"A growing number of children aren't getting required vaccinations for non-medical reasons. What will this new reality bring this school year?
As parents send their children back to school, some are grappling with a new worry: whether their children's classmates have received all their vaccinations.
An outbreak of measles in Texas this week shows why their concern is not without reason. Twenty-one people linked to a megachurch and its congregation have contracted the highly contagious disease, and the case has put a spotlight on falling vaccination rates in the U.S.
Measles was eradicated in the U.S. as of 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but outbreaks like the one in Texas are increasing, as is the percentage of parents choosing not to immunize their children, which has seen an uptick in recent years. Usually, the CDC expects to see 60 cases of measles per year, but there have been 135 cases of measles so far in 2013, and in 2011, more than 220 people were diagnosed with the disease.
This latest outbreak follows a rash of recent measles cases among New York's Orthodox Jewish population and an outbreak in San Diego in 2008."
Unfortunately, we are retroactive not a proactive society, and until the outbreaks become so severe that they cannot be ignored the frequency of these outbreaks are going to continue to grow.
Unfortunately we are retroactive not a proactive society, and until the outbreaks become so severe that they cannot be ignored the frequency of these outbreaks are going to continue to grow.[/quote']
Ironically my practice manager just asked me today to stop giving prevnar and pneumovax as we are not making our cost back. I told her it's not my concern. But it is sad.
"Continue your life as usual and if your child catches it, have comfort in the fact that virtually all cases of measles pass without any complications. Understand that the fatality risk of measles is about 1 in 1000 to 1 in 3000. "
...The effectiveness of the measles vaccine has been dramatic. In 1962 (one year before the first measles vaccine was made available in the United States), 4 million people were diagnosed with measles, 48,000 were admitted to hospitals and 3,000 people died.
In 2012, 55 cases of measles were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While we were on the verge of eliminating measles from the United States, decreases in the use of the MMR vaccine have led to outbreaks; for example, outbreaks during 2011 led to about 220 cases of measles. Because most of the U.S. population is immune to measles, outbreaks can often, but not always, be traced to cases that result from international travel. Unfortunately, measles is one of the most contagious diseases; therefore, an infected person can quickly expose others who are susceptible....
My brother was one of those 48,000 admitted in 1962...at CHOP.Lost a childhood friend sister due to this disease.
"Continue your life as usual and if your child catches it, have comfort in the fact that virtually all cases of measles pass without any complications. Understand that the fatality risk of measles is about 1 in 1000 to 1 in 3000. "
Measles is a preventable disease. It is the 5th leading killer of children under 5. Worldwide it kills 750,000 kids a year. Your data is right about the 3/1000 but put it in context of how many kids die from a preventable disease.
Yeah, in a third world country. If they want to mandate something, mandate that people that travel out of country get the vaccines. Or put no fly on the sick ones.
Sorry for the crazy link. It goes to a PDF file "Reported measles cases and incidence rates by WHO Member States 2012, 2013 as of 05 August 2013"
It doesn't have a total so I added all the total confirmed cases of measles and and I got 114,850. a Far cry from 750,000. Where did you get your data?
BTW my children are vaccinated against measles. I really wish they wouldn't do combo vaccines and say we absolutely cannot get individual vaccines. I'm not saying that they haven't been effective. I am saying it's wrong to judge parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. I am against our choices being taken away from us. I stand behind my opinion that we over vaccinate for common, treatable illnesses.
"Continue your life as usual and if your child catches it, have comfort in the fact that virtually all cases of measles pass without any complications. Understand that the fatality risk of measles is about 1 in 1000 to 1 in 3000. "
That mortality rate is actually quite high and should be concerning. I don't agree with Dr. Sears' conclusion that it's acceptable to allow a large portion of the child population to get a preventable disease that will kill as much as 1 in every 1000 of them, that's actually a pretty disgusting suggestion.
Yeah, in a third world country. If they want to mandate something, mandate that people that travel out of country get the vaccines. Or put no fly on the sick ones.
So why are the rates of measles so much higher in third world countries? Oh yeah, they don't vaccinate as many children as we do. Is your logic really that we don't need to vaccinate any more because the prevalence of measles in the US has dropped significantly, even though it's dropped due to vaccines? That reminds me of people who stop taking their psych meds because as long as they're on their psych meds they don't feel like they need psych meds.
Yeah, in a third world country. If they want to mandate something, mandate that people that travel out of country get the vaccines. Or put no fly on the sick ones.
Sorry for the crazy link. It goes to a PDF file "Reported measles cases and incidence rates by WHO Member States 2012, 2013 as of 05 August 2013"
It doesn't have a total so I added all the total confirmed cases of measles and and I got 114,850. a Far cry from 750,000. Where did you get your data?
BTW my children are vaccinated against measles. I really wish they wouldn't do combo vaccines and say we absolutely cannot get individual vaccines. I'm not saying that they haven't been effective. I am saying it's wrong to judge parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. I am against our choices being taken away from us. I stand behind my opinion that we over vaccinate for common, treatable illnesses.
"Peer-reviewed" is all too often slanted towards accepting the prevailing orthodoxy of the day, and excluding everything questions such orthodoxy.
And WHY, pray tell, do you believe that the numbers are so high in third world countries? Oh, that's right, because they don't have wide spread access to vaccines.
Yeah, in a third world country. If they want to mandate something, mandate that people that travel out of country get the vaccines. Or put no fly on the sick ones.
Sorry for the crazy link. It goes to a PDF file "Reported measles cases and incidence rates by WHO Member States 2012, 2013 as of 05 August 2013"
It doesn't have a total so I added all the total confirmed cases of measles and and I got 114,850. a Far cry from 750,000. Where did you get your data?
BTW my children are vaccinated against measles. I really wish they wouldn't do combo vaccines and say we absolutely cannot get individual vaccines. I'm not saying that they haven't been effective. I am saying it's wrong to judge parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. I am against our choices being taken away from us. I stand behind my opinion that we over vaccinate for common, treatable illnesses.
"Peer-reviewed" is all too often slanted towards accepting the prevailing orthodoxy of the day, and excluding everything questions such orthodoxy.
WHO usually has the easiest to read collated data on vaccine treatable diseases. WHO | Measles
"Key facts
Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available.
In 2011, there were 158 000 measles deaths globally – about 430 deaths every day or 18 deaths every hour.
More than 95% of measles deaths occur in low-income countries with weak health infrastructures.
Measles vaccination resulted in a 71% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2011 worldwide.
In 2011, about 84% of the world's children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services – up from 72% in 2000.
Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. In 1980, before widespread vaccination, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year.
Accelerated immunization activities have had a major impact on reducing measles deaths. Since 2000, more than one billion children in high risk countries were vaccinated against the disease through mass vaccination campaigns ― about 225 million of them in 2011. Global measles deaths have decreased by 71% from an estimated 548 000 to 158 000."
I would think you would be all for combined vaccines since a combined vaccine is going to reduce the overall exposure to aluminum and other ingredients that you are/were concerned with.
Peer-reviewed scientific literature does not favor one opinion over another. It is based on fact that can be proven and reproduced/verified by anyone. The peer-review process is there to ensure that the methodology, statistics, and the overall format is correct and verifiable. There is a level of scrutiny in the scientific peer-review process that allows it to be the most accurate information available at that time.
wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA
5,128 Posts
It was reported last year that Massachusetts had its highest level of unvaccinated children ever. Record number of Mass. kindergartners skip vaccines | Health - WCVB Home I doubt this is coincidence.