Measles Vaccine

GSDMum

Yesterday the UK lost it's status as being a 'measles free country'.

Roald Dahl wrote a moving account of losing his daughter, Olivia, to measles. Just want to share...

Toothsmith

I always find that posting this on any site/facebook page espousing the idiotic anti-vax mantras is a pretty good way to get the message across too!

These people have a LOT to answer for!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YCGMqp6kBE

waamo

The crazy thing is the irresponsible muppets that fall for this idiocy probably benefit from the very thing that they are denying their children.

brook2jack

As a self employed dentist I had to go back to work a few weeks after having my first child. I was not of the generation that had a measles vaccine and my child was not quite old enough for their MMR.

I caught measles from presumably a patient and passed it on to my child before I knew I had it.

I was seriously ill , but unknown to us at the time my child had permanent hearing loss. We were lucky , they could have died.

Vaccination protects not only your child but also all the others who could not be vaccinated for a variety of reasons. 19 out of 20 people need to be vaccinated to protect themselves and the rest of society.

Undervalued

This is an incredibly difficult issue with conflicting issues.....

To an extent society as a whole, rather than just the parents, has to decide what is in the best interests of a child who is not old enough to decide for themselves. Most (but not all) people would agree with that, although they would doubtless not agree on exactly where to draw the line.

With an adult, assuming they have capacity to make their own decisions, to what extent (if at all) should society decide what medicines are forced upon them?

To protect others you may say but how far to you take that concept? Many activities we engage in expose others to at least some degree of risk. Driving a car is a good example. A person's ability to do that reasonably safely is tested, to a limited extent, just once in their life. If the same standards and medical checks were required of all car drivers as, say, professional pilots there would be far fewer innocent people killed on the roads. However it is unlikely society as a whole would find that acceptable.

Also, not all medicines have proved safe. Sometimes "wonder drugs" have been found to have terrible consequences many years later. So, do you force or do you just educate?

Not easy.....

waamo

Undervalued wrote: »

This is an incredibly difficult issue with conflicting issues.....

To an extent society as a whole has to decide what is in the best interests of a child who is not old enough to decide for themselves. Most (but not all) people would agree with that although they would doubtless not agree on exactly where to draw the line.

With an adult, assuming they have capacity to make their own decisions, to what extent (if at all) should society decide what medicines are forced upon them?

To protect others you may say but how far to you take that concept? Many activities we engage in expose others to at least some degree of risk. Driving a car is a good example. A person's ability to do that reasonably safely is tested, to a limited extent, just once in their life. If the same standards were required of all car drivers as, say, professional pilots there would be far fewer innocent people killed on the roads. However it is unlikely society as a whole would find that acceptable.

Also, not all medicines have proved safe. Sometimes "wonder drugs" have been found to have terrible consequences many years later. So, do you force or do you just educate?

Not easy.....

It is a difficult issue. You can be prosecuted for infecting people with some diseases however I, personally, would be extremely uncomfortable with such an approach.

I think there is an argument for prosecuting peddlers of the fake science behind the scares. The likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and her half baked snake oil selling don't help either.

Undervalued

waamo wrote: »

It is a difficult issue. You can be prosecuted for infecting people with some diseases however I, personally, would be extremely uncomfortable with such an approach.

I think there is an argument for prosecuting peddlers of the fake science behind the scares. The likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and her half baked snake oil selling don't help either.

Ah but who decides what is fake? Just very occasionally a crank / lone woolf has proved to be correct.

With the huge money involved in "big pharma" they have a vested interest in promoting the "science" that agrees with them.

Remember the time cigarettes were promoted as beneficial for health and issued to troops by the government?

X-rays are an incredibly valuable medical tool. However, early on the radiation doses involved were so high that they frequently did more harm than good.

waamo

Undervalued wrote: »

Ah but who decides what is fake? Just very occasionally a crank / lone woolf has proved to be correct.

With the huge money involved in "big pharma" they have a vested interest in promoting the "science" that agrees with them.

Remember the time cigarettes were promoted as beneficial for health and issued to troops by the government?

X-rays are an incredibly valuable medical tool. However, early on the radiation doses involved were so high that they frequently did more harm than good.

Good point however when it comes to the MMR the evidence is as conclusive as it gets.

sheramber

My child caught measles after having the vaccine.

For several weeks she stammered when she spoke which she found very frustrating.

It was put down to stress on her brain fighting the measles.

Fortunately, , it did clear up but how much worse would she have been if not vaccinated?

Toothsmith

sheramber wrote: »

My child caught measles after having the vaccine.

For several weeks she stammered when she spoke which she found very frustrating.

It was put down to stress on her brain fighting the measles.

Fortunately, , it did clear up but how much worse would she have been if not vaccinated?

That's the reason 'Herd immunity' is so vitally important. This and the children still too young to be immunised like Brook's was.

There will always be those who although immunised, will not convert to an 'immune' person. Just like the very few who will catch it again, despite having it.

If 95%+ of the population have been immunised, then those not covered will have a degree of protection within the 'herd'. This is how those choosing not to immunise have got away with it for a fair while. Now that immunisations levels have fallen below a decent threshold - it's becoming a real problem again.

Vaccinate your kids! It is not contentious, it is not dangerous, it is not a flippin' conspiracy. It's just straight forward social responsibility and common sense.

bouicca21

I shall never forget how sick my baby was when she caught measles before she could be vaccinated. She was lucky and fought it off. It does not surprise me at all that babies and children die from it.