Orac brings us a report from the front line of the anti-vaccination movement and shows how it's becoming even more hysterical. I'm very pleased to see that Time last week had a cover story about how the anti-vaccination movement is putting us all at risk.
How much do you think solving the world's worst problem would cost? Would you believe only $60 million a year? Eight hours of Iraq. That's how much it would cost to prevent the cognitive developmental diseases related to being malnourished in beta carotene and zinc to the 140 million children worldwide who lack them. Malnutrition, disease control, and access to education-- all relatively economically cheap (but sometimes politically expensive) problems that don't have quite the same cachet as worrying about carbon footprints. This is like exercise... we know how to stay healthy, we're just fatigued of hearing it.
Darwinism "serves the goals of global Jewery." And "When the Clinton White House made statements that they didn't like, what did Zionism do-- they sent him the Jewish Monica."
Because, you know, nothing is more important than bringing little Iraqi kids to Jesus. Yeah, that'll help our cause. I think any soldiers found doing this should be discharged immediately and dishonorably for failing to take their Soldier's Oath seriously.
A case from Tennessee of parents who created a proseltyzing parents group at public schools has been settled. Some of the quotes Ed Brayton collected are quite telling.
Brad DeLong brings us the greatest hits of the Republican spin machine explaining to us how McClellan was always a poor representative of the President's magnificent and eloquent leadership.
Wow. Apparently, there's a huge kerfluffle in the world of vertebrate paleontology, where a respected member of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History is accused of intellectual theft and publishing material without permission from the specimen holders-- and it looks like the professional review was stacked. It's a fascinating look at the ugly underbelly of the politics of science, the ferocious battle over grants and prestige.
Reagan's Director of the Budget brings us his tales of the Reagan White House, and how out of it Reagan really was. Cabinet members would regularly bring him a bamboozling array of facts and figures, and then point to one anecdote that would please him and point him in the direction of approving whatever it was that cabinet member wanted. The "magic asterisks" were footnotes that hid the actual costs of any operation from Reagan's eyes. (via Brad Delong)
There are some things with this movement I agree with. (Now I have to disclose that my 5 y.o. son had several seizures after his 6 month DPT shot. They have not been repeated.)
I do think that kids receive too many shots at too early an age. The combo shots reduce the number of physical shots, but it also makes it very difficult to figure out which shot they are reacting to. I also think that getting 2-3 combo shots with each doctor visit puts too much strain on their little bodies.
Now I'm not anti-vaccine. I just put my kids on the Japanese plan. After my son had his seizures I did a LOT of research (I'm a librarian) and found (at that time) that the Japanese do vaccinate, but they wait to start until the age of 2. The idea is to let the kids immune system fully mature before overwhelming it with multiple vaccines. They are able to tolerate it better and have fewer reactions.
I also have to admit, I think that some vaccines are just plain stupid. If I've been monogamous for more than 6 years and I don't shoot drugs...my newborn infant does not need a Hep B vacc. I also really don't like the chicken pox vacc. In kids its a harmless disease, yes some kids end up with scars, but for the majority...it uncomfortable, but not life threatening. And yes, it can lead to shingles later in life. But say your 5 year old get his kindergarden required chicken pox vacc and then forgets to get the boosters 20 years later and gets the disease as an adult. The odds are it will kill him. I'd rather my kid end up with a few scars and suffer through shingles after age 50 than have him die at 25.
Did you put your child in daycare before age 2? Did daycares have a vaccination requirement? Do you happen to know what today's schools require for vaccination?
No I didn't, I did after (at least a formal daycare...he's been going to our gyms daycare daily since he was 6 months old)...and CA is a choice state. I don't have to vaccinate my kids...and I'm allowed to pick and choose which vaccinations I do give my kids.
mentioning personal beliefs exemption for enrollments. Have you gone this route? (I'm also in CA and would really like to avoid unnecessary vaccines and wondering the difficulty of it)
I have. My son needed special ed for a significant speech delay at 3.5 years. I signed the waiver then and its on file for when he starts kindergarden this fall.
Although I must admit, I'm trying to get him all caught up in the next year or so...I've been too busy with twins to get everyone caught up. But I'm not giving him the chicken pox vax...I'm still hoping I can find someone for them to catch it. but that's next to impossible now a days.
If I've been monogamous for more than 6 years and I don't shoot drugs...my newborn infant does not need a Hep B vacc.
Kindly explain your thought-process on this one to my sister, please. She's just like you: monogamous, doesn't shoot drugs, hasn't had anything to drink in 8 years, eats healthy, eats safe, doesn't swim in toxic areas, doesn't eat raw shellfish and does Yoga several times a week.
Yet somehow, somewhere, she caught Hepatitis C. Yes, "C", as in she's going to the doc several times a month to have her liver enzymes checked to see if she's dying yet. They tried the chemo, but it never dropped below 10,000 like they hoped, so now she just lives with a ticking time bomb in her liver.
Oh, and explain your logic to my aunt, God rest her soul. 60 years old, enjoyed the occasional drink, worked hard in the meat department. She was the picture of health, until one day, she collapsed at work and was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Scared the bejabbers out of the whole town of Southampton, because she was a meat cutter in the local supermarket. She wasn't a druggie or a floozie, so where'd she get it? Nobody knows.
Yet 3 months later, the family was having arguments on weather or not to have the coffin open or closed.
They should have had it closed.
Please understand: these creatures have one...sole...function. Infect. That is their only purpose on this planet. They don't have a social life, they don't make anything, they don't have a religion. That they also kill humans and anything else they can infect is simply a useful by-product of their life cycle. From a population-control standpoint, that is.
In fact, ALL diseases are meant to be population controls. Get dense enough where the infection can spread easily, and there's obviously too many for an area to effectively support. *infect* Zip! *boom* Game over, insert another sperm, bake nine months. BEGIN.
Your magical thinking concerning your personal behavior is why pandemics start.
They only vaccinate hep a and hep b so your sister would still have been out of luck with everyone having all the recommended vaccines.
In fact, there is no hep c vaccine. Most people who have hep c don't have symptoms for years. I would suspect something in the family line for transmission. You realize that toothbrushes can transmit it (because of bleeding gums) right?
I am sorry about your family's problems regarding Hep C. It is a nasty disease where about 10% of those infected have no idea where it came from. One of my best friends just finished up a 48 week treatment for it. I'm hoping they come up with a vaccination for it soon.
Hmmm...so, how do I explain it? Hrmmm. I tested negative as did my husband, I've never been exposed to any of the known vectors for Hep B, neither had my husband...there was no call for my NEWBORN twins to receive a Hep B vaccine. If I worked around blood, or had been an IV drug user at some point, or just had a lot of risky unprotected sex in my youth. I probably would have. But I didn't. The risk was minimal. I didn't want my new daughters seizing and damaging their brains after a vaccination after their older brother had problems.
That being said...they have received them since. I object to newborns and toddlers being given so many shots without consideration about exposure risks. I also object to the doctors smearing ointment on my newborns eyes to prevent a transmission of gonorrhea. I'm clean, so's my husband. No need for it.
So I guess I just object to doctors giving treatment for something when its just not called for. I don't want my Doctor handing me antibiotics when I have a cold...they do nothing, they don't help. I resent it when doctors do give out antibiotics to John Q Public when they have a cold. The next pandemic is more likely to come from that, and everyone's over use of antibiotic soap/cleaning products, than my choosing not to give my newborn an unnecessary vaccine.
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Re: Vaccines
Date: 2008-06-03 04:39 pm (UTC)I do think that kids receive too many shots at too early an age. The combo shots reduce the number of physical shots, but it also makes it very difficult to figure out which shot they are reacting to. I also think that getting 2-3 combo shots with each doctor visit puts too much strain on their little bodies.
Now I'm not anti-vaccine. I just put my kids on the Japanese plan. After my son had his seizures I did a LOT of research (I'm a librarian) and found (at that time) that the Japanese do vaccinate, but they wait to start until the age of 2. The idea is to let the kids immune system fully mature before overwhelming it with multiple vaccines. They are able to tolerate it better and have fewer reactions.
I also have to admit, I think that some vaccines are just plain stupid. If I've been monogamous for more than 6 years and I don't shoot drugs...my newborn infant does not need a Hep B vacc. I also really don't like the chicken pox vacc. In kids its a harmless disease, yes some kids end up with scars, but for the majority...it uncomfortable, but not life threatening. And yes, it can lead to shingles later in life. But say your 5 year old get his kindergarden required chicken pox vacc and then forgets to get the boosters 20 years later and gets the disease as an adult. The odds are it will kill him. I'd rather my kid end up with a few scars and suffer through shingles after age 50 than have him die at 25.
Re: Vaccines
Date: 2008-06-03 04:50 pm (UTC)Re: Vaccines
Date: 2008-06-03 05:14 pm (UTC)Re: Vaccines
Date: 2008-06-03 05:16 pm (UTC)mentioning personal beliefs exemption for enrollments. Have you gone this route? (I'm also in CA and would really like to avoid unnecessary vaccines and wondering the difficulty of it)
Re: Vaccines
Date: 2008-06-03 06:44 pm (UTC)Although I must admit, I'm trying to get him all caught up in the next year or so...I've been too busy with twins to get everyone caught up. But I'm not giving him the chicken pox vax...I'm still hoping I can find someone for them to catch it. but that's next to impossible now a days.
Re: Vaccines
Date: 2008-06-03 06:02 pm (UTC)Kindly explain your thought-process on this one to my sister, please. She's just like you: monogamous, doesn't shoot drugs, hasn't had anything to drink in 8 years, eats healthy, eats safe, doesn't swim in toxic areas, doesn't eat raw shellfish and does Yoga several times a week.
Yet somehow, somewhere, she caught Hepatitis C. Yes, "C", as in she's going to the doc several times a month to have her liver enzymes checked to see if she's dying yet. They tried the chemo, but it never dropped below 10,000 like they hoped, so now she just lives with a ticking time bomb in her liver.
Oh, and explain your logic to my aunt, God rest her soul. 60 years old, enjoyed the occasional drink, worked hard in the meat department. She was the picture of health, until one day, she collapsed at work and was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Scared the bejabbers out of the whole town of Southampton, because she was a meat cutter in the local supermarket. She wasn't a druggie or a floozie, so where'd she get it? Nobody knows.
Yet 3 months later, the family was having arguments on weather or not to have the coffin open or closed.
They should have had it closed.
Please understand: these creatures have one...sole...function. Infect. That is their only purpose on this planet. They don't have a social life, they don't make anything, they don't have a religion. That they also kill humans and anything else they can infect is simply a useful by-product of their life cycle. From a population-control standpoint, that is.
In fact, ALL diseases are meant to be population controls. Get dense enough where the infection can spread easily, and there's obviously too many for an area to effectively support. *infect* Zip! *boom* Game over, insert another sperm, bake nine months. BEGIN.
Your magical thinking concerning your personal behavior is why pandemics start.
Re: Vaccines
Date: 2008-06-03 06:55 pm (UTC)In fact, there is no hep c vaccine. Most people who have hep c don't have symptoms for years. I would suspect something in the family line for transmission. You realize that toothbrushes can transmit it (because of bleeding gums) right?
Re: Vaccines
Date: 2008-06-03 07:13 pm (UTC)Hmmm...so, how do I explain it? Hrmmm. I tested negative as did my husband, I've never been exposed to any of the known vectors for Hep B, neither had my husband...there was no call for my NEWBORN twins to receive a Hep B vaccine. If I worked around blood, or had been an IV drug user at some point, or just had a lot of risky unprotected sex in my youth. I probably would have. But I didn't. The risk was minimal. I didn't want my new daughters seizing and damaging their brains after a vaccination after their older brother had problems.
That being said...they have received them since. I object to newborns and toddlers being given so many shots without consideration about exposure risks. I also object to the doctors smearing ointment on my newborns eyes to prevent a transmission of gonorrhea. I'm clean, so's my husband. No need for it.
So I guess I just object to doctors giving treatment for something when its just not called for. I don't want my Doctor handing me antibiotics when I have a cold...they do nothing, they don't help. I resent it when doctors do give out antibiotics to John Q Public when they have a cold. The next pandemic is more likely to come from that, and everyone's over use of antibiotic soap/cleaning products, than my choosing not to give my newborn an unnecessary vaccine.