Anti Vaxx Megachurch Responsible for TX Measles Outbreak

[freedomjesusfootball]

Getting the flu vax sucks. I get a mild fever and chills for two days... so I always have to get it on a Friday and spend a weekend feeling like crap.

BUT when I had the actual flu, I was completely out of commission for two weeks, and quite weak for weeks and weeks afterward. It sucked, and it was a big interruption to my life. So I will risk feeling like shit for a couple days instead of being incapacitated for weeks. I also work in a hospital around lots of sick people, vulnerable people, and germs. I feel that I owe it to the patients to make sure that I don't make them sick.

I also didn't get gardasil or chicken pox as they were before my time. My kids (boys or girls) will get them both. No question. I just can't understand how so many people think doctors are just rich liars getting bribed by big pharma to push poisons on their precious children. Do not get it at all.

[gustava]

I'm not anti-vax, but I am wary of some vaccines. Mostly the flu vax*, Gardasil and chicken pox (that vaccine didn't exists when I was a kid and I was just fine without it). Stuff like MMR, polio, etc are pretty damn necessary. And look what happens when people DON'T vaccinate against these diseases.

*I am allergic to some vaccinations (egg allergy), and have never had the flu vaccination because I am allergic, and I've had the flu only a handful amount of times. If you are immuno-comprised (HIV/AIDS, cancer, etc), pregnant or elderly, then it makes sense to have these vaccinations.

Measles, mumps, and rubella weren't around when I was a child, and I was miserable with those ailments...as I was with chickenpox.

My point, of course, is that just because something wasn't around in your youth, doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile.

For those of us "of a certain age" getting the flu or shingles can be dangerous, so having those vaccines, if we're not allergic, is worth considering.

[flyawaystray]

I caught chicken pox when I was 38 weeks pregnant, there was no vaccine then and I wasn't immune. I was seriously ill and my son, who was five days old when he contracted it, nearly died. Please vaccinate your children. I don't want them to go through what I went through.

I don't have children, I'm childfree. I said that if I did have children, I would get the vaccination for them :)

[bal maiden]

I think that with the wonder of vaccines making so many childhood illnesses very rare in this modern era, many people 'do not see the point' in vaccinating. I'm sure if we had mumps back on a regular basis, people would be queueing out the door for the vaccines once again.

[GeoBQn]

My dad got chicken pox, measles, and rubella all in first grade. While he had no serious complications, his school was going to hold him back a grade because he had missed more than the maximum allowable days of school. The only reason he didn't was because my grandma convinced the school that he could make up the work.

Aside from a safety standpoint, vaccines prevent people from being out of commission--both the sick person and the caretaker. Without vaccines, the only way to prevent the spread of the illness is quarantines. I'm sure in most families, the mother would be the one who would end up staying home to take care of quarantined children, which could affect her ability to get hired or keep a job.

[flyawaystray]

Well the Duggars vaccinate, right? I know Josie was getting RSV shots. Does Gothard say anything about vaccinations? I'm under the impression a lot of fundies don't vax their kids.

[GeoBQn]

Not sure about the others, but they clearly didn't vaccinate for chicken pox based on the episode where half the kids got sick with it at the same time.

[flyawaystray]

I'm sure Josie was an exception since she was a preemie. I don't see Michelle doing it otherwise.

[Mama Mia]

I thought you could get shingles even if you had the chicken pox vaccine ?

[countressrascal]

I thought you could get shingles even if you had the chicken pox vaccine ?

That has no been proven yet because it has not been around long enough. If you have had chicken pox you can get shingles. It is a very painful and it is not a one time event. At the present time there is no treatment for it, that is why I suggest all my over 60 patients to get the vaccination.

[anniebgood]

I turned 60 this year so I will get my pneumonia shot and my shingles shot. My mom who is 88 has had shingles 3 times, once so bad it split open the skin under her eyebrows and they were worried about herpes encephalitis. I get a flu shot every year because I don't get out and about much anymore and my herd immunity is shot.

I had measles when I was 4 and would not wish that on anyone. I got chicken pox when I was 8, it seemed that summer every one in the neighborhood was out for 2 weeks with them. Once mine were better my brother got them.

My son didn't finish his pertussis series because he had a small reaction, and do I kick myself now. He got full blown pertussis and missed 3 months of school. We homeschooled out of necessity not because of any religious preference. He got promoted to 7th grade even though the principal didn't believe he should. The homeschool teacher made her change her mind.

I wish there was a vax for UTI's, I had the worst one I've ever had with fever, chills, vomiting, and pain. I make sure to drink at least 40 oz of liquid a day. :whistle:

[twinmama]

Oh boy, does this bring back memories of how I had to seriously bite my tongue when my SIL choose not to vaccinate my niece and nephew all because of the "vaccines cause autism" nonsense. My MIL, who is a screaming hypochrondriac, convinced her. And when the kids were entering school, SIL somehow managed to get a waiver based on religious grounds (which was complete BS it was just a way to get around things) with the help of her mom's naprapath. Kids never got sick as far as I know but it was probably herd immunity that helped here.

I know that the vaccines = autism business is nonsense, but what on earth are people thinking that polio/measles/any disease we vax against is better than autism!? I would rather my child risk autism than polio. But thank goodness that is not a choice or a risk we have to worry about.

[ThatSnark]

Put me on the ragey-against-antivaxxers bus. I used to work with what the Maxwells call "the elderly," but I was in rural Alabama. Many of these people had permanent health damage from diseases that are very rare nowadays. I had clients who were wheelchair-bound due to polio, heart diseased from diphtheria, blindness from measles, and so on. Nearly all of them were from large farm families and had lost child siblings from waves of these illnesses that would go through school/church/community. We really don't want to go back to that.

[tigerchild]

Most people who lived in the era before the polio vax "did just fine" too. The measles vaccine was only just introduced in the 60s. Obviously not everyone got it and died (same thing with polio too). I guess I don't understand the argument of "well, this wasn't around when I was a kid, so therefore it's not important like the big things like MMR and such." The standard panel of vaccines in the large scope of things, haven't been around that long period, but their impact on disease reduction has been enormous.

[Arete]

My aunt got shingles. She was in agony for 2 months. She has been fortunate that her pain subsided and there have been no further flares in 3 years. I never heard this woman complain about a headache, a cold, the flu, stomach viruses...nothing. It was scary to see her laid up and crying for days, I mean wet your pants type of scary.

Soon as I hit 60 I am getting that vaccine. I will EVANGELIZE about that vaccine.

[Minerva]

I am not saying that the chicken pox isn't a big deal, I am saying that the vaccination for it did not exist when I was a child and I've done well so far. Nowadays, the vaccine comes grouped with MMR so if I had a child, they would get the vaccine.

So you're saying that you're wary of the chicken pox vaccine and might not get it for your kid if it weren't grouped with MMR...because you were fine without it? That's not very logical. It's recommended that everyone be vaccinated against things like chicken pox if they can, not because healthy people like you and I wouldn't be fine without it, but because people with compromised immune systems can die if they catch it from us healthy people. I had chicken pox twice and I'm fine, too, but non-immunocompromised people like me aren't the point of herd immunity.

[flyawaystray]

No. That's not what I am saying. They would get it regardless, but it's easier to get in one go now because it's grouped with MMR. I am wary about some vaccines because of side effects. I think that's justified considering I am allergic to some vaccinations and my niece had febrile seizures as a result of the MMRV. But I also understand vaccines are pretty damn important.

And please don't assume I'm healthy. I have a bunch of chronic conditions but I am not immuno-comprised.

[Minerva]

No. That's not what I am saying. They would get it regardless, but it's easier to get in one go now because it's grouped with MMR. I am wary about some vaccines because of side effects. I think that's justified considering I am allergic to some vaccinations and my niece had febrile seizures as a result of the MMRV. But I also understand vaccines are pretty damn important.

And please don't assume I'm healthy. I have a bunch of chronic conditions but I am not immuno-comprised.

Fair enough. I'm sorry about that.

[flyawaystray]

I have many medical professionals in my family. I'm aware of how important vaccines are. But due to having personal experience with vaccines (side effects, allergic reactions), I am naturally a little cautious. There's nothing wrong with that. And I am not an anti-vax'er. That is just dumb. Look at Holland. In the bible belt, almost 1200 people got measles. THAT is what happens when you don't vaccinate.

[tanksmom]

I won't preach because that doesn't solve anything but with that said... I'm an adult that had whopping cough. To say that it sucked is an understatement of the highest degree. Imagine that you are drowning, and that only by staying in one position can save you. If you move it feels like water is flooding your lungs, you know that you won't die but coughing so much that you throw up just because you turn over is, at the least, not fun. 7 years on I still wake up coughing in the middle of the night. Just because most people are fine doesn't make you retching in the middle of the night any easier to take.

Also I'm old enough to have a relative that suffered from post polio syndrome. Yes, my grandfather survived but he was damaged forever by what happened when he was 9. It is very easy to forget how horrible people suffered if you didn't see it yourself.

Flyawaystray, I'm not singling you would since it seems that you realize what the potential damage could be if you wouldn't vaccinate your potential children. But for anyone else who is afraid of what might happen if they give "the toxic" shot, please realize the actuality is so much worse. If I could go back and get the whooping cough shot I would in a heartbeat. The diseases that these shot prevent are so much worse than you think in the sterilized world. Yes you can get measles and be fine, yes you can get whooping cough and be fine, yes you can get (insert malady here) but believe me if it happens to you and you aren't one of the lucky ones you will regret it for the rest of your life.

[Becket70]

I swear I first read the title as "Anti Vaxx Meshuganers".

That would still be technically correct. You have to be meshugeneh* not to get vaccinated. *Yiddish for nuts (as in crazy)

[flyawaystray]

I won't preach because that doesn't solve anything but with that said... I'm an adult that had whopping cough. To say that it sucked is an understatement of the highest degree. Imagine that you are drowning, and that only by staying in one position can save you. If you move it feels like water is flooding your lungs, you know that you won't die but coughing so much that you throw up just because you turn over is, at the least, not fun. 7 years on I still wake up coughing in the middle of the night. Just because most people are fine doesn't make you retching in the middle of the night any easier to take.

Also I'm old enough to have a relative that suffered from post polio syndrome. Yes, my grandfather survived but he was damaged forever by what happened when he was 9. It is very easy to forget how horrible people suffered if you didn't see it yourself.

Flyawaystray, I'm not singling you would since it seems that you realize what the potential damage could be if you wouldn't vaccinate your potential children. But for anyone else who is afraid of what might happen if they give "the toxic" shot, please realize the actuality is so much worse. If I could go back and get the whooping cough shot I would in a heartbeat. The diseases that these shot prevent are so much worse than you think in the sterilized world. Yes you can get measles and be fine, yes you can get whooping cough and be fine, yes you can get (insert malady here) but believe me if it happens to you and you aren't one of the lucky ones you will regret it for the rest of your life.

That's very true. It's much easier to deal with a few minor side effects than to deal with something life threatening/scary.

My niece has had whooping cough and she had the vaccine. Poor kid sounded like a seal and have nebulizer treatments and such. She gets sick a lot and I don't know if it's because she's in elementary school and kids are germ magnets, or what. But it sucks when she comes to visit, is sick, and gets other people sick.

[samismad]

I was vaccinated against whooping cough, but got it an outbreak from unimmunised kids (I was immune-compromised).

ER trips aren't fun, especially when you can't breathe!

[RandomTrivia]

This makes my head spin. I confirmed this weekend that my 2-year-old nephew hasn't had his MMR, chicken pox or one other shot - not sure on the other one, my sister was interrupted, but I'd put money on the DTaP. Hell, I'll bet he's had nothing at all, honestly. He had chicken pox this year, exposed his whole preschool, and now has the awesome natural immunity (sarcasm alert). And my sister & her husband are planning a trip to India this winter. India apparently hasn't had a case of polio for a year, but that much plane time, exposed to that many new people from that many places is just begging for trouble (in my opinion).

It's not religious, it's that my sister is a left-wing crunchy organic homeopathic anti-vaxxing nut with a college degree in traditional Chinese medicine, who was recommending lemon balm enemas for constipated kids, instead of something simpler like prune juice. Plus, my other nephew was there, a bit cranky probably from the heat and lack of naptime, but everyone was just trying to blame his crankiness on the vax that he had 3 days earlier. Sure, it could have been the vax, the sore leg made my kid cranky sometimes too, but it could have been the heat and the fact that he'd stayed up too late the night before, too.

I've had what was probably the flu once, and it was fucking horrid. I don't ever want to do that again, hence the high chance that I'll be lining up at the Health Dept to get the shot, and be happy to pay $25 for lower odds that I won't feel like a house landed on me.

[flyawaystray]

Lemon balm enemas? That doesn't sound pleasant.