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UK steps up fight after losing 'measles-free' status
The United Kingdom says it will take steps to halt the spread of misinformation about vaccines as a result of losing its "measles-free" status after the highly infectious disease was declared eliminated in the country three years ago.
Measles, which is almost entirely preventable with two doses of vaccine, is making a comeback globally. In the first half of the year, there have been almost three times as many cases as the same time last year. Cases globally are at the highest level since 2006, according to the World Health Organization.
"After a period of progress where we were once able to declare Britain measles free, we've now seen hundreds of cases of measles in the UK this year. One case of this horrible disease is too many, and I am determined to step up our efforts to tackle its spread," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.
UK's Johnson slams 'mumbo-jumbo' about vaccines after measles rates rise
"The UK generally has a great record on fighting measles, but for the first time we're suddenly going in the wrong direction," Johnson said on a visit to a hospital in Truro, south-west England. "I'm afraid people have just been listening to that superstitious mumbo-jumbo on the internet, all that anti-vax stuff, and thinking that the MMR vaccine is a bad idea. That's wrong, please get your kids vaccinated."
See also: UK to pressure social media companies to fight anti-vax info
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 20 2019, @12:49AM (4 children)
Shut the fsck up already. How are we supposed to decrease the human population drastically so global warming doesn't happen if you keep telling people to vaccinate and live longer?
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 20 2019, @03:58AM (3 children)
The homeless defecating in the streets of California mixed with unvaccinated 3rd world people who skipped the medical checks at the border will bring different strains of old plagues back to large population centers.
You know why you get a new flu shot every year? That is because the flu is constantly evolving. Who says measles that evolved in a different region of the earth, brought to the UK, is the same strain that the UK's vaccine protects against?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 20 2019, @08:38AM (2 children)
I hope you washed your hands, because your keyboard is COVERED IN GERMS! And, I just sneezed over the TCP/IP at you. You probably will be dead inside a week. Longer, if you are unlucky and suffer more.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 20 2019, @01:55PM
Actually, with advent of indoor plumbing, including indoor toilets with sanitary waste removal, daily showers, and frequent hand washing, these have probably done more to reduce epidemics than vaccines have. Since I do all of these things, I should be good.
But seriously: Human feces + rats + contagious diseases = epidemics. European history proves this quite clearly.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday August 20 2019, @03:19PM
Don't worry, the TCP [wikipedia.org] bit will take care of that!