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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: 1, Flamebait) by Username on Monday June 17 2019, @07:53AM (4 children)
You're still making his point. Smallpox was deadly, so everyone got vaccinated against it. Measles and chickenpox, isnt deadly just annoying, so people decided no to vaccinate.
Let us continue down this slope. Having glasses is annoying. Should we jail parents who do not give their child contacts or corrective surgery? Children don't run around with cleft lips and exposed brains anymore. So why do they have to run around with glasses?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by NotSanguine on Monday June 17 2019, @09:34AM (3 children)
Measles and chicken pox aren't deadly *to most people*. However, they are quite deadly to some, and can cause serious complications in others.
As history tells us [cdc.gov]:
That improved over time, likely due to *isolating those with measles* while they were contagious. As such, by the 1950s,
I don't know about you, but 500 *deaths* plus nearly 50,000 hospitalizations and 1,000 with encephalitis (which can cause serious and permanent brain injury) [encephalitis.info] seems pretty dangerous to me.
Especially since
Since vaccination against measles began, it has prevented the deaths of tens of thousands, prevented brain injuries to double that number, and prevented the hospitalization of even more people, by a factor of 100, I'd say that has a great deal of value.
The Measles vaccine has prevented the death and suffering of millions of people. The loss off herd immunity risks bringing all that back.
Vaccinations stop *preventable* death and suffering. And it's not just those whose parents choose not to vaccinate their children. The vaccine isn't perfect, and some people remain vulnerable. Others, who have compromised immune systems or other health issues cannot be vaccinated. What's more, Measles is *highly* contagious.
Let's make it personal to you. Let's say that some maniac was running around your town beating the crap out of, say, 1 in every 40 people.
Most of those people were not badly hurt, but needed a week or so to recuperate before returning to their jobs, school and lives.
However, a small percentage of the beaten were hit in the head with a tire iron, causing permanent brain damage. And another group were so badly injured that they died.
Now let's say we *knew* that it was crazy Herb Jones who lives over on Maple Street who was doing all those beatings. What do you do?
The mayor calls a town meeting to discuss what's been going on, and ask everyone what he should do about it.
Would you take the same attitude as with measles? "Meh. It's not so bad. Herb doesn't really hurt anyone too badly. It's too much trouble. let's ignore it."
Measles is preventable, highly contagious, and can cause permanent injury and even death.
How is this even a discussion?
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 17 2019, @04:23PM (2 children)
Well, I gotta say I'm not a fan of forcing people to have injections. I am all for vaccinations, but mandated injections feels like a very creepy step towards authoritarianism. I guess as long as they allow people to get their own vaccinations and not use a government mandated doctor it isn't quite as bad.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by NotSanguine on Monday June 17 2019, @05:04PM
The new law doesn't *force* people to vaccinate their kids, all it does is get rid of so-called "religious exemptions."
And let me clarify a bit more. It has been the law in New York for at least 45 years (it was the law when I started school) that parents *must* provide either proof of vaccination or an accepted exemption when enrolling their child in school. If they do not, the child may not attend.
This isn't just elementary school either. It's the law for all New York schools. In fact, I almost didn't get to start college on time, as my vaccination certificate had been lost by my high school and I had to go back to my elementary school to get a copy for the college.
The change in the law just narrows the scope of the exemptions that are acceptable. No one is forcibly injecting anyone. The change is that only *medical* exemptions (for people who, for various reasons cannot be vaccinated) will be accepted when enrolling children in school.
This isn't new or especially controversial. And New York isn't the first state to invalidate religious exemptions either.
I'm sorry if the reality isn't the horrifying nightmare of evil, authoritarians in New York. forcing children to be injected at gunpoint, with god knows what, by nefarious "government" doctors that you thought it was.
Perhaps we can find some other nightmarish scenario for you to worry about instead?
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 18 2019, @04:22PM
I'm not a fan of *forcing* people to shit in a bowl filled with water. Freedom n that.