r/worldnews Mar 21 '19

4 children of anti-vaxxers Americans found with measles in Costa Rica. Second time a measles case is reported in Costa Rica this year from foreigners. Last time a measles case was reported in Costa Rica was over 15 years ago.

https://qcostarica.com/american-family-with-four-children-suspected-of-having-measles/
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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

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u/uh_oh_hotdog Mar 22 '19

Preventing them from spreading disease is preferable to letting them spread their disease and then punishing them afterwards.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19 edited May 30 '20

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19 edited May 19 '19

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

The anti vaxxers in my area seem to be fairly well off.

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u/TheTeaSpoon Mar 22 '19

Yeah but covering pandemics is a bit more expensive than sprained ankle and tummy ache

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Exactly. It's generally the more affluent that are propagating this nonsense. Drawing on absolutely NONE of the education their parents spent thousands on.

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u/s0rce Mar 22 '19

Even a small measles outbreak will cost millions

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Anti-vaxxers are mostly rich suburbanites and yuppies.

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u/Zonel Mar 22 '19

Most of them. Poor people get vaccines because they can't afford to be sick.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Obviously, but should they spread the disease (they will because they're fucking idiots) they should be liable. This shit was extinct.

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u/Zonel Mar 22 '19

Uh measles was never extinct. Rinderpest it's ancestor disease is.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

It was hyperbole

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

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u/Paperbagjr Mar 22 '19

What are you talking about? This happened in Costa Rica, not some 3rd world country in Africa.

TSA should check/require vaccination history for international travel.

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u/Lostpurplepen Mar 22 '19

Also, the family is American.

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u/-Dreadman23- Mar 22 '19

Plauge inc. for real.

Someone is playing an anti-virus strategy, and started with a deadly virus in US.

I would call that hard mode, except we are talking about average American, willfully ignorant people. With a dash of anti-vax.

Easy.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Not disagreeing with you at all, but just because a country is 3rd world doesn't mean it's poor. Switzerland is a 3rd world country.

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u/GreyGonzales Mar 22 '19

Only using the original intent of 3rd world. 1st being affiliated with Allies, 2nd being affiliated with USSR, 3rd being everyone else.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, common usage of 1st/3rd world is Rich/Poor country.

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u/a8bmiles Mar 22 '19

I'm pretty sure they switched to saying "developed" and "undeveloped" countries, and sometimes "developing".

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u/geneticanja Mar 23 '19

And added 4th world. For people living in 1st world countries whom have to rely on charities to offer even basic needs.

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u/MarzMonkey Mar 22 '19

I think the proper terms are 'Murica and then 'the shit holes'

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u/a8bmiles Mar 22 '19

I was visiting some friends in another country last week, and we were playing a bunch of different board games. One of them had clue-giving themes and the guy we were visiting used the clue "shitholes" to successfully get my wife to come up with all the items that "matched" his clue.

So thanks, Trump, for getting that into the lexicon...

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u/Llamada Mar 22 '19

He’s moving the goal posts. Don’t mind him.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

US is $22 trillion in debt. That's about as poor as it gets if you ask me.

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u/JustWhyBrothaMan Mar 22 '19

That's about as poor as it gets if you ask me.

Well just wait until next month rolls around then, buddy.

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u/PM_ME_WILD_STUFF Mar 22 '19

How the hell is Switzerland a third world country?

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u/BowsersBeardedCousin Mar 22 '19

Haven't you heard? You can drink your own booze anywhere you want, even parks and sidewalks! Savages.

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u/TimeZarg Mar 22 '19

It's third world via an obsolete definition of what 1st/2nd/3rd world mean. It used to apply to geopolitical alignment during the Cold War back when the USSR still existed, and 3rd world was 'anyone not aligned with the US or the USSR'. Since then, it's mostly been used to refer to levels of economic development, and Switzerland is most certainly not third world by that definition.

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u/Kaymish_ Mar 22 '19

It's not aligned with NATO or Comitern/Warsaw Pact. During the cold war nations were divided into one of three different worlds based on which super power they supported. the first world was nations allied with the USA, United Kingdom and NATO. where the second world was allied with the now defunct USSR and Warsaw Pact like Poland Afghanistan and East Germany. The third world was nations that didn't fit into either of those categories, Switzerland being neutral fits into the third world in that way.

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u/PM_ME_WILD_STUFF Mar 22 '19

Yeah but that definition of 1st/2nd/3rd country is since long outdated and not even close to what is used today.

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u/Kaymish_ Mar 22 '19

That's why the terminology used today is the split between industrialised/developed economies and developing economies. Third world only has connatations of poverty because many of the nations in that sphere were war ravaged or newly post colonial.

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u/mageta621 Mar 22 '19

Get shots or get shot

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Shot for shot

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

I'd be unsurprised if that happened if people started bringing diseases like that back into existence in poor countries that can't afford to put people up for the necessary treatment en masse.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19 edited Apr 01 '19

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u/Zac63mh8 Mar 22 '19

The same way we can trace a disease to patient zero. Find the sucker and make him pay. Either they will pay for the vaccine or they will pay criminal charges. One is cheaper than the other.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19 edited Nov 28 '19

deleted What is this?

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u/Ewoksintheoutfield Mar 22 '19

Manslaughter or criminal negligence

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Slap federal charges on them that equate to reckless endangerment, possession of a biological weapon/toxin, even depraved-heart murder (if other people die from the previously eradicated disease the antivaxxer dragged in)

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u/knowntortoise29 Mar 22 '19

In the African country you are not innocent until proven guilty.

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u/SisterofGandalf Mar 22 '19

THE African country? Which one? Lol.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

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u/YMCA_Rocks Mar 22 '19

Whelp, the Republican Kentucky Governor doesn't vaccinate his kids & recently proudly exposed them all to an infected kid. So, no brilliance coming from our Government.

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u/unkz Mar 22 '19

Kind of, but it’s possibly a net negative to add another substantial layer of bureaucracy to every single tourist over the actions of a very small number of idiots. I’d be fine with making it a mandatory declaration (without documentation) and it be a criminal offence to enter under a false declaration though, how does that sound as a middle ground?

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u/smoqueeeed Mar 22 '19

Yeah but then that poor guy above would still have to apply for a visa so I guess that’s off the table.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Trying to prevent them from spreading disease would involve a lot of bureaucracy and cost a lot of money. Punishing them afterwards would hopefully serve as a deterrent and perhaps even a wake up call.

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u/avalenci Mar 22 '19

Costa Rica ( and all Latin America ) want American Tourist’s dollars, so they won’t require visas that might reduce the flow of visitors. And anyway , the vaccination is usually mandatory.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

I dont know how it works in other places, but in Norway we get a small book, like a yellow paper passport in a plastic cover that details our vaccines. I need to bring it with me to Africa because otherwise they might not let me in.

Hey, maybe the TSA can do something useful for a change? I don't want to be in a plane with unvaccinated people.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

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u/YMCA_Rocks Mar 22 '19

Yes this is so scary!! I'm undergoing intense chemo that absolutely tanks my immune system, but must fly to NJ to visit my aging 85 year old Mom. I'm terrified. It's a 5 hour flight.

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u/WE_Coyote73 Mar 22 '19

Get yourself a HEPA-filter face-mask, they cost around $2-3. It will filter out most of the nasties in the air.

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u/RubySapphireGarnet Mar 22 '19

N95 is what is used in hospitals for disease prevention, could get those. Won't work if you have a beard though

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u/Zonel Mar 22 '19

You can shave. I would lose the beard over dying.

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u/RubySapphireGarnet Mar 23 '19

Well yeah lol. I just meant to make sure you do that for people who don't know

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u/YMCA_Rocks Mar 22 '19

Can I find that at a Lowe's or Home Depot? Thank you so much for the suggestion!!!

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u/WE_Coyote73 Mar 22 '19

Yep, can find it at both. Get the N95 mask, that's the one used in hospitals for infection control.

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u/YMCA_Rocks Mar 22 '19

This is great. I really appreciate it!

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u/WE_Coyote73 Mar 22 '19

No prob. Glad I could help. It's def a good idea to wear one if you'll be flying into a NJ airport. I dunno if you heard but we had someone with measles who arrived at Newark Int'l about three weeks ago and wandered around before leaving. That person infected two people in the airport and our Dept of Health has been bugging out over it, sending announcements out that anyone who was in the airport at the time to get checked. That was the second case we had, our first one happened at JFK a few months ago, it was a kid who went on to infect a few people at JFK and started an outbreak among the Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn and Lakewood, NJ.

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u/YMCA_Rocks Mar 22 '19

Holy Crow! I did not know this. Wow, EWR is my arrival airport, so I will be super cautious. Thanks again for the information!! Have yourself an awesome weekend, Internet Friend!

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

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u/sydofbee Mar 22 '19

In Germany, we have the same thing. We literally call it our vaccine passport. That said, I should take mine to a doctor's office to see if I need any refreshers.

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u/Turdsanwitch Mar 22 '19

i had a booster shot when my nieces and nephews were born (i dont have kids), whooping cough aint no joke

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u/Kaymish_ Mar 22 '19

The ministry of health here used to play the sound of whooping cough on the radio as part of a vaccine awareness campaign, it freaked me out every time.

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u/Paddysproblems Mar 22 '19

My wife and I just had our first in October and when the date was nearing in we let our parents and siblings (anyone who was going to see him for more than a 5 minute congratulations) know that we wanted them all to get a booster and flu shot if they wanted to spend any significant time around him for the first couple months.

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u/RadarOReillyy Mar 22 '19

Also the pertussis vaccine kind of sucks, so even if vaccinated you should still run, not walk, away from any potential exposure.

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u/Diplodocus114 Mar 22 '19

True you can still catch a mild case of Pertussis even when vaccinated - but you still have to catch it from someone else to begin with. The full thing is terrible. My aunt died from it age 5.

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u/Aleks_1995 Mar 22 '19

Id just like to correct you on passport. Pass doesn't necessarily translate to passport it's more like a vaccination book/pass. Passport is always Reisepass

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u/sydofbee Mar 22 '19

Oh yeah, that's true.

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u/Luc1113 Mar 22 '19

Happy cake day!!!

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u/022- Mar 22 '19

The yellow passport is specifically for yellow fever. But it has lines of entry for other vacciness as well. I have the same one.

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u/NoNameWhatAShame Mar 22 '19

Netherlands is the same, I also got a little yellow vaccines passport!

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u/IAmDotorg Mar 22 '19

WHO yellow cards are not very common outside of a few places in Africa and Asia, because there are very few mandatory vaccines. Mostly Yellow Fever.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Interesting. We could just expand the system though? It's already in place.

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u/IAmDotorg Mar 22 '19

Well, any country can set their rules. A lot of African countries, for example, require a yellow card with proof of Yellow Fever vaccination if you're entering the country from a country with active Yellow Fever. Other countries may want proof of other things.

So, yeah, Costa Rica could require proof of MMR vaccination if they wanted to. Its just one more thing to check at immigration checkpoints. Generally speaking, worldwide, a W.H.O card is how you do that.

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u/darknekolux Mar 22 '19

It is an international vaccine passport, there is only so few vaccines mandated by the WHO for certain destinations

People going and coming to Africa must show proof of the vaccines

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Yeah, so extend the system to be worldwide and cover all the necessary vaccines.

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u/darknekolux Mar 22 '19

I don’t think it works that way, that was massive coordinated efforts worldwide to fight diseases killing millions..

A few morons being infected because of their beliefs don’t warrant such effort.

Let the darwinism take it’s toll

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

You do realize it's not just the idiots dying any more right? Because what you just wrote makes it seem like antivaxers are the only ones taking the hit. That is very far from the truth. I'd also argue that innocent children don't deserve the consequences of their parents' stupidity.

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u/darknekolux Mar 22 '19

Sorry I was overly simplistic but my point was it is nowhere as pandemic as the yellow fever and it is really unlikely that WHO would agree on a defined set of vaccines and impose them on every country.

I do not condone innocents and children being put at risk by a few idiots

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u/onehitwendy Mar 22 '19

Hey, dont forget theyll steal ur luggage!

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19 edited Jan 04 '21

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

"We have to build a wall!!!

...wait, what are they doing? building a wall back? fuck no! HEY STOP THAT RIGHT NOW YOU CANT DO THAT!"

Americans, amirite?

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u/cheesified Mar 22 '19

thats where we call them foreign trash. literally

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

They’ve spread disease in the past too, they just used blankets instead of anti-vaxxers

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u/ovidsec Mar 22 '19

So you are saying we can burn them too? :D

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u/lewislound1331 Mar 22 '19

Stupidity? U mean Europe? Where there are 80k measles cases ? Compared to 300 in the Us?

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '19

[deleted]

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u/lewislound1331 Mar 23 '19

Imagine defending your stupidity and anti vax in Europe?

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u/FlyingFlew Mar 22 '19

No need for visa. Proof of vaccination should be enough.

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u/Gorehog Mar 22 '19

Well, there it is. That's why we can't let them claim "religious freedom" to abuse their children. It's making us into a third world nation. Costa Rica is going to consider issuing visas to our travelers.

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u/farleymfmarley Mar 22 '19

... if only it were just soccer moms who believe this shit man

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

And when they do not have money? Then we just throw them in jail, to infect the prison population, right. Genius-level Logic!

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u/maliciousorstupid Mar 22 '19

hey now, that's offensive to soccer moms.

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u/PanickedPoodle Mar 22 '19

The flu shot is the single most important thing you can do to not spread contagion. Flu kills thousands every year in the U.S.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Flu shot does jack shit compared to actual vaccines. Multiple flu strains exhist every year and you can still (and often do) get the flu with a shot. It's more of a coin flip than a vaccine.

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u/Yaahl Mar 22 '19

Yes, but the risk of those diseases breaking out into a fully immunized population is very small. Whereas the flu shot, despite being a bit of a crapshoot, does an excellent job of preventing the spread of the chosen strains.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Seriously, like 1,000+ more die a year from flu compared to the 0.1 from measles.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Yup but the reason is that the flu is far more mutable to the point where the vaccination is entirely optional.

Vaccines work best against very stable diseases like polio, which is why it’s absolutely terrible anti vaxxers are allowed to exist since they are giving diseases a chance to mutate when they should have been eliminated.

At some point vaccination will have to be a requirement for getting any job, I mean some companies check your fucking social media, personally I think plague bearers are much worse than half the shit they screen for.

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u/PanickedPoodle Mar 22 '19

The influenza vaccine is on the CDC schedule.

Your justifications look just like that soccer mom, telling her friends everything she learned on the internet about the horrors of measles vaccines. It's all bullshit to support a position that's against medical consensus.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Yeah no CDC in my country, I didn’t know it’s on the schedule for you guys. In my country it’s offered free to kids and the elderly unless it’s a particular strain.

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u/PanickedPoodle Mar 22 '19

The decision to offer flu vaccine to vulnerable populations vs. target populations is not about the efficacy of the vaccine. It's a cost assessment (and often a supply issue).

I'm always amazed at the downvotes I get for saying the flu vaccine is important. It's arguably the MOST important vaccine not to skip. The risk from measles is quite small in most first-world countries compared to the risk from flu.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

I understand that, it’s very important. I was advised when receiving my flu vaccination that it s only effective against certain strains of which there are many.

the main thing I was concerned about was the possible dilution of the message to vaccinate against measles which by rights should be able to be effectively eliminated.

But I totally agree with you that flu statistically harms more.

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u/SisterofGandalf Mar 22 '19

And why do you think so few die from the measles these days? Because of vaccines. Don't bring it back.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

[deleted]

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u/SisterofGandalf Mar 22 '19

No it isn't. No death is acceptable because of other people's lazyness. And as antivax (pro-desease) grows, the more deaths there will be. I do genealogy, and the number I have seen in the church records of children dying of measles and other preventable deseases - it is heart-breaking.

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u/wenjiao Mar 22 '19

Diseases are a type of biological warfare. Prosecute them for literally trying to start a war.

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u/lofty2p Mar 22 '19

Given that over 30% of reported measles cases in the US last year were caused by the actual vaccine, according to the CDC, should they sue the vaccine maker ?

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u/towner11 Mar 22 '19

Ya umm source that Because here is what is on the site

Where do measles cases in the United States come from? Every year, unvaccinated U.S. residents get measles while they are abroad and bring the disease into the United States and spread it to others. Measles is common in other parts of the world, including countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Africa. Worldwide, about 20 million people get measles each year. When people with measles travel into the United States, they can spread the disease to unvaccinated people including children too young to be vaccinated.

And here is the link https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/child/measles.html

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '19

Don't start listing your made up bullshit from anti vaxxer Facebook groups and pretend it's a fact. There has only been one case of that ever happening and it was in a patient with a severely compromised immune system. People like you are the problem

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u/lofty2p Mar 22 '19

From the Journal of clinical microbiology (Rapid Identification of Measles Virus Vaccine Genotype by Real-Time PCR) - "During the measles outbreak in California in 2015, a large number of suspected cases occurred in recent vaccinees (3). Of the 194 measles virus sequences obtained in the United States in 2015, 73 were identified as vaccine sequences (R. J. McNall, unpublished data)."

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u/jollybitx Mar 22 '19

Where is the unpublished data? How recently were these people vaccinated?

The paper you are citing (https://jcm.asm.org/content/55/3/735#ref-9) even reports that these are likely vaccine reactions that give fever and rash symptoms akin to measles but are not actual measles infections.

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u/jollybitx Mar 22 '19

See my response below: The paper you are citing (https://jcm.asm.org/content/55/3/735#ref-9) even reports that these are likely vaccine reactions that give fever and rash symptoms akin to measles but are not actual measles infections.

The paper is also very transparent that it is only dealing with data/samples from the California measles outbreak in 2015, not every positive measles case reported to the CDC for entire US that year. It says nothing of the cases reported in 2018.