Lately I have been seeing so many horror stories in the news about children that aren't old enough to receive certain vaccines, and contracting the likes of Measles, Mumps, Rubella, etc. These Subrbanite, Mommy Blogging, "New Age", Anti-GMO, Food Babe following, "Autism caused-by" idiots are bringing 3rd world diseases back to this Country. My Wife and I have four year old Twins, and we have elected to spend more than normal on a pre-school that requires their students to be vaccinated. I am generally very Libertarian in my views, but there should be no option to parents to not vaccinate their children. What say you CFans, how do you feel about Anti-Vaxxers? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...es-whooping-cough_us_56f2b133e4b04c4c3760abab
Anti-vaxxers are ignorant fools who are a public health risk. Tax them more so that they can fund treatment for the unfortunate kids who become ill due to their stupidity.
They still affect those who choose to vaccinate. For example, infants that aren't old enough for vaccines are affected by idiots who choose not to vaccinate their kids.
I know that. They endanger others, and that's why they're a public health risk who should be held accountable for those they infect.
Not trying to derail but if you are against anti-vaxers then you are also pro-life? In both cases, you could argue parents are exercising rights over someone who can't exercise them themselves. Interesting dilemma. For the record, I'm against anti-vaxers for all of the obvious common sense reasons. Schools do require shot records already so that helps but they still go out in public.
Not really. The abortion issue ultimately still ties back to the never ending saga of whether a fetus qualifies as a life. Vaccines on the other hand are about a separate issue. No one is debating whether a child is alive. This is simply a debate about whether government coercion is acceptable in the name of public health and safety.
I'm very critical of anti-vaxxers but I'm not sure I would go so far as calling them new age child abusers. I think of them more as well meaning but misguided. My own hope is education guarantees we have enough herd immunity but if we do see a major outbreak due to anti-vaxxers. Then we might have to look at changing or applying the laws for child welfare.
Except rates of vaccination have been falling in the US so our education and media are failing us at the moment. We need to dump the exceptions and move on. The decentralization of media and information via the internet means that crackpot literature about the risks of vaccination are easier to spread than ever before. Exceptions made sense when traditional forms of media were all you could get. The other issue is that many schools dont do a very good job of enforcing the vaccination requirement. There's a strong correlation between school districts with poor enforcement and lower vaccination rates. That needs to be fixed as well. For many schools, its a matter of just holding parents accountable and once you do that, the parents actually go ahead and vaccinate their kids. In a state like Minnesota, vaccination opt-outs are extremely low but poor compliance is still a problem particularly in rural counties.
I largely agree with you but from what admittledly limited knowledge I've heard is that declining vaccination rates isn't just from ignorance or ideology but laziness and costs. As I said I'm very critical of anti-Vaxxers and their movement but I hesitate to call it and them "child abuse." To me that would be bringing in criminal penalties and the Justice system. I'm not sure we're there yet.
The dramatic and unbelievable success of vaccines is what leads to falling vaccination percentages. Most people in the US having kids today don't know anyone negatively affected by these terrible diseases, yet my parents knew people with Polio. People get complacent because they don't see it first hand, so they think that there is no need anymore. Mix in the idiocy of Jenny McCarthy and her ilk, and this strange "new age" internet driven hysterics around raising kids and you get the current issues.
Do I agree with Anti-Vaxxers? No. It is clear that the benefits exceed any potential risks. Do I think we should force vaccinations on children? It isn't so easy to answer. On one hand, there is a clear value to both the child and for the population of people who are unable to receive vaccinations. On the other hand, we are free to do what we want, and we'd rather be able to make our own medical decisions, no matter how stupid we are. Vaccinations though have a public benefit, and a child's health is different than an adult's health, as one can make their own choices, while the other can't.
Personal liberty only applies if your personal liberties don't prevent someone from exercising theirs. Un-vaccinated while going out in public is a violation of the public's personal liberty. At an extreme level, 32 states have HIV-specific laws that criminalize behavior by people living with HIV. It would be a damn shame if we had to go that route because of a few.
Everyone knows if you live a gluten-free lifestyle and do enough yoga you are immune to all diseases. That and eating your own placenta gives you magic powers.
It's respect for the commons -- it's no different than traffic laws or environmental laws. You can't share your pathogens willy-nilly and go unvaccinated the same way you can't drive an uninsured car the wrong way on the freeway and dump your trash in a parking lot. I see the free-range children in Austin in cafes during the day with their yoga moms, many of them bragging about "homeschooling" their kids so they don't have to vaccinate them. They should be in jail and lose their privilege to reproduce. I tend towards extremes of personal liberty, but most people should have to take a class at least, to reproduce.
