Posted on 03/24/2014 7:17:04 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Colorado’s House Health Insurance and Environment Committee has passed a bill that would make it more difficult for parents to opt out of the state’s child vaccination requirement. The bill would mandate a state-sponsored education program for parents who don’t want their child vaccinated and would force those parents to “acquire the signature of a health care professional confirming disclosure of possible health risks ‘to the student and the community.’”
Similar measures have passed in three other states, while many other states are considering the question of mandatory vaccinations for school attendance.
The debate in Colorado was passionate.
State Rep. Dan Pabon (D) proposed the bill to ensure that parents are more informed and “that they’re not just opting out simply because of convenience,” according to the Denver Post.
“Vaccine refusal results in higher rates of vaccine-preventable disease,” Pabon said. “This is a public health issue. These are very serious diseases.”
Colorado has the sixth-highest rate of non-vaccinated public school kindergarteners. The bill will also mandate all licensed schools and day care centers to release public records on the percentages of their non-vaccinated children.
“There are kids who can’t get vaccinated because they’re immuno-compromised and are being exposed to vaccine-preventable diseases,” Pabon argued on Thursday. “To add on top of that, older populations that have medical conditions are also at risk.”
Although the bill would not eliminate the personal belief exemption, parents opposing the legislation argued that increased education mandates could lead to the erosion of parental rights during Thursday’s testimony before lawmakers.
“Parents have a constitutional right to parent their children,” Susan Lawson, whose daughter developed encephalitis after a routine vaccine when she was a year old, told CBS Denver. “I am not an uneducated woman.”
Anti-vaccination advocacy group National Vaccine Information Center has also attacked the proposal as one that “singles out and discriminates against a minority of parents with sincerely held personal beliefs … by assuming they are uneducated and should be forced into a state approved ‘education’ program.”
When my mother heard of the breakthrough by Jonas Salk in developing a vaccination against polio, she fell to her knees and thanked God for his mercy. We, today, have absolutely no conception of the rank fear that gathered in the breasts of parents prior to the polio vaccine. Every cold in our family would put her on edge. And all of us grew up in an age before vaccines for measles, mumps, and whooping cough. These diseases were — and are — childhood killers. I’m sure the controversy today over vaccines would perplex her to no end.
The odds of a child dying from measles are 50 times greater than the child experiencing any life-threatening side effects from that vaccine. Prior to 1963 before the vaccine was introduced, there were 4 million cases of measles per year in the U.S. with an average of 450 deaths. On the other hand, there are severe reactions to the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella) in only 1 of about 2 million doses. What rational parent makes a choice not to vaccinate their children?
The supposed link between autism and vaccinations has been debunked over and over, and yet the belief still persists. The Centers for Disease Control examined the question of autism and the safety of vaccines in general:
Evidence from several studies examining trends in vaccine use and changes in autism frequency does not support such an association between thimerosal and autism. Furthermore, a scientific reviewExternal Web Site Icon by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that “the evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal–containing vaccines and autism.” CDC supports the IOM conclusion that there is no relationship between vaccines containing thimerosal and autism rates in children.
The IOM also recently conducted a thorough review of the current medical and scientific evidence on vaccines and certain health events that may be observed after vaccination. It released a report in August 2011 on 8 vaccines given to children and adults that found the vaccines to be generally safe and serious adverse events following these vaccinations to be rare.
We are paying a price for our scientific ignorance. Parents who don’t have their children immunized do so largely because they think the diseases are wiped out or there is little chance their children will be infected. But because of falling rates of vaccinations among children, these diseases are making a roaring comeback:
Measles, mumps, whooping cough — all deadly diseases. Until recently, they were virtually eliminated thanks to vaccines that prevent kids from getting sick.
But now doctors see an alarming trend — more and more people are coming down with these diseases.
“Kids die from measles on a regular basis. Kids are in hospitals and can die from whooping cough very commonly. So these kids are at risk,” said Dr. Scott Krugman, Chairman, Department of Pediatrics, MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center.
Here in Maryland, cases of whooping cough are skyrocketing — tripling from 123 cases in 2011 to nearly 370 last year. Outbreaks of measles and mumps have swept through states across the country.
The explanations made by parents for not vaccinating their kids are pathetic, as you’ll see on the next page.
So, if these diseases can be prevented by a vaccine, why is a growing number of parents not getting their children the shots? Some fear the vaccines can do more harm than good.
“These vaccines and all of these doses also can be deadly,” an Annapolis mom said.
After researching vaccines and talking with doctors, an Annapolis mom decided not to vaccinate her young children. She asked WJZ to hide her identity because other parents are angry her kids could put their kids in danger.
Bui: “What happened that led you to make this decision not to vaccinate your kids?”
Annapolis mom: “It just didn’t’ make sense to me. I didn’t understand why a little human had to get so many drugs at one time.”
She believes her family’s healthy lifestyle will keep her children from getting sick. But most doctors insist that’s not enough.
Maybe she should consider hiring a shaman to ward off the evil spirits. Works just as well as eating arugula.
I suppose you could make the argument that the CDC is in the pockets of Big Pharma and are doing their bidding by cooking the books on vaccines. I’ve seen it all over the internet and in emails so I know that someone is reading that crap. And, if you wished, you could ignore the studies done by respected scientific organizations (or similarly lump them in with the CDC as doing Big Pharma’s bidding) that say there is no causal link between vaccines and autism, and substitute pseudo-scientific pronouncements from people selling a book or product, telling you not to vaccinate your kids.
You can choose to believe anything you want. But when your beliefs place others in danger, that is a moral and civic wrong. Yes, you are free to parent your children any way you please. But you are not free to endanger the lives of others. Not getting your children vaccinated is an unconscionable omission and sending parents to school in order to try to knock some sense into their heads is the least the state can do to protect children from their stupidity.
Higher insurance costs or higher taxes in government care is asking me to pay. And don’t even go where their kid has infected others—they should be liable for those costs as well.
So, vaccines are not 100% effective. So when you know a disease is present, you still isolate, because why take the chance. But most of the time, exposure happens before you know, and the vaccine keeps a vast majority of people from getting sick.
I would have worded the non-vaccine problem differently. If too many people are not vaccinated, society is put in danger, because you can experience an epidemic. In an epidemic, you put strain on the medical system, and yes, you quarantine healthy people sometimes just out of an abundance of caution. Of course, the big risk is to other non-vaccinated types, but that includes a lot of people who did not CHOOSE not to be vaccinated, but simply were ignorant of the vaccine protocols.
It is in fact true that, if the world got vaccinated for something, the smart thing for ONE person to do would be to skip all vaccinations. That way, no risk of side effects, and since everybody else is vaccinated, no risk of getting the target disease. This is the “tragedy of the commons” argument. As more people to what is best for them individually, not only does society suffer, but eventually, they all individually suffer, because once a large enough population takes the individual “best” choice”, there are too many unvaccinated people and now you risk getting the disease.
> “How is it that a non-vaccinated child puts a Vaccinated child in danger???? I thought the vaccine protected the child from danger!”
I never said that vaccinated kids were the ones who died. Try reading it again. The kids who usually die from their parents neglect are their own — the kids that the parents withheld medicine from. Often, they don’t die from the disease. However, sometimes, other kids die from it. Ones that are too small to have their vaccinations yet. In either case, the parent of the infected kid should go to jail.
Have you thought this desire through?
This is truly a difficult subject, along with all else we must keep in mind what the ramifications of a unvaccinated child have has on all of the other children and adults they interact with. It is through the unvaccinated that diseases we thought we had eradicated will flourish again. All I am saying is that this decision could cause ripples of monumental proportions.
I reject the basis of all your arguments thus far; that the decision for one child doesn’t hurt the other children.
It does, polio, and how it is spread is but one example of that.
You want to risk it for your kids, fine, I have no problem with that.
You want to infect my kids too? There’s an answer I want to see from you.
If your kids are vaccinated then they should never get infected so that argument is invalid.
Indeed the only people at risk would be the child and others like him who's parents chose not to get them vaccinated.
Or are you stating that vaccinated children can be infected anyway?
And in that case then what good are vaccines in the first place?
When I was 4 years old, (1963), I got the mumps and developed a rare form of mump-based encephalitis. I am ONE of a mere 30 survivors, worldwide. I can never have that or the combo shot, especially the measles shot, or it will return. My daughter had bad reactions to the combo shot. Luckily, she is fine. Her oldest son had adverse reactions, she limited his shots to those we do not react toy polio, tetanus, and TB. She also did the chicken pox vaccine because of how it mutated after the vaccine was released. The baby has had no shots. He will be two in May. He will get limited shots. She is going carefully.
My mom got whooping cough a few years ago. They gave her a booster. One year later, she got it again. She agreed to yet another booster. A little over a year later, she got it a third time. Another booster. I do not understand why she keeps getting something that does not work for her.
I am allergic to eggs. Never had the flu shot. Neither had my daughter or the kids. Her husband had one and ended up in the hospital, he reacted so badly. I got the flu once, while working the cage at an Indian casino a decade ago. Never again since. My family, mild version when the oldest started school. No flu since.
If one has a family history of serious reactions to vaccinations, where do they fit in here? Get the shots and who cares if it seriously damages or kills them?
Why is it unacceptable for big government to tell you how to live, except when it comes to the medical field? Try doing some serious research on the facts. Do not take the word of the companies making the drugs. The FDA is ran by ex-big pharma and Monsanto people. The scientists are censored. There was a brief hoo-haw about what the FDA heads were doing to those people. There are good meds and bad meds out there. The trick is finding the ones that work for you. Personally, we refuse to eat anything with the poisoned engineered into the plant, especially by a company whose claim to fame was Agent Orange. I have too many lived ones dealing with the damage from that, which Monsanto has yet to compensate (not that anything will fix the damage), anyone so far.
If one wants citations, do your own research. I no longer do other’s work for them.
This is kinda ... Well, Insane.
Also, I think I know you personally - We’ll have to get caught up in mail or something here to see if there was a connection at some point.
But you see, Vaccinating is an exercise in statistical analysis. I can counter any pro-vaccination argument with statistics because that’s just the way it is.
“I won’t let your kid around mine because you don’t vaccinate” Dumbest thing ever said. I guess that parent has no confidence in their vaccines, in actuality.
“You’re the reason these illnesses are coming back” They aren’t coming back. If they are, then this too is a true testament to how vaccinations don’t work. You’re claiming that success has occurred where it actually hasn’t.
“We managed to knock these diseases out when Vaccines were dished out” Again, then why are we worried ?
“Not vaccinating your kids means you’re willing to put them at risk because of something that you believe that the rest of the world has accepted as fact, is a lie.” Yes. Global warming is pretty mainstream too. Or is Global cooling ? Either way, it’s illegal in some areas of the world to even question this agenda. But I’ll tell you what my thought is before it’s also declared a thought crime : “Why would I side on ANYTHING that the democrats / progressives / communists / globalists / greenies / tyrants all agree on?” This is the crux of the issue.
I have seem the following pieces of evidence that have affected my decisions not to vaccinate:
1 There is a connection between vaccinations and Autism. Ok, I don’t know all there is to know on this, no one really does. But just the fact that the two have been connected is enough for me to take a step back, re-evaluate and withdraw from the practice until clearer data IS available. THAT is responsible parenting.
2 Government has it’s hands in the vaccination programs. In fact, Government is jumping into more and more of the medical field through legislative fiat. Medicine is no longer the domain of the doctor, it’s the domain of the government. A government with a clear and steady history of doing harm instead of good. Again, a flag is raised and I want answers and proof before injecting myself or my kids with ANYTHING.
3. I don’t care if it’s a saline solution with a lollipop afterwards. It’s a needle injecting things into our bodies that we aren’t privvy to learn about. These chemicals are secret, they are questionable, and to blindly trust ANYONE is totally foolish. When I get the answers I need, you may be able to put that something in my child. Until then, you try and you die.
4. The idea of Government has only helped in a handful of scenarios. Seat belts are not one of those. Everyone knows a seatbelt can save your life - But to mandate it’s use is tyranny, pure and simple. For any leader to tell me that I have to follow their will is completely intolerable. I’m aware of seat belt effectiveness. I wear one all the time. But to require it frankly insults me - And I won’t tolerate it. The only place the Government appears to be helping is in our wildlife and huntin management. I have evaluated the hunting practices in several states with thorough resolve - And the State Game commissions have a very good hold of how to preserve game animals. I appreciate their efforts, and I have been show how it works.
That’s all I ask for. Just demonstrate to me how it works, and what it is. Sell me on the issue, don’t require me on the issue.
The autism connection is what I was attempting to address with my analogy. Correlation is not causation.
Is there something in vaccines causing Autism? I cannot say there is not, so clearly that is another risk just like the risk of getting the disease you are being vaccinated for.
But statistically, there does not appear to be a connection.
Some argue that it is thimerosal causing the trouble. But they removed thimerosal from vaccines in 2001, with no effect on the prevalence of autism. And there wasn’t a clear link between thimerosal and autism either.
The issue has been studied pretty extensively. There are many ways to do so. In one study they compared antigens in children at the onset of autism to children who did not have autism, and found no difference in the number of antigens (the things in vaccines that make them work). Now, this study leaves open the possibility that some children were more susceptible to autism than others.
Another study compared the time of onset of autism compared to vaccines, and found no correlation between when a group of vaccines were given, and the onset of autism. This is what i was dealing with before — yes, a lot of children have onset of autism within 2 weeks of getting a vaccine. BUt it turns out it is the same number of children who have the onset of autism 2 weeks after NOT receiving vaccines. In other words, if you make a plot showing the onset of autism against the last day a vaccine was received, there is no spike at the near-term.
On the other hand, I support opt-out provisions, and am not one who faults parents who don’t get vaccines. We didn’t skip vaccines for our kids, neither ended up with autism (but we did not do the Gardasil vaccine, and I’ve strongly opposed making that mandatory).
It is unlikely we have ever met, btw. I don’t live in Connecticut, and have not since I was a child. the CT in my name are the abbreviation of an opinion column I wrote for a local paper, which was the impetus for me signing up here at FR.
I don’t pretend to be anonymous, but I did want a screen name that was not trivially searched to link to my real life, which I rarely talk about here except at the margins, as I do have a well-founded fear of liberals finding me in my real life and harassing me or trying to get me fired from my job.
Of course, as an opinion writer, I had my real name on my column, and everybody could figure out where I worked, so the whole “anonymity thing” is just a bit of a trick to stop people who googled my name from finding my comments here.
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