So nice of him to go and offer his “thoughts and prayers”. 
Poor child. 
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If only there was a vaccine. Oh, wait …
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Usually, when I hear of anti-vaxxers dying of vaccine preventable diseases, I just think “Darwin Awards” and have zero sympathy.
A child, who is powerless to decide whether or not to be vaccinated, is another situation entirely.
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Anti vaxxers would simply retort that 3 deaths is NOTHING compared to the number of deaths/autism/injury caused by the vaccines themselves. They are completely blind to the actual facts of the matter.
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Unfortunately, with measles, it will be the children who suffer, because most adults (including the anti-vaccine ones) have had either measles vaccine or measles by now (and those who died of measles obviously are not around now).
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It’s ironic since blindness is one of the thangs that can be the result of measles inan unvaccinated child.
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100%. I have seen wacko claims out there that tens of thousands of people died from the covid vaccine, for example. (I guess there’s a template to insert vaccine of choice into the wild claims…)
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It’s even simpler than that. Just look at the COVID analyses, and see how many people died within a few months of getting the vaccine, and post that “25,000 died after getting the vaccine!!!”. Of course, if 70% of the population has been vaccinated at least once, that means that more vaccinated people are dying from every cause of death than unvaccinated people.
Indeed, that is the sort of stats that antivaxxers are throwing around to “prove” that VACCINES ARE DANGEROUS!!!
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It is hard- but important- to recognize that a huge piece of the anti-vax message has nothing to do with metrics around disease lethality, vaccine efficacy, etc. and has a LOT to do with “we’re sticking it to the liberal elites”. That means the PhD’s who develop vaccines, the physicians who oversee clinical trials, the epidemiologists who track infections around the world and “know a little bit” about who dies and who doesn’t die, the chemical engineers who develop safe protocols for shipping, distributing and storing vaccines, etc.
Somehow the home-grown remedies (which to be clear, also involve introducing a foreign substance into the body whether it’s the Ivermectin folks or the Vitamin A crowd or whatnot) are perceived to be a wholesome, grassroots solution vs. the tainted “I went to college and have a graduate degree in virology” intervention.
I am seeing this now in people who say dumb things like “I know what I need to know to keep my kids safe”. No you don’t, you are scientifically illiterate. Or “These are same people who introduced microplastics into the environment and now kids are going through puberty at age 6- no thank you”.
I would say that it’s a throwback to the Woodstock “Make your own shoes out of hemp and stick it to the man” mentality, except that now it has societal implications that go beyond a few hippie communes. Especially in densely populated urban areas, not “we’re living off the grid” kinds of locations.
I think that’s one reason why some pediatric practices are taking a hardline this time around- no vaccines, no appointment. It was being framed as a reasonable choice for parents ten years ago…but now, if you want your kid’s strep throat swabbed, your kid will need to be brought up to date on the AAP’s vaccine schedule. Don’t like it? Find a holistic healer who will give you a vinegar rub and some sage to burn to get rid of your kid’s obvious infection.
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My GD’s pediatric practice requires vaccination as a condition of being a patient. It’s stated on their website.
I would imagine that if an individual child has a compelling medical reason that they are unable to be vaccinated, they accommodate that child. I also assume that doing so involves additional precautions for the sake of that child and other children.
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Yes- kid in my neighborhood being treated for leukemia. The case for his second MMR was murky and the entire medical team agreed to hold off. He is NOT being seen by his regular pediatrician-- even a sniffle and he’s off to a special unit in the Children’s Hospital. Could be seasonal allergy, could be serious, but they aren’t exposing other kids right now (nor exposing him unnecessarily).
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This is standard for anybody undergoing cancer treatment. When anything happens to you, you see your oncologist first. Patients currently being treated for cancer are immunocompromised (especially any blood cancer). When my husband was being treated for lymphoma he ended up in the hospital in a germ-free unit due to a very low white blood cell count.
Sometimes after treatment, a patient will be required to redo their childhood vaccines, because the treatment has wiped out that immunity.
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Aah, the redoing makes so much sense. Thank you for explaining, and sending you hugs for what must be a challenging situation to navigate…
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This would also be a good idea if you get an actual case of measles, although those getting actual cases of measles are probably anti-vaccine types (or have anti-vaccine parents).
Husband is in remission for many years now - so we are good.
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My Dad was diagnosed with non Hodgkins Lymphoma in 1993. Still in remission!
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It’s really really really unfortunate that stuff like this happens when a vaccine (which has been available for decades) can be easily administered to prevent serious illness and death.
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More than a dozen vaccination clinics were canceled in Pima County, Arizona.
So was a media blitz to bring low-income children in Washoe County, Nevada, up to date on their shots.
Planned clinics were also scuttled in Texas, Minnesota, and Washington, among other places.
Immunization efforts across the country were upended after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly canceled $11.4 billion in COVID-related funds for state and local health departments in late March.
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I’m in a room full of pediatric medical providers today for a state advocacy day.
A quote in my notebook from a participating pediatrician re:immunizations :
“Vaccines Causes Adults”
Poignant in this time of children dying from lack of a measles vaccine.
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