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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: 5, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Monday June 17 2019, @03:56AM (4 children)
THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
Seriously. For once, that statement is 100% spot on, instead of being a caricature of hysterically afraid helicopter parents. Many vaccinations are ineffective on the very young. A newborn will not develop lasting immunity. Also, can't vaccinate against everything all at once. Vaccinations should be spread out over a period of time. Otherwise they could be less effective. The best way to protect an infant from measles and other diseases is to make sure everyone around the baby is vaccinated.
And, you've made a common mistake, that of using body counts to measure harm. By that measure, a bus crash could be a worse disaster than a catastrophic hurricane. Costs a great deal to care for a sick child. Each one of these diseases lasts at least a week, and some can last a lot longer. Like, 10 weeks for whooping cough. Someone, usually a parent, should to stay close almost the entire time, and cut back on other work.
Any parent who's an anti-vaxxer should be given the choice of geting their kids vaccinated, or being exiled to a leper colony. The choice they should not have is to let their kids be transmitters of preventable diseases, mingling with the rest of us. If you're okay with disease carriers getting close to your infant children, why not also let sex offenders near?
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday June 17 2019, @04:27AM
IIUC, lepers (i.e. Hansen's disease) can be treated sufficiently that they are (essentially) totally not-communicable. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/leprosy-symptoms-treatments-history#2-6 [webmd.com]
For that matter, even without treatment leprosy isn't very contagious. It's just that people with rotting body parts are unpleasant and scary to be around.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by JoeMerchant on Monday June 17 2019, @11:55AM (2 children)
As I recall, for measles, mumps and chicken pox, I was dumped at my grandparent's house while they went out to work (but granny would get home in the early afternoon and was off on Wednesdays, while my parents wouldn't get there until ~4:30) I survived, as did all of my classmates, their siblings, and everyone else within at least 3 degrees of separation - no lasting effects, though the mumps did run a long time.
"Helicopter nursing" now, are we? When needed, sure. When every kid in town gets the spots and none of them need more than some bedrest to get over it...?
Closest "preventable deaths" to my 1970s childhood were stories of polio and tetanus victims at least a generation before. Polio and tetanus are definitely worth the vaccination effort.
On the non-deadly side, my personal experience (one degree of separation, and less) of varicella infection among the immunized makes me think that the efficacy data is B.S. The annual influenza vaccine has published statistics that make it seem like a good idea, but again anecdotal observations make it look like more miss than hit.
At some point, people should clearly have a choice to opt out of science experiments which put their bodies at risk. As a society, we have a tendency to not draw those kinds of lines - so some people ignore all the science and take an extreme position where they really do put themselves at significantly elevated risks.
The science side of this debate doth protest too much, me thinks. Something to hide, they have. Would that they would be more forthright and trustworthy, they might better plea their case and serve their cause.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 17 2019, @07:58PM (1 child)
Are you familiar with the term Anecdotal Evidence?
Here, I'll link you to the definition just in case:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anecdotal%20evidence [merriam-webster.com]
Your personal experience does not invalidate the fact that people do die from the measles, they do get complications that have life long effects. Odds of encephalitis from measles is approximately 1 in 1000. Death, 1-2 in 1000. Odds of permanent harm from the measles vaccine? 0 in 1000
You have worse odds of being killed by a tornado (1 in 60,000), yet we teach tornado safety in schools and there is no dispute as to the harm they can do. So why do you argue against enforcing public safety from a more likely threat?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 18 2019, @04:27PM
But wait, I was getting into his life story. What happened next after you got measles and SURVIVED?! Hopefully there is a book I can purchase or better yet a series of movies.