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Anti-Vaxxers Defeated: NY Bans Exemptions as Doctors Vote to Step up Fight:
Anti-vaccine advocates received a blow in New York Thursday as state lawmakers banned non-medical exemptions based on religious beliefs—and there may be more blows coming.
Also on Thursday, the American Medical Association adopted a new policy to step up its fight against such non-medical exemptions. The AMA, the country's largest physicians' group and one of the largest spenders on lobbying, has always strongly support pediatric vaccination and opposed non-medical exemptions. But under the new policy changes, the association will now "actively advocate" for states to eliminate any laws that allow for non-medical exemptions.
"As evident from the measles outbreaks currently impacting communities in several states, when individuals are not immunized as a matter of personal preference or misinformation, they put themselves and others at risk of disease," AMA Board Member E. Scott Ferguson, M.D. said in a statement. "The AMA strongly supports efforts to eliminate non-medical exemptions from immunization, and we will continue to actively urge policymakers to do so."
The religious exemption ban in New York comes at a critical time. The state is at the forefront of a nationwide resurgence of measles, with active outbreaks that have sickened hundreds and splintered into other states.
"This administration has taken aggressive action to contain the measles outbreak, but given its scale, additional steps are needed to end this public health crisis," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement after signing the ban on religious exemptions. "While I understand and respect freedom of religion, our first job is to protect the public health, and by signing this measure into law, we will help prevent further transmissions and stop this outbreak right in its tracks."
Sudden outbreak of common sense?
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 17 2019, @02:21AM (12 children)
It just warms my heart when innumerate, corrupt, bride by pharma corp, and unaccountable bureaucrats get to decide to inject me and my children with whatever they want.
Hint: go look at vaccination rates at the schools where those ceos send their kids
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 17 2019, @02:31AM (4 children)
Don't like it? Stay out of New York. We don't want your kind here.
(Score: 2, Troll) by Alfred on Monday June 17 2019, @02:25PM (3 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 17 2019, @05:55PM (2 children)
Already here and happy to be so.
And nobody is forcing anyone to do anything here. The change in the law just invalidates so-called "religious exemptions."
This means that (as the law has been for half a century) if you want your child to attend school, they must either be vaccinated or have a valid exemption. Only *medical* exemptions are allowed now.
No one is forcing anyone to vaccinate their kids, but if they're not vaccinated (or can't be), they will not be allowed to put other children at risk.
(Score: 2) by Alfred on Tuesday June 18 2019, @09:43PM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:08AM
Now hold on there a second, sport.
Firstly, there is no religious discrimination going on at all. In fact, removing religious exemptions actually gets *rid* of religious discrimination. How so? Because if you can get an exemption *because* of your religious beliefs, that means that many people who are not religious are being singled out for discrimination by their lack of belief.
As such, the change in the law gets rid of religious discrimination, not the other way around. Because now, those who got *preferential* treatment via a religious exemption (a clear violation of the First Amendment) are treated the same as anyone else.
What's more, New York is not the first state to do this. California, Mississippi, and West Virginia [insider.com] already required *medical* exemptions.
Further, even without a religious exemption, no one is "forced" to vaccinate their kids. Those kids just aren't allowed to put *other people's kids* at risk.
No liberty is lost here. Parents may still vaccinate or not vaccinate as they choose. The only difference is that people who *don't* worship imaginary sky daddies no longer suffer the discrimination you claim to deplore.
Or are you arguing that those with religious beliefs should receive preferential treatment?
If you feel that's true, then someone who honestly believes that jihad is god's will, shouldn't be arrested or imprisoned for carrying out their sincerely held religious beliefs, right?
(Score: 4, Touché) by PartTimeZombie on Monday June 17 2019, @02:37AM
Why wouldn't you post a link detailing the vaccination rates at those schools?
Then we would know what you were implying.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Monday June 17 2019, @03:19AM (5 children)
Weirdly, CEOs seem to marry airheads, then work 100-hour weeks, making almost none of the deisions about their children.
So there are pockets of high net worth with very low vaccination rates.
Pretty bimbo also undereduacated, but looks good on arm at company events.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Username on Monday June 17 2019, @08:03AM (4 children)
My understanding of the "married to the CEO life" women are so attracted to, is that they don't have to do anything but go on vacation. Their nannys and maids take care of the children. And since nannys take care of the ceo's children that makes them also the ceos wives, and he gets to have sex with them as well. So we now have multiple people who aren't vaccinated their children.
Personally, I think it is because the ultrarich live in their own little gated world that is free from disease, and if you live in a bubble you cannot contact disease. Vaccines are for the heard of sheep they control.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Monday June 17 2019, @12:03PM (1 child)
There's also the factor that in the rare circumstance that anybody does get sick, they can afford the finest care to recover. IMO this is a big factor in western anti-vax thinking: vaccines are economical disease control, for poor countries who need to take the up-front hit from side effects because getting the disease is just too costly for them to deal with.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 18 2019, @04:39PM
Getting sick gives them something to do. It's a lifestyle choice... boredom, excess, depression, hooray... an illness. Now I have a purpose in life! (optional: donate $100m to USC to build a shiny with your name on it). Repeat.
(Score: 3, Funny) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 18 2019, @01:38AM (1 child)
Of course I've heard of sheep. Heard of chickens?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 18 2019, @06:27PM
So, what's a henway?