[earl237]

In the past few weeks, there have been outbreaks of measles and other preventable diseases in parts of the U.S. and Canada near Vancouver. They have all been linked to these anti-vaccination idiots like Jenny McCarthy. I think it is time to make vaccinations mandatory before there is a pandemic. I think that public health and safety would outweigh personal and religious freedom if there was a court challenge. What are everyone's thoughts about this?

[smoothy]

I'm all for it... certain groups hide under the umbrealla by claiming one thing or anothers is for "the common good" when it doesn't apply. This actually does.

[tomder55]

There may be an argument that "anti-vaccine idiots " are responsible for the outbreak. But you cannot deny the illegal immigrant connection. Among the 159 cases of measles from January 1–August 24, 2013,no case began in the United States.
Measles — United States, January 1–August 24, 2013
Diseases like tuberculosis, polio are also making their way into the country through the open border. Malaria was eradicated and is making a comeback . Dengue fever was unheard of .... Not anymore. Hansen’s disease(leprosy) has increased 10x since 1940 .
I favor mandatory vaccination . Where is the Ellis Island on the southern borders to screen potential entrants ?

[Wondergirl]

Among the 159 cases of measles from January 1–August 24, 2013,no case began in the United States.
Measles — United States, January 1–August 24, 2013

Many were of domestic origin. Only 42 were importations -- "A total of 159 cases of measles were reported during this period. Most cases were in persons who were unvaccinated (131 [82%]) or had unknown vaccination status (15 [9%]). Forty-two importations were reported, and 21(50% [of those]) were importations from the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region."

[earl237]

Living in a small town has drawbacks such as lousy service and product choice at stores, dumb, inbred people, lack of culture and awful weather where I live, but one major advantage is that there are fewer cases of drug-resistant bacteria in hospitals and other diseases so I'm glad to be in a small town most of the time.

[tomder55]

Many were of domestic origin. Only 42 were importations -- "A total of 159 cases of measles were reported during this period. Most cases were in persons who were unvaccinated (131 [82%]) or had unknown vaccination status (15 [9%]). Forty-two importations were reported, and 21(50% [of those]) were importations from the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region."

Nice cherry picking ... From the sentence right before the one you quote :
Among the 159 cases, 157 (99%) were import-associated, and two had an unknown source

[Wondergirl]

Nice cherry picking ... From the sentence right before the one you quote :
Among the 159 cases, 157 (99%) were import-associated, and two had an unknown source

That sentence comes LATER in the article and refutes the earlier data.

[tickle]

So where do you live, earl, somewhere in Canada? Your description of your community, and I hate to say to say this because it isn't who I am, is it Inuit ? After you answer, I will chime in.

[earl237]

So where do you live, earl, somewhere in Canada? Your description of your community, and I hate to say to say this because it isn't who I am, is it Inuit ? After you answer, I will chime in.

I'm not Inuit, I live in Eastern Canada, that's as specific as I'll get for privacy reasons.

[tickle]

That's OK I didn't need you to say the town!

Mandatory vaccinations in Canada are illegal. It isn't in our constitution.

I don't think earl, our constitution can be changed anymore then 'south of the border' can change there's.

As for Jenny McCarthy, after all the flack she received for mouthing off about something she had no understanding about, has dug herself a hole to hide in with her un-vaccinated kids, susceptible to any airborne or communicable disease the US has to offer.

Our native Canadians get as much help god knows that they can handle.

parents are still the front line to vaccinations for their children in Canada, and still cannot be enrolled in school without proof this has been done within the first four years of life.

[talaniman]

Texas measles outbreak linked to church

The outbreak was started by a visitor to the church who had recently traveled to a country where measles remains common, according to Tarrant County Public Health spokesman Al Roy.

That's my case for getting vaccinated,

[joypulv]

I say no to forcing vaccinations, and yes to not allowing kids into public schools without them. Since education is mandatory, the options become private school (where they can set their own rules) or home school.

I believe in options whenever possible. We don't send people around to test homes with children for cigarette smoke, or any number of 'policing' actions.

[paraclete]

speaking from far away I don't understand the problem with vaccinations we had eliminated many diseases in the general population, tuberculosis, measles, polio, putussis to name a few until we started to have an intake from countries where these things are still endemic and now we are getting general alerts for them because these people don't vaccinate and carry the disease. Vaccination is a public health initiative which proved very effective and the good work has been undone by idiots

[tomder55]

Before we dismiss the people who oppose it ,it should be revealed that 5,100 vaccine-related deaths were reported in the U.S between 1990 and August 2012. 60 percent of the deaths occurred in children under the age of three. 360 of the reported vaccine-associated deaths in the US have been related to any of the measles-containing vaccines (usually given in combination with other vaccines.). Less than 10 percent of vaccine side effects are ever reported, so the true side effects and deaths are easily higher than the reported statistics represent....possibly by a factor of 10.
Dr. Larry Palevskyis a board-certified pediatrician trained at the New York School of Medicine, and one of the leading physicians in the country . Here is what he says on the issue :
"

I think that if you ask most of my colleagues where they get their information, they will say that they read it from the American Academy of Pediatrics, from the AMA, from the CDC, and in their journals. But I would like to challenge most of my colleagues to look through the studies themselves to actually see if the proper scientific studies were done using a proper study group and a proper control group.

• Were the ingredients in vaccines properly studied?
• Is there a difference between being exposed to a virus, bacteria, heavy metal or toxin through the air, food, your intestines and your skin, versus when it's injected into your body?
• Have we really looked at what happens to vaccine materials once injected into a child? And is an antibody sufficient to provide protection for a child against disease?

More and more studies are coming out to show that:

• The proper studies haven't been done and antibodies are not the final way in which your body is protected
• There is a difference between how children process material through air and food versus through injection
• There are particles in vaccines that do accumulate in your body and cause impairments in your immune system
• There are particles in the vaccines that get into your brain and there are foreign DNA particles that get into your body

Over the years, I kept practicing medicine and using vaccines and thinking that my approach to vaccines was completely onboard with everything else I was taught.
But more and more, I kept seeing that my experience of the world, my experience in using and reading about vaccines, and hearing what parents were saying about vaccines were very different from what I was taught in medical school and my residency training.
… and it became clearer to me as I read the research, listened to more and more parents, and found other practitioners who also shared the same concern that vaccines had not been completely proven safe or even completely effective, based on the literature that we have today.
… It didn’t appear that the scientific studies that we were given were actually appropriately designed to prove and test the safety and efficacy.

It also came to my attention that there were ingredients in there that were not properly tested, that the comparison groups were not appropriately set up, and that conclusions made about vaccine safety and efficacy just did not fit the scientific standards that I was trained to uphold in my medical school training.”

Expert Pediatrician Discusses Vaccines (Part 1/11) - YouTube

[earl237]

5,100 deaths in 22 years is minuscule. That is like saying you shouldn't go outside because you might get hit by lightning. Jonas Salk would be screaming in frustration if he were alive.

[paraclete]

so take the commerce out of producing vaccines, that is where the problem lies

[smoothy]

If EVERYONE was forced to be vaccinated... many diseases might be ended...How about holding the unvaccinated civily and criminially liable if they contract and spread a disease a vaccine esists for. Their choice ...but then they assume ALL the risk.

[J_9]

You can't FORCE someone to be vaccinated. There is a form called an AMA form (Against Medical Advice). They can simply sign that to opt out of the vaccination. To force someone to do something against their/their parents will is called assault.

Erythromycin ointment in the eyes of a baby during the first hour after birth is a law in many locations, yet many parents have refused that simply by signing the AMA form.

[tomder55]

5,100 deaths in 22 years is minuscule. That is like saying you shouldn't go outside because you might get hit by lightning. Jonas Salk would be screaming in frustration if he were alive.

so is 158 cases reported .

[earl237]

You can't FORCE someone to be vaccinated. There is a form called an AMA form (Against Medical Advice). They can simply sign that to opt out of the vaccination. To force someone to do something against their/their parents will is called assault.

Erythromycin ointment in the eyes of a baby during the first hour after birth is a law in many locations, yet many parents have refused that simply by signing the AMA form.

I support the right to refuse treatment if only their own health is at risk, but not when it becomes a risk for public safety. There are cases when the greater good outweighs individual freedoms. For example smoking is no longer allowed in public areas and workplaces when it was a generation ago.