his dad does is to try and earn money to secure the child’s future. One good thing is that the boy made a connection that computers could be used to help him communicate. Until then he was nonverbal/isolated. I remember coming into the office and seeing that email “Daddy, I want this book for birthday. Amazon.” It was a miracle. He could tell the world what he needed and wanted and understood. We’d better get ready to help this large group of kids that will be grown, parentless and unable to manage on their own.
          We have another friend who’s son is around 45, (pre-vaccine controversy) autistic, and unable to live mainstream. That dad, too is saving as much as possible to fund his life in his residential community. Son can go out to eat in restaurant, but the effort is totally draining.
          Some are trying to do the best for their kids. Other parents with this measles thing are not looking at the big picture – and current science.

        3. Apologies if I repeated myself – tired last night, too many interruptions, and not paying attention. Must be due to sun deprivations…with luck the fog is lifting and rain leaving for a few days. HAppy Mardi Gras (you grabbed the beads i tossed your way?)

  3. Tell me about it. I went ballistic about it on Facebook. So tired of these foolish parents putting other people’s kids at risk. It should be: No vaccinations, no school or daycare, period.

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    1. Are you referring to a specific item or just to the number of possible side effects listed? (Notably, autism is not mentioned.) In my experience, the length of this insert and the number of possible side effects listed is typical.

      I recall reading somewhere that any side effect or adverse reaction that occurs in even as few as 1% of patients must be listed in the insert. That number might have been as small as .1%. I wish I could confirm it. I think seeing a very long list of possible (however unlikely) side effects and adverse reactions causes unwarranted alarm in a lot of people. It’s a balancing act — full disclosure vs. unnecessary alarm.

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