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If you need a 'poster child' of how vaccination does work and why we need to push on with it, smallpox is it.

A very nasty, frequently fatal virus completely eradicated.
 

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Gough said:
My understanding of the anti-vac movement is that it began with a now discredited, and retracted article in Lancet sometime in the late 90s that linked autism with the MMR vaccine. I was in the UK, and it was such a cause celebre that when Tony Blair *spits* had his last child he refused to say whether he'd had the child immunized, the whole thing seemed to balloon from there. Now that the article has been discredited, and the myth debunked, it seems astonishing to me that people can still "conscientiously object" to having their child vaccinated, how can a parent object to their child not dying from preventable diseases?
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Yep. Andrew Wakefield was the guy's name and he has basically been stripped of his right to practice medicine because of demonstrated medical fraud.

The movement continues because it appeals to
a) Evil Big Pharma conspiracy theorists.
b) Extreme natural health "my body is a pure temple, every drug is a poison" types.
c) D-grade celebrity attention seekers
d) Graduates of Google University who arrogantly believe that 10 minutes internet surfing makes them more qualified than a PhD or MD.
 
Doss said:
I know someone whose child caught measles in 2009 and came within an inch of dying because the virus entered their child's brain. It's actually usually fatal if that complication develops, so they were extremely lucky.

And yes, guess what- turns out they were anti-vaccers up until that point. That, thankfully, changed their mind.

In my view, to not immunise your children is grossly irresponsible.
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I got measles when I was 14, campaigner of an illnesses. My folks swore blind I was vaccinated and seeing as I had all the other jabs I've no reason to disbelieve
them. Didn't even make the news either.
 
My boss' 12 year old son is currently fighting pertussis/whopping cough, actually. She said he was definitely immunised.

So it does happen occasionally.
 
MEB_ said:
The whooping cough vaccination only protects you for 3-5 years...most people forget to get boosters which results in a reduction of their immunity.
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That would explain it.

This year will be the tenth straight year I have got myself a flu vaccine. I know it only confers immunity against the strain of the season, but I'm still religious about it.

In 2005, I contracted a quite severe form of influenza. Missed four weeks of school (not ideal in August of Year 11) as a result and had to go to hospital for a couple of days at one point, as I was finding breathing quite difficult.

My throat was so swollen that my larynx was completely squashed and for about a week when it was at its worst, I literally could not talk- I'd try and nothing came out.

Anyway, yeah, that experience kind of scarred me so I'm never taking a chance with influenza again.
 
Immunisation is not only for your protection it is a social obligation. You are protecting the vulnerable (i.e. young newborn babies) and those who can't be vaccinated (people with auto immune diseases). For herd immunity to work a minimum 90% and higher must be protected.

Australia unfortunately has one of the worst groups of Anti Vax nutters. I think the only way you could prove these people wrong is to show what happens without vaccinations. Of course we would never do it. It was in my parents time that there were still cases of Polio, yet now we've seen a country as large as India have 2 years of not a single case of Polio. Reason- Max vaccination.

THat discredited Lancet article has probably resulted in the deaths of 1000s of people. and probably maimed many more. The problem with the internet is that people can spout any type of crap and by getting it shared and referenced makes it look scientific.
 
MEB_ said:
The whooping cough vaccination only protects you for 3-5 years...most people forget to get boosters which results in a reduction of their immunity.
Click to expand...
Yeah we've just had a kid, we got a booster and got everyone who would be spending a lot of time around him to do the same.
 
Just a warning everyone...there is currently a national shortage of whooping cough vaccine in Australia. Some local councils have limited stock available, so if there's any pregnant ladies in your family or close circle get your boosters asap!
 
I know someone who is an anti vaxxer, she used to be a close mate, but when the kid came along, it was like she had been possessed by some sort of insanity. The irony is that in the past we have sat up all night doing coke, we've danced our arses off, while off our face on on e, and yet she's one of these I'm not putting s**t in my child's body. It's a special sort of madness that drives these people.
 

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MEB_ said:
The whooping cough vaccination only protects you for 3-5 years...most people forget to get boosters which results in a reduction of their immunity.
Click to expand...
How long does the MMR vaccine protect you for? I know you get two of them as a kid but I always assumed it was life-long.
 
Anti-vaxxers are selfish, negligent *s who are a threat to society. It's bad enough putting your own kids' health at risk let alone infants who are too young to get vaccinated leaving them vulnerable to whooping cough. Also, what caused the eradication of small pox? Why is polio only prevalent in three countries now? Why is diphtheria and tetanus unheard of in developed countries? Why is measles making a comeback after a long period where cases were incredibly rare? The questions that they just can't seem to answer. Withdrawing childcare payments for parents who refuse to vaccinate their children is one of the very few calls the Abbott government has nailed.
 
I wrote recently about a lass I know who's got a PHD in chemistry or some such thing that is beyond me... She just can't get her head around the anti-vac movement.

On a subject in which I can do nothing more than be lead and hope I'm following the right lead... I'm happy to go with her.
 
I've had pretty much everything under the sun immunisation wise including tuberculosis and yellow fever. We travelled a bit and lived overseas as kids and my parents were smartly insistent on it. Tuberculosis is a horrid jab but I'd rather have it than the full illness itself.

If I have kids, they are getting immunised.

If you don't immunise kids, you should lose your benefits and have to home school them.
 
I am all for vaccines, but in a free country do we not respect peoples right to choose and make their own decisions knowing the risk?

I'm not comfortable with forced vaccinations, which means there must be choice, and if there is a choice then some people will say no, but having choice is the essence of living in a free country

I don't really trust governments and I especially don't trust big pharma, so scepticism is important, even if in this instance it may be wrong, in all instances we need to allow the people to decide for themselves
 
JuddsABlue said:
I am all for vaccines, but in a free country do we not respect peoples right to choose and make their own decisions knowing the risk?

I'm not comfortable with forced vaccinations, which means there must be choice, and if there is a choice then some people will say no, but having choice is the essence of living in a free country

I don't really trust governments and I especially don't trust big pharma, so scepticism is important, even if in this instance it may be wrong, in all instances we need to allow the people to decide for themselves
Click to expand...
Their 'choice' effects many people--the immuno-suppressed, the elderly, and newborn babies.
The 'big pharma' that you speak of is the reason that most of these diseases have almost been eradicated. The vaccinations are only available after thoroughly researched and peer-reviewed studies with massive sample sizes that span decades. The anti-vaxxers rely on anecdotal evidence that is easily refuted.

The problem with 'choice' in this matter is that it significantly reduces herd immunity, which is essential for protecting society and ensuring that there is not new epidemics of these preventable diseases.
 
JuddsABlue said:
I am all for vaccines, but in a free country do we not respect peoples right to choose and make their own decisions knowing the risk?

I'm not comfortable with forced vaccinations, which means there must be choice, and if there is a choice then some people will say no, but having choice is the essence of living in a free country

I don't really trust governments and I especially don't trust big pharma, so scepticism is important, even if in this instance it may be wrong, in all instances we need to allow the people to decide for themselves
Click to expand...
It's practical utilitarianism. The more people having their children immunised, the greater the chance we can can eradicate the disease entirely.
 
MEB_ said:
Their 'choice' effects many people--the immuno-suppressed, the elderly, and newborn babies.
The 'big pharma' that you speak of is the reason that most of these diseases have almost been eradicated. The vaccinations are only available after thoroughly researched and peer-reviewed studies with massive sample sizes that span decades. The anti-vaxxers rely on anecdotal evidence that is easily refuted.

The problem with 'choice' in this matter is that it significantly reduces herd immunity, which is essential for protecting society and ensuring that there is not new epidemics of these preventable diseases.
Click to expand...

I'm extremely thankful for the pharmaceutical companies and researchers and doctors and scientist that were able to create these vaccines and eradicate these diseases for the most part

But that's not the 'big pharma' that I'm talking about, I'm talking about the type that pray on the sick for profits, and in a world where vaccines are required by law and politicians accept donations, its foolish to think there isn't a massive risk factor that a particular vaccine may find its way on to the mandatory list that isn't required

And when/if this were to happen I want the right to refuse the injection, but it will be too late by then

Ideally I want to live in a world where I have the right to choose and I choose correctly and get the vaccines I need, and not be forced to take whatever I get told to take by the people who profit from me taking it.

I'm speaking about prevention here, I'm not saying this is happening now, I'm saying if vaccines becomes forced and we remove peoples ability to choose, we open up a whole other bunch of doors where we are exposed.
 
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