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A small but increasing number of children in the United States are not getting some or all of their recommended vaccinations. The percentage of children under 2 years old who haven't received any vaccinations has quadrupled in the last 17 years, according to federal health data released Thursday.
Overall, immunization rates remain high and haven't changed much at the national level. But a pair of reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about immunizations for preschoolers and kindergartners highlights a growing concern among health officials and clinicians about children who aren't getting the necessary protection against vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, whooping cough and other pediatric infectious diseases.
The vast majority of parents across the country vaccinate their children and follow recommended schedules for this basic preventive practice. But the recent upswing in vaccine skepticism and outright refusal to vaccinate has spawned communities of undervaccinated children who are more susceptible to disease and pose health risks to the broader public.
[...] The data underlying the latest reports do not explain the reason for the increase in unvaccinated children. In some cases, parents hesitate or refuse to immunize, officials and experts said. Insurance coverage and an urban-rural disparity are likely other reasons for the troubling rise.
Among children aged 19 months to 35 months in rural areas, about 2 percent received no vaccinations in 2017. That is double the number of unvaccinated children living in urban areas.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by driverless on Friday October 12 2018, @07:57AM (7 children)
Interesting that you mention this, I was talking about this with a neighbour, a retired doctor, just today. He was horrified that basic diseases he remembers from his childhood in the 1950s, which had been essentially eradicated, are now making a comeback when there's no reason for them to do so, and suggested the petri dish approach, you're welcome to choose to refuse to have your children vaccinated but they then have to go to a school with all the other unvaccinated children. After one bout of measles/polio/rubella/other easily preventable illness, all the anti-vaxxers will be queueing up to have their kids vaccinated, and the problem is solved. These people are choosing to put their children, and other children, at risk, let them bear the consequences. More importantly, show them the consequences of their actions so they can take corrective action.
OK, he's old and a bit cranky, but I think it'd be a pretty effective cure for anti-vaxxism.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by c0lo on Friday October 12 2018, @08:29AM (3 children)
See, there's a problem: their parents are idiots, but it will be the kids to suffer the consequences. Vaccines will do nothing once you have the true infection.
Some kids may die, others may become intellectualy impaired (high fever will do this to some) for no fault of their own.
E.g. measles [who.int]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Insightful) by driverless on Friday October 12 2018, @08:52AM (2 children)
Yeah, I know, that's the tragedy. The hope is that after a single serious outbreak that gets a lot of publicity, other parents will see sense. It'll suck if you're in the victim group, but someone has to be the canary in the coal mine, unfortunately. And I'm not being callous/flippant in saying that, unless the parents see the real consequences of their actions I don't think they'll ever change their minds.
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday October 12 2018, @01:38PM (1 child)
Parents see autistic children and they learn the lesson. Now it is you who have to earn the trust back. It will take you a few generations.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 12 2018, @07:49PM
It's a pity that these parents never learned about the post hoc fallacy. [wikipedia.org]
Considering that many of these diseases being vaccinated against have been nearly eradicated, I would think that doctors and epedemiologists should have already earned that trust long ago. Seriously. How old are you? My guess is that you can't be more than 30 years old, maximum. You may find this incredible but the (near) eradication of many of these diseases is within the living memory of many of us. These diseases used to be KILLERS. Now it mostly just a visit to the doctor to get a shot to prevent these diseases. That's quite an astounding rollback, if you ask me.
God, I would hope that it doesn't take more than a few years to put an end to this stupidity! But I guess this is just another case where the stubbornness of willful ignorance is almost limitless.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday October 13 2018, @03:20AM (2 children)
Some idiots have been having "measles parties" so all their kids get the disease at once. While this works for generating immunity, it kinda defeats the purpose of immunity... not to mention these are not risk-free diseases.
Also, with some diseases, recovered individuals can be virus-shedding carriers, which endangers the non-immune (too young to vaccinate, immuno-compromised, poor vaccine response), and that virus-shedding can continue for years. So another reason why vaccine is better than infection.
I doubt the antivaxxers' brains will turn back on until their kids get hit epidemic-style with a disease that has a high mortality rate. And maybe not then, considering it's basically a cult.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Saturday October 13 2018, @05:28AM (1 child)
Un fscking believable. The last time I saw something like that it involved a revolver, a single bullet, and an excess of testosterone/stupidity/alcohol.
"Here, have your kids eat this random crap from a complete stranger on the Internet! It's totally safer than getting vaccinated".
That story is actually so outrageous that I'll bet its a media-induced moral panic rather than any real event: "media reports surfaced about a multi-state ring of parents", I'm sure that actually happened, except it was a multi-state ring of satanic child abuser serial killers who harvested the livers and left the children in an ice-filled bathtub with a note saying "Welcome to the world of AIDS". I believe pox parties have happened due to credible media reports, but that particular aspect has all the hallmarks of an urban legend.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday October 13 2018, @07:20AM
Yeah, while there have been credible reports about "measles parties" -- when it gets into vague reports of cult-like abuse, like mailing infectious matter around, I start thinking someone leads an active fantasy life, and am reminded that news outlets exist to sell eyeballs to advertisers.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.