6 ms·
in a few years there will be an outbreak of something preventable There's an outbreak of preventable childhood measles in England at this very moment
by robbiep 13y ago
in a few years there will be an outbreak of something preventable
There's an outbreak of preventable childhood measles in England at this very moment
- dtf 13y agoI think it's south Wales that copped the worst of it. 1,219 cases of measles, 88 hospitalisations and one death. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-23168519 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-23168519 National newspapers are very much involved. Journalists like to present two sides of the story as equal rivals for "balance", even when one side is science and the other is paranoid quackery. When it comes to public health, this is a disaster.
- dhughes 13y agoA family from my region went on a trip to Wales and both kids contracted measles and were sick when they returned. When the children were young the parents never had them vaccinated and now they're sick. It was just sheer luck this happened when school was out, the school system here doesn't require kids to be vaccinated as most places in Canada require. It's so easy for a stupid thing to escalate into a world-wide event all because of a few anti-vaccination idiots.
- bowlofpetunias 13y agoSame thing in the Netherlands. No surprise: all in the Bible Belt. This is a map of the Dutch Bible Belt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Belt_%28Netherlands%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Belt_%28Netherlands%29 , and this is a map of the epidemic: http://www.nrc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ANP-23877900-568x500.jpg http://www.nrc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ANP-23877900-56... And just for clarity: these are areas with a low population density.
- Steuard 13y agoAt least in the US, my impression is that vaccination refusal is more common among left-wing anti-corporate types than among fundamentalist Christians. It thrives any time there are non-rational beliefs, but it doesn't seem to be too picky about which kind.
- pkennedy 13y agoOne of the current big US measles outbreaks is church-related: http://www.npr.org/2013/09/01/217746942/texas-megachurch-at-center-of-measles-outbreak http://www.npr.org/2013/09/01/217746942/texas-megachurch-at-... My anecdotal experience among anti-vaccination people I've known is that they're only weakly correlated with religion or politics--leaning slightly left but still all over the map.
- jlgreco 13y agoIt is a conspiracy thing. Left or right wing conspiracy-minded people adopt it. Some people replace vaccines with "faith healing", others replace it with new-age shit.
- pkennedy 13y agoThat makes sense. All of the above run strong in the rather new-agey community I grew up in.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y agoTry lack of trust, or distrust in authority, it sounds better than conspiracy. Some replace vaccines with fear of disease, and anger at the lack of a trustworthy gov't.
- raintrees 13y agoAnd possibly rumors of additives to vaccines (adjuvant - Squalene, Mercury, etc.) I have been made aware anecdotally how may times profit is chosen over safety when critical decisions are made... It has lead me to question some decision makers about the actual priorities for their decisions...
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago20-ish cases is not what I would call a big outbreak. Some of those affected in Texas had received vaccinations, but for whatever reason[1], weren't protected. [1] I guess they had either neglected to get a booster, were not scheduled to receive the full series of shots, or the vaccine's efficacy isn't what it is claimed to be. >My anecdotal experience among anti-vaccination people I've known is that they're only weakly correlated with religion or politics Here is another anec-data point for you. I'm not anti-vaccine, but I am more skeptical / cautious than most (we selectively decline / delay vaccinations). I am also Atheist. My impression is that the skepticism is rooted more in lack of trust in authorities, than religion.
- StavrosK 13y agoDid the antivaccination craze reach the UK too?