Measles, Mumps, Rubella... Forgotten but NOT Gone

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

I have printed articles, books with a ton of marked pages, and journals in my study. I didn't keep any direct links to the things we found online. I am not going to go through and get them because like I have said several times I am not here to debate this. I know it is pointless. I just wanted to say that the things that you are calling all the parents stupid for are not even what they base their decision on.

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See, this is where we, as educational professionals, are asking you to give us the information, so we can evaluate it; you have decided to post on a forum with educated professionals who have seen the effects of declining herd immunity...if educated professionals are producing research that needs to be considered, then that's how we examine new studies and evaluate what is being presented; you stated you have data and written works, this is not a debate, it's actual information seeking.

[AmyRN303, BSN, RN]

The burden of proof is squarely on the shoulders of the person making the claim or argument. There are many links to scientific studies here on AN regarding vaccines. If one wants to present a claim against vaccination, I'm sure that would be encouraged if peer-reviewed empirical studies were presented to support one's position.

[BlueDevil, DNP]

IMO, failing to immunize without fully qualified medical exemption should be a crime. It is a threat to the community and needs to be viewed as an assault on the public health.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

Like Jan said, many people have NOT seen what preventable illnesses can do. It is devastating. We are currently having a mumps outbreak near where I live. I have seen children critically I'll from chickenpox, measles, meningitis, whooping cough, and we had a child with tetanus in our PICU last year. I get that people research all this, I was a delayed vaccinator for my kids, but they got their shots!

And as a pre-nursing student, you yourself will have to be up to date on your vaccines. Many of us have just had to get boosters for whooping cough as it was going around and rampant on our peds floors last summer.

When these preventable illness make an even bigger comeback, people will see why immunization are important.

[ReOxyS]

IMO, failing to immunize without fully qualified medical exemption should be a crime. It is a threat to the community and needs to be viewed as an assault on the public health.

I hear that. Further, if one who has refused vaccination is responsible for the passage of a preventable illness to a child who is too young for its respective vaccination (or to an individual who simply cannot have the vaccination), that individual ought to face charges in the event of that child's injury/death.

[trishmsn]

I wonder if our anti-vax pre-nursing student uses car seats and seatbelts for her children?

I know of at least three documented cases where children died from crush injuries to the airway and/or cardiac contussion with fatal tamponade due to the impact of the restraining belts or harness in a serious MVA!

Sounds like a good enough reason NOT to use carseats,

.................................if we care to go with the same pseudo-science of anti-vax crowd!!

(It is a bit counter productive to post to dismiss a sterotype, and then go on to illustrate the sterotype instead....)

[vettechtoRN]

Unfortunately this non vaccine movement has been brought about at an age when the majority of the U.S population is spoiled. We are rich beyond 3rd world countries wildest dreams! We don't know true suffering. We have not seen the suffering and death that generations have before us. Its just not real to most people. We think of disease as the boogie man. Visit a 3rd world country where the population there would give both arms for the vaccines we take for granted!! Are vaccines perfect? No but its all we have right now. I vaccinate not only for my child but also for children that can not be vaccinated as well.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

can your mother actually remember a schoolmate dying of measles?? I have been asking around among persons my age, (born in 1950) and haven't found a one yet.!

I'm generally all for parental choice, but lets be honest here. Those who refuse to vax are playing Russian roulette with their kids lives, even if they are doing it in good faith based on whatever "research" they carried out. Luckily, many people nowadays have never seen the effects of an outbreak first hand. My mother was born in the 1950's, she saw outbreaks of polio and kids dying from measles first hand. My generation doesn't get it, I think. They might hear of the odd person dying of measles and shrug it off as a rare case. If they witnessed their own classmates or siblings dying from a disease, they might be more inclined to get their kids vaccinated against that disease.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

BTW, Branb5435,

in the nursing school and up from there if you pronounce the word "evidence", you must present this evidence the very same moment, and be ready to analyze it. Just to let you know, because you may fail a whole course for presenting your own opinion as "continuous research of sources known for myself only".

[anon456, BSN, RN]

As a fellow peds nurse who works ICU and step-down, I have had the sad experience of nursing many pertussis babies and toddlers through the course of that awful illness. I couldn't agree more with your article! I have also cared for a child who "visits" us often who was the victim of meningitis and is now brain damaged.

Many years ago when I was pregnant I had my titres drawn and learned I was not immune to rubella, even though I had been fully vaccinated throughout my childhood. Thanks to herd immunity I did not get sick and my baby was born healthy. I was vaccinated before I left the hospital with her. I fear that there will be less and less of this herd immunity as time goes on, and my most vulnerable patients will suffer greatly for it.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

Measles may not kill many people but it is pretty harmful to a fetus. Look up what measles and Rubella can cause. Not pretty.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

As much as you can try to protect yourself at work from these diseases, many times you do not know you were exposed until after the fact.

I never had chicken pox when I was a child in the 60's. Lucky me, right? Well, fast forward to the 80's and I was a mom. I went to work one day as a float nurse who cared for a person with active shingles. Just a small outbreak nobody new about, because he was a direct admit and didn't share the odd rash on his side. Of course being a lunch relief float, I tucked the guy in bed, did his vitals and left. I then went on throughout the hospital taking care of others relieving for breaks. Finally went home after my shift and held my 3 month old son, hugging and kissing him. As you can guess, we both came down with the chicken pox. My hospital was mad at ME because I spread the disease through the hospital. Thank GOD I didn't work OB that night. I escaped pretty well, only getting a few spots and feeling like crap. My poor son was so sick he was nearly hospitalized. I was so afraid. Here I am the queen of infection control, always using universal precautions, washing my hands, pay attention to the signs posted in a room. Yet it only took one accidental exposure. Shortly thereafter the chicken pox vaccine was on the market. You can guess that I get my kids vaxxed for chicken pox along with the other ones.

These diseases terrify me. Not because I can catch it, but because of the possibility of bringing it home to my kids. Universal precautions are not infallible.