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to put it in quantitative context, you put her life at risk every time you put her in a car. Measles killed roughly 500/kids a year before vaccinations. Car acc

to put it in quantitative context, you put her life at risk every time you put her in a car. Measles killed roughly 500/kids a year before vaccinations. Car accidents kill about .5/1000 kids. The probability of your child getting measles and dying is below most other risks that you take for granted each day.

threeseed 7y ago
There is more to it than just dying. A child being severely sick for extended periods can be really expensive. Especially for those countries like the US which don't have universal healthcare. And of course there are long term complications that can result in children becoming deaf or having an intellectual disability: https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html
- BeetleB 7y ago
  >A child being severely sick for extended periods can be really expensive. If we're comparing with car accidents, I assure you: Injuries from a traffic accident will in general be much more expensive than measles treatment.
emiliobumachar 7y ago
Urbanization is a thing. We cram ourselves together more than in the 60s. Epidemics would be worse without vaccinations and other modern medicine niceties.
- theandrewbailey 7y ago
  Suburbanization is also a thing. Urban sprawl had barely got started in the 1960s compared to now.
et2o 7y ago
This is a nonsensical comparison. There's a difference between unavoidable risks and avoidable risks. You take steps to minimize unavoidable risks like car travel (e.g. use car seats), but it ultimately you need to travel to function in society. Measles is a completely avoidable risk. Vaccination and ultimately herd immunity provides a 100% level of protection against measles. We were close to eradicating it.
ameister14 7y ago
You forgot to mention that there were an average 500,000 cases of measles per year in the 4 year period you're picking for the 500/year metric. You also forgot to mention that about 1-2 in each thousand with measles developed encephalitis and 1 in 1000 developed post-infectious encephalitis and that 1 in 20 gets pneumonia. This is not a small thing.

threeseed 7y ago

There is more to it than just dying. A child being severely sick for extended periods can be really expensive. Especially for those countries like the US which don't have universal healthcare. And of course there are long term complications that can result in children becoming deaf or having an intellectual disability: https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html

BeetleB 7y ago
>A child being severely sick for extended periods can be really expensive. If we're comparing with car accidents, I assure you: Injuries from a traffic accident will in general be much more expensive than measles treatment.

emiliobumachar 7y ago

Urbanization is a thing. We cram ourselves together more than in the 60s. Epidemics would be worse without vaccinations and other modern medicine niceties.

theandrewbailey 7y ago
Suburbanization is also a thing. Urban sprawl had barely got started in the 1960s compared to now.

et2o 7y ago

This is a nonsensical comparison. There's a difference between unavoidable risks and avoidable risks. You take steps to minimize unavoidable risks like car travel (e.g. use car seats), but it ultimately you need to travel to function in society. Measles is a completely avoidable risk. Vaccination and ultimately herd immunity provides a 100% level of protection against measles. We were close to eradicating it.

ameister14 7y ago

You forgot to mention that there were an average 500,000 cases of measles per year in the 4 year period you're picking for the 500/year metric. You also forgot to mention that about 1-2 in each thousand with measles developed encephalitis and 1 in 1000 developed post-infectious encephalitis and that 1 in 20 gets pneumonia. This is not a small thing.