What the hell is going on with America and freaking vaccines? When I was in school, we all stood in line while nurses from god knows where gave us our vaccines. I remember that very cool "airgun" with the measles vaccine in it. One student after the other. Vaccinated. I have no idea if parents had to sign a permission form. I DO know that we HAD to be fully vaccinated before going to public school.
Because EVERYONE my age in America is vaccinated, we enjoy "herd immunity", which just means that kids not vaccinated today are not getting mumps, measles, rubella, whooping cough, diphtheria, hepatitis B, or polio. They are not getting it BECAUSE SEVERAL GENERATIONS HAVE BEEN VACCINATED.
You're welcome.
How does the medical community feel about non-vaccinated kids? Here is a story when there was a Measles outbreak at Disneyland several years ago.
And if you'd prefer to hear from someone who is not a doctor, but plays one on television, here's a good example, and here is another great scene.
And, if you love the talk show circuit, here are a few small bits for you: Kimmel asks doctors Seth talks about measles
Should you take medical advice from a late night talk show host? Well, hell no. But the fact that this is such a STUPID decision makes not being vaccinated prime fodder for jokes. You. You are the joke.
Let's look at hep B, which is more common in males:
Common (More than 200,000 cases per year in US)
Treatments can help manage condition, no known cure
Often requires lab test or imaging
Usually preventable by vaccine
Transmitted through direct contact
But your little anti-vax cherub probably won't get it. Why? Because everyone else in the family over the age of 15 DID get the vaccine.
It was measles about seven years ago, and now it's the COVID vaccine. It's not just the COVID vaccine that people aren't getting, but it IS the vaccine that has really gotten them to organize with protests and lawsuits. Politicians are bending over backwards to kowtow to their constituents by promising to fight mandates, saying it's a personal freedom.
Freedom does NOT mean you can do whatever you want. There was a huge backlash when seatbelts were mandated, for the same reason. No, they do not stop all crash fatalities, but they surely do reduce them. No one can argue that. Just like no one can argue that, while the COVID vaccine will not stop you from getting it, it is being proven daily that those vaccinated are by far more likely to live through it.
One of the problems with those against vaccines is that they do not actively research and inform themselves. Instead, they listen only to those who feel as they do. They don't want to listen to another opinion and perhaps give their own ideas a hard look. No, instead they want their ears to be tickled with words that will let them know that they are in the right, and everyone else are sheep.
You know the horror movie where one person feels sorry for the bad guy, and decides to give him one more chance, or he convinces her (because, let's be real, it's always a female who does this) that he's had a change of heart, or someone decides that a basic civil right is being denied by keeping a serial killer locked up? What happens? She lets him out. You know what he does? Yep. He kills every last camper at the summer camp.
My real point is this: I like to use polio as an example. When polio came out, doctors and the government worked its collective asses off to find a vaccine. The doctors and government were seen as benevolent and caring for the saving of lives. What has changed? Social media? Years of being vaccinated, forgetting how terrible these diseases really are? This is not a new argument, as this cartoon from the 1920s shows.
Looks like America is right back where it started.
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