We Need To Re-evaluate Vaccine Requirements

There have been stories in recent years that childhood vaccines may cause autism. I have no idea whether or not this is true. My children were routinely vaccinated in the 1970’s with no ill effects, but I have no idea if today’s vaccines are the same as the ones given to my children. However, as more and more people decide to decline vaccinations for their children because of fear of autism, we need to look at the consequences of that decision (for all of us).

The New York Post posted an article today about measles in America.

The New York Post reports:

America has charted 387 cases of measles across 15 states since the beginning of the year — the second-highest number of reported infections since the disease was declared “eliminated” in 2000.

The number was topped only once before, in 2014, when 667 cases were reported by the same date.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s graph of year-over-year cases — updated every Monday — shows that 2019 passed last year in terms of outbreaks as of March 28. There were 372 cases confirmed by this time in 2018.

The states that have reported cases are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Outbreaks — defined as three or more cases — are ongoing in California (Santa Cruz and Butte County), New Jersey, New York (Rockland County and New York City) and Washington, according to the CDC.

Rockland County has banned unvaccinated minors from public spaces. The recurrence of measles in America is the result of two things–parents who refuse to vaccinate their children and travelers who brought the disease to America from foreign countries such as Israel, Ukraine and the Philippines, which currently have measles outbreaks.

We need to find a way to make the vaccine safer (divided into more doses?) to assure parents that it is a good idea to vaccinate their children. This is a public health issue. The other aspect of this measles epidemic is that we need to make sure we control our borders to insure that immigrants are not bringing diseases into this country that have been eradicated. We need to question both legal and illegal immigrants about their health history.

Some Things To Consider When Helping Refugees Flee To America

Yesterday a website called Truth Revolt posted an article about one of the unintended consequences of opening the doors of America wide to refugees from countries where healthcare and disease are not properly handled. Among other things, the information you are about to read is a glaring example of the fact that some civilizations are more protective and caring toward their average citizens than others.

The article reports:

Some bad news for revelers has hit just in time for their celebrations of World Refugee Day: Thanks to resettlement efforts and an overtaxed health care system, diseases that were near extinction in the United States are now experiencing a resurgence.

According to Breitbart, they are: 

  1. Tuberculosis
  2. Measles
  3. Whooping Cough
  4. Mumps
  5. Scarlet Fever
  6. Bubonic Plague

The article gives the actual details of the problem:

Tuberculosis — After 23 years of steady decline, TB has increased by nearly 2%, reaching over 9,000 cases.

Measles — Though declared eliminated in 2000, there were 667 cases reported from 27 states in 2014. Twenty-four states reported 189 people in 2015. The Center for Disease Control states most people with measles are unvaccinated, which is the status of most arriving refugees. The latest outbreak was epicentered at a mosque in Memphis.

Whooping Cough — In 1976, there were only 1,010 cases reported but now has increased more than 30 times that to nearly 33,000 cases in 2014 — the same time frame as a quadrupling of foreign-born residents coming to the U.S.

Mumps — A vaccine introduced in 1967 caused outbreaks to drop by 99%. Reports of new cases are now cropping up again, especially in close-knit communities.

Scarlet Fever — Attacks mostly the young, between 5 and 15, and the UK has had 12,000 cases over the past year. Millions of refugees have entered Europe, bringing with them this nearly-forgotten disease.

Bubonic Plague — This disease persists in parts of Africa, Asia, and South America, according to the Breitbart report. 16 cases of plague with four deaths have been reported inside our borders in the past year.

In the days of Ellis Island, immigrants were examined before they were allowed to immigrate to America. If they were not healthy, they were sent home. This is impossible with the illegal aliens coming across our southern border, but it is possible with refugees. If the government refuses to protect Americans (one of its primary jobs), it is time to elect a new government. We are at risk or a major epidemic of a disease we have previously wiped out and Americans are not vaccinated against or have immunity to. It is time to screen refugees for health issues as well as for terrorism issues. If we are not able to do both, we should not take them in.

Smile, You Have Been Manipulated

Last Sunday KRAE News 13 posted an article with the following headline, “Measles outbreak casts spotlight on anti-vaccine movement.” We all heard about the supposedly scientific report that showed a link between vaccines and autism. We also heard later that the research was fraudulent and there was no link. Generally speaking, I think I would vaccinate my children, which is what I did, but not everyone makes that choice. Because of the outbreak of measles that began in Disney World, there has been a focus on those parents who have not vaccinated their children–as if they were responsible for the outbreak of measles. Admittedly, they may not be helping the situation, but before we attack those parents who have refused vaccinations for their children, let’s look at some facts.

A website called stason.org posted statistics on the number of children worldwide who receive vaccinations. These are statistics from the early 1990’s, but they are interesting. In America, parents opt out of vaccines because they fear the consequences of the vaccine more than they fear their child contracting the disease in question. In many other countries, the vaccines are simply not available or not affordable.

According to stason.org (1992 figures):

 About 80% of the world’s children aged less than 1 were
reported to have received measles vaccine

The CDC Website cites a measles vaccination rate for Americans of about 91 percent.

So what am I getting out here? Most American children are protected against measles.

The article at KRAE News 13 reports:

Health authorities believe the outbreak was triggered by a measles-stricken visitor to one of the Disney parks who brought the virus from abroad last month.

As one of the world’s biggest tourist destinations, Disney was a perfect spot for the virus to spread, with large numbers of babies too young to be vaccinated and lots of visitors from countries that do not require measles shots. The disease has since spread beyond Disneyland.

Last summer there were a number of children from South American countries who crossed the Mexican border into America. What percentage of those children was vaccinated? It seems to me that rather than focus anger on parents in America who have refused the measles vaccine, we should be looking to the number of illegal aliens in this country (both children and adults) who because of poverty have never been vaccinated. One of the unintended consequences of President Obama’s policy of not enforcing our southern border may be a much more serious measles epidemic than might have otherwise occurred.