Public health emergency declared over measles near Portland, Oregon
Portland is one of the nation’s 15 anti-vaccine “hot spots.”
A public health emergency has been declared in Clark County, Washington, which is near the border of Oregon and close to Portland. The declaration is a result of an ongoing measles outbreak.
According to the latest update from the county’s Department of Health, 23 cases of measles have been confirmed and health officials are investigating two more suspected cases.
The majority of cases are in children aged 1 to 10. Four cases are in children and teens aged 11 to 18, and one person aged 19 to 29 has been infected.
Measles is an extremely contagious infection that is serious for small children but is easily preventable by vaccine. Symptoms, which include cough, runny nose, inflamed eyes, sore throat, fever, and a red, blotchy skin rash, usually develop 10 to 12 days after exposure and last 7 to 10 days.
It appears the root cause of this emergency is the lack of vaccinations. Eighteen of the 23 sick people are under the age of 10 and 20 of the 23 didn’t get their measles vaccine, and one person has been hospitalized.
This is exactly the kind of scenario public health experts have been warning about. In 2018, the World Health Organization said measles cases had surged by 30% around the globe, with some of the biggest hikes in places like the US and Europe, where more parents are opting not to give their kids recommended shots like MMR (protecting against measles, mumps, and rubella).
“This is something I’ve predicted for a while now,” Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told The Washington Post. “It’s really awful and really tragic and totally preventable.”
The reason that Portland has been featured in many reports is that the city is known to be an anti-vaccination “hot spot.” Researchers reported in the journal PLOS Medicine that since 2009 there has been an increase in the number of children enrolling in kindergarten with a non-medical exemption at higher rates in specific geographic areas, including Portland. Other cities that are “hot spots” are:
- Seattle, WA,
- Spokane, WA
- Phoenix, AZ,
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Provo, UT,
- Houston, TX
- Fort Worth, TX
- Plano, TX,
- Austin, TX
- Troy, MI
- Warren, MI
- Detroit, MI
- Kansas City, MO
- Pittsburgh, PA
Public health officials are also warning that fans who attended a Portland Trail Blazers NBA game in Oregon earlier this month may have been exposed to measles.
Officials in Multnomah County, Oregon said an individual “known to be contagious with the disease” attended the game on Jan. 11 and may have exposed other attendees to the viral infection if they were at Portland’s Moda Center between 5:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. T
…According to NBC, there have been no confirmed cases in Oregon yet.
This news comes on the heels of New York reporting a record number of measles cases, mainly among ultra-orthodox Jewish communities. The lack of vaccinations were also blamed for the spread.
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Comments
I want to know about the 3 who did get the vaccine. When did they get their shot and is the vaccine becoming less effective?
I know that’s not the main point of the article, but it’s something to look at.
The vaccine broadly speaking is 97%+ effective. This is true of many vaccines that they are not 100% but herd immunity helps eliminate further exposure and spread hence the seeming elimination and near 100% effectiveness that we see.
Reasons that impact vaccinated individuals getting it also include immunity-compromised, eg ill or on immunity-suppressive drugs.
It’s a serious disease that used to kill 2+ million people world wide and 1 in 1,000 can get encephalitis which is fatal.
How soon we forget the foundations of civilization and progress.
“Herd immunity” is a novel concept that does not consider carriers. That said, vaccines are part of a risk management protocol. Unfortunately, some people perceive them as magical elixirs with respect to effectiveness and collateral damage. They’re only as good as individual immunity, only as safe as individual reactions, and only as necessary as a risk assessment suggests.
A certain percentage of people who receive the shots will not develop immunity. We generally don’t do follow-up testing to make sure that vaccinations “take.”
Yep.
Years ago my wife and I both received the 3-shot Hep B series. Years later, before some foreign travel, we had our titer levels checked. Mine were fine, hers were very low. She had to repeat the series.
Did she come down with hepatitis? If not, I’m not sure of the point of your comment.
I’ll try to be clearer…
Anonamom:”A certain percentage of people who receive the shots will not develop immunity. We generally don’t do follow-up testing to make sure that vaccinations “take.”
(Offered as an explanation to an earlier question about why a small number of people who are vaccinated nevertheless develop the disease
Me: My wife and I were vaccinated for hep B and had occasion to test whether the vaccinations “took” and hers had not. She had to repeat the vaccination.
(Offered as support for Anonamom’s assertion that occasionally vaccines do not take and hence a small percentage of people who have been vaccinated do not have protection against the disease)
Hmmm, I wonder how many illegal immigrants have had their measles shot? Oh well, at least they move to sanctuary cities where the smart people don’t vaccinate their children.
Darwin in action. Yeah, it’s a bummer for the kids. Back in the day, we HAD to have registered vaccinations. Couldn’t go to school without them. Because folks understood the common good. Yes, some kids have terrible reactions. Some die. Many, many more will die due to anti-vaccination hysteria. Darwin doesn’t care. Survival of the fittest, right?
Ditto here. In fact, the clinic was across the street from the school in our small town, so more than one parent bringing their kid in to pre-register had to take a few minutes to run him across the street, get a shot (which the clinic specifically kept ready and enough time available for), and come right back over to finish enrollment. I don’t remember a single case of anything we had a shot for in my entire school career, other than flu.
What makes you suppose it’s fewer than the average here?
Illegal parents keeping as low a profile as possible.
Generally ignorant parents who do not understand how to weigh risk v. benefits.
They weren’t illegal before they came here; no reason for their kids not to be vaccinated. And once they’re here not getting their kids vaccinated is the high profile path; to get unvaccinated kids into school they’d need to get an exemption, which draws attention. And why would you think they’re more ignorant than people who are born here?
That’s a low bar, Milhouse. So many of those anti-vac parents are IYI people. (Intellectual, yet Idiot) It’s not that they’re stupid, just really well educated in things that are not true.
georgefelis, it was JohnSmith100 who suggested that illegal immigrants are less likely than other parents to have their children (born or raised in the US) vaccinated because they’re ignorant. I therefore asked why he thinks they’re more ignorant than anyone else.
But you are correct that in fact much of the anti-vaxx sentiment comes not from what people don’t know but from what they do know that ain’t so. And illegal immigrants are less likely to suffer from that problem, at least on this subject.
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.IMM.MEAS
Figures for children age 12-23 months vaccinated for measles. Official numbers from the governments.
You’re deluding yourself if you believe numbers from any central or South American government. The Venezuela rate is reported as 96% immunized. In a country where medical professionals report they can’t get routine medications and needed supplies.
I really didn’t know how vaccination rates in the US compared to other countries. This interactive map linked below is incredible and lets you check the measles vaccination rates from 1980 to 2015 in a visual map of the world. In 1980 only the US and few other countries were above even 90%. Amazing the progress made by the rest of the world by 2000. Very cool map and as far as measles go today Mexico is over 95%, the US is over 90% and Canada is in the 80-90% range.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-children-vaccinated-against-measles?year=2015
Returning to the Dark Ages?
@healthygut
Vaccinations work via herd immunity, and once heard immunity is breached, they cannot be fully effective. No vaccine is 100% effective, so out of the thousands of people exposed, some of the vaccinated will contracted the disease. The reason is that vaccinations rely on your body creating a natural immunity, it is not the vaccine doing the work it’s your own system.
The vaccine acts like an early warning system and Boot Camp instructor, which trains your system on what the attacker will look like. It’s up to your system itself to fend off the virus about which the vaccination provided an early warning.
Much of this is because illegals who are not vaccinated bring these diseases back to our population, and the risk of getting these almost eradicated diseases increased dramatically. Whooping cough, diphtheria, measles….yeah. Higher risk now, as this shows.
Are kinds (and adults) given these vaccines at the border? Of course not – they come illegally, so there is no way to protect the population from this UNTIL THE BORDER IS SECURE.
Off topic, but related – some thoughts I have on the topic of vaccines in general:
I don’t think parents should be forced to have vaccines given to their children, but I do think there needs to be more studies on these COMBINED vaccines – it is my belief that therein lies the problem, because there is a legit association with autism and vaccines, but I don’t think it’s been determined if it is the SINGLE vaccines or the COMBINED vaccines that are the underlying problem.
Right now, doctors give the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella (German measles)), the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough) to children a VERY early ages, as well as polio and others (varicella – the chicken pox vaccine) and more.
It is the parent’s prerogative in the US as to what their children need, but if studies show that single vaccines don’t have the same effects (it is only within the last few decades that combined vaccines became available and are now de rigueur) then more people may have single vaccines, like measles or German measles, whooping cough or diphtheria, given to their children because they are less risky for the long-term life of the child.
Just my thoughts.
*all KIDS
There is no “legit” association between the MMR vaccine and autism.
There is very strong evidence that there is zero connection based on clinical meta-analysis of close to 20 million plus patients. MMR vaccine in particular has been studied extensively.
Autism cases have increased because of increased diagnosis and widened spectrum of diagnosis among other things.
Countries with drops in vaccination rates and use of multi-target vaccines are also showing increases in autism, but no one is saying the increase is caused by a drop in vaccination rates.
Actually, there have been some studies which show a clear statistical connection between the administration of mega-vaccines and the onset of autism. And, NO other statistical correlation for the onset of autism has been found. It has now become so obvious that even medical organizations have abandoned their position that there is no correlation between the multi-vaccine vaccinations and the onset of autism.
There are two factors in identifying the causative factors of any disease of disability. The first is timing of the appearance of symptoms of the disease. In the case of a very large number of autism cases, these symptoms first appear immediately after the administration of a mega-dosage of vaccines [anywhere from 15 to 35 separate vaccines administered in a single injection]. What were seemingly normal healthy children, suffer high fever almost immediately exhibit autistic behavior. These behaviors range from relatively mild to very severe. And, there are almost no identifiable case of autism prior to the start of the vaccination programs. The second is the causation factor. What has not been proven is what exactly causes autism to develop. No comprehensive studies have been done on this, with the exception of the use of thimerosal. In an effort to identify the golden bullet, in vaccines, for the development of autistic behaviors, the mercury theory was floated. In response, vaccine manufacturers did a couple of studies which indicated that thimerosal was most likely NOT a causative agent, as the same regimen of vaccinations using vaccines without thimerosal had no measurable effect on the number of autism cases. All further tests were done using single applications of no more than three vaccines, ignoring the current trend toward mega-vaccinations. This totally ignores the possibility that combining these vaccines may create a causative factor. And, the statistically sharp increase in autism cases coincides with the wide-spread administration of single dosages of multiple vaccines. To this day, no causative factors have been identified for the bulk of the cases of autism. What we know about autism is that it is essentially neuro-chemical disorder, which appears at a very young age, for no APPARENT reason.
The problem with identifying causation with regard to autism lies in two areas. The first is with physician’s adherence to orthodoxy. The current orthodoxy supports herd immunity, even at the expense of individuals. The bulk of the medical profession chooses to believe almost everything from medical “authorities”, without any question. The second is the amount of money involved, where drug manufacturers are concerned. Not only do sales of vaccines account for a huge income for these companies, but if it is proven that the administration of these vaccines is a causative factor in the development of autism, legal judgements will destroy these companies. That is why there is no serious investigation into the causes of autism and why we now have laws shielding pharmaceutical companies from civil suits in the case of vaccines. If there was not a viable correlation between the current schedule of vaccinations and the onset of autism, such laws would not be necessary. What is almost completely ignored, by the medical establishment, is that the rate of autism rose, in one or two decades from 1-2 in 10,000 to 1 in 68. If we adjust for the expansion of the autism spectrum, we still have an increase of somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 in 500. This is several orders of magnitude higher than the increase in measles cases which is being touted as an “epidemic”. But, the medical establishment does not seem to care.
Because of the refusal of the establishment to seriously investigate the causative factors of autism, some parents have taken the only recourse that they can find, in many areas, opting out of the vaccination programs. Measles, mumps and chicken pox last a couple of weeks, at most, and are rare fatal in today’s society. Autism is forever. And, it is expensive, in terms of both monetary and emotional cost. More and more parents are now attempting to find physicians who will administer the current vaccination regimen in multiple doses containing only s few vaccines at a time. This may be beneficial, though, due to a lack of industry interest, few studies have been done.
Mac,
There was an article in one of my medical journals a year or two ago which very clearly associated autism with the prolonged use of Pitocin during labor. This would be a much better model than vaccination. Vaccination is as safe of a procedure as medical science can get. What people don’t realize is that before a vaccine is used in the US, it undergoes population controls in India and third world countries. Therefore, few complications are noted and autism is not one of them. Of course, receiving any biologic substance can cause illness as that is indicative of stimulation of the immune system and being a biologic medium, complications can appear, but autism has been pounded to death by drug companies and not causation noted. Another factor is that many of the cases of autism are associated with mothers who experience a degree of mental illness. But always remember the old adage that correlation rarely is associated with causation.
David, this is a novel point of view, but the use of pitocin, which is used to induce labor, is not widely used enough to come close to being a current, and certainly a historic, cause for the increase in autism in toddlers. Also, as a very large number of children show no symptoms of autism until they begin receiving vaccinations at 1.3 – 2 years, it is unlikely that use of pitocin, at birth, would ve a viable cause.
As for he vaccine studies, run by the industry, these are all geared to proving that these is no causation between vaccines administration and the onset of autism. But, none of them have provided any answer as to why there is a string correlation between the administration of single doses of multi-vaccine products and the exhibition of autistic behavior in previously healthy children, shortly after administration of these multi-vaccines.
Autism, historically, is interesting. It is much, much more common in males than in females. Whatever the causative factor is, it permanently changes the neuro-chemical structure of the human body. This strongly indicates that it is the result of a foreign substance causing permanent, reproducible genetic changes in a human being. And, the only substances which fit the bill, and show any significant correlation with the onset of autistic behavior, are viral vaccines, especially, the large, multi-vaccine mixes.
Until a causative factor, unrelated to these vaccines, is found, then they remain a potential causative factor. But, again, there is little or no research and study being done on the causation of an irreversible, incurable, debilitating condition which afflicts nearly 2 million people in the US. At this point, only 10% of the diagnosed cases of autism have an identified causative factor. Now, vaccines may have little or no causation effect for the onset of autism. But until serious study points to some other causative factor, vaccines remain a strong suspect.
And unvaccinated autistic children begin to show symptoms at exactly the same age. This is simply when autism, which probably existed since before birth, becomes diagnosable.
The cause of autism is likely to be genetic, and the increase in incidence (beyond what’s simply the result of expanded diagnosis) is likely to be down to more carriers meeting each other and having children.
This is an important point. So many resources have been poured into researching this question that if there was something there it would have been found. Therefore although generally it’s difficult to prove a negative, we can confidently say that in this case the negative is the truth.
Another example of the same thing: the alleged link between “second-hand smoking” and lung cancer. Again, so many resources have been poured into finding this link, which the public health industry so desperately wants to find, that if there were anything to find it could not have escaped discovery. The fact that after decades of searching, and untold millions spent, there is nothing to show for it is strong evidence that the link simply doesn’t exist.
Further evidence is the fact that back in the mid-’90s the EPA felt the need to descend into outright fraud, in order to assert that the link had finally been found; if they really thought the link was going to be found they would have waited for that to happen.
This, by the way, is for elle, who has somehow formed the bizarre conclusion that I’m some sort of slave to conventional wisdom 🙂
This is Legal Insurrection, not InfoWars. There is no link between vaccines and autism. None. And it used to just be liberal treehuggers who spread this nonsense. That is why the outbreaks of previously eradicated diseases always happen in very crunchy liberal areas.
Vaccinate your children, and make sure your friends all do too. That ensures that there IS herd immunity in the event that an illegal alien happens to bring in a preventable disease. Extremely isolated cases of measles happen when everyone is vaccinated, not outbreaks. Some children, either because of allergies or immune issues cannot receive vaccines. They need everyone else vaccinated even more. Don’t be stupid, leave that to the anti-science Left.
“There is no link between vaccines and autism.”
Vaccines do not cause autism. HOWEVER, it does appear that administration of vaccines CAN contribute to the development of autism in susceptible children. The problem is that generally there is no individual analysis of whether a particular child is at risk prior to the administration of vaccines. As a parent, I will always assert my right to stand between my child and the almighty state. And, yes, my child is vaccinated.
“That is why the outbreaks of previously eradicated diseases always happen in very crunchy liberal areas.”
You mean like San Francisco and San Diego where the homeless populations are living and defecating in among millions and there are millions of illegal immigrants working as nannies, house cleaners, food servers, etc?
Yes, vaccinate your kids! I agree. And no, don’t knee-jerk reject the links between autism and vaccinations because “they” said so. While it MAY not be true, the science is far from settled. That’s why the smart liberal parents are breaking from the party line and siding with their own interests.
“Make sure” your friends do, too? Sounds pretty fascist, er, liberal to me.
There is a strong link between non-vaccination and abject stupidity in the parents.
Well said! Saying that the “science is settled” about autism is very much like the “science is settled” on global warming. People read a few articles and then spew whatever talking points come down on the side of their own beliefs.
You know that the science is NOT settled when they make a concerted effort to silence or ridicule any research that does not support the party line.
I support vaccines, but any of you poo-pooing the parents who are fearful of the new vaccine schedules haven’t had to vaccinate your own kids recently.
In the end, it’s all about the Benjamin’s. It always is.
Much of the “rise” in autism is a broadening of the autistic spectrum and a better diagnosis. 50+ years ago, a kid might have been “quiet”, or “weird”, or “dumb”. 20 years ago, it could have been lumped in with ADHD and improperly medicated. Plenty of people are a little bit autistic, they just know about it now.
On the other hand, there are way too many parents who want their child to be unique and special (as if they aren’t already) and really play up a very low end diagnosis. And while it’s good to know whatever “limitations” your child may have, it diminishes the challenges that the rare few other children with severe autism face.
That is completely true, I agree with you 100%
If I had grown up in the same era as my kids were, I would have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. I have absolutely zero doubt about that. Which would then have become an excuse, and I’d have likely never found a woman to marry and would never have had kids.
I’m very thankful I grew up in an era where weird kids had to grow up and out of their weirdness.
One could argue that medical science has not advanced because even though we now know how people die, the same number still do. When someone complains about the rise in death rates due to cancer, I point out the amazing progress we have made in the field of “natural causes” and “old age.” Sadly, statistical sarcasm is just lost on the stupid. And while some may cite improvement in the form of longevity, I for one, question whether those extra years are worth it in 98% of the cases.
Autism has probably always been with us. It is not all bad, in that one form often comes with genius level IQs, per Dr Asperger. When I was young it was not diagnosed, even though Asperger identified it during WW2. Asperger frequently occurs in our family. It is not all bad, in addition to high IQ and highly analytical traits, it makes people pretty much immune to glad handing personality hucksters (Like politicians & salesmen).
Nobody has suggested the science on autism is settled. There’s very little science on autism to be settled. But the science on the alleged link between vaccination and autism is very much settled, just like the science on astrology or a flat earth.
And you know this how? What stats have you seen that would lead you to such a conclusion? Or is it just unfounded prejudice?
No, there is not. Not even a little one. The only reason anyone even suspects a link is Andrew Wakefield’s fraud.
Given that you have never, not even once, allowed yourself to even entertain a single thought outside of approved conventional wisdom and have furthermore designated yourself as the Defending Champion of Approved Thought, your response is completely expected.
<sputter> That is one of the dumbest things ever said about me, anywhere.
“Given that you have never, not even once, allowed yourself to even entertain a single thought outside of approved conventional wisdom…”
Despite the fact I often disagree with Milhouse, your statement is probably the most unreasoning thing I’ve ever read about about him, anywhere.
Since he’s stopped using ad hominems, I carefully read and evaluate all of his comments; I suggest it would be to your benefit to do the same
So then don’t vaccinate and let God decide who lives or dies since you are unable to.
Vaccines are part of a risk management protocol, they are not magic elixirs with perfect effect and without side-effects, which is why they are not generally administered. The connection between vaccines and progressive mental defects (e.g. autism), likely relates to inflammatory responses induced by agents in the vaccines or the diseases they emulate. These alien agents and conditions are especially critical during the early evolution of human life when changes in the nervous system are highly dynamic.
I had no idea what world vaccinations are but much like this article indicates I would have guessed much lower then the 85%. Again, I’m no expert so I was just doing a little research based on this discussion but I found this information encouraging.
https://ourworldindata.org/vaccination
Today vaccines protect billions of people around the world from infectious diseases. In this fight we are much, much further ahead than most people realize.
The first chart shows the evidence for this misperception. In this chart we plotted the survey responses that people gave when they were asked “How many of the world’s 1-year old children today have been vaccinated against some disease?”. The correct answer was 85.8%; this is the share of 1-year olds that received the third dose of the combination vaccine that protects against Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (whooping cough).
But in all countries in which people were surveyed people were much too pessimistic about the global coverage. Americans think that only 35% of the world’s children are vaccinated, the true coverage is 50 percentage points higher.1
Reported coverage by governments, who have absolutely no reason at all whatsoever for fudging their numbers, are 50% higher. Like infant mortality statistics. In most of Europe, a child who dies within 24 hours of birth isn’t classified as a live birth. No effort is made to save a newborn’s life if born under a certain weight, and the newborn is reported as born dead. Cuts the infant mortality statistics way down if you ignore those inconvenient live babies who die quickly. The United States counts all live births as live births.
Alabama has the highest vaccination rate and a very low autism rate.
Isn’t autism more common in children with high IQ’s?
okay, sorry, was jk… it was teed it up so nicely…
I thought it was humorous….
I must ask. Are you sure it’s illegal immigrants that are the problem? Barring the most remote reaches of Africa, I thought rejection of vaccine science was firmly rooted in well-educated Americans. And, I can’t imagine illegals would be denied vaccines if they sought them.
Because they cross the border in perfect health and run to the first urgent-care center they can find, asking to be vaccinated.
Illegal aliens are a huge public health problem and have been for years.
https://www.naturalnews.com/046030_illegal_immigration_infectious_diseases_Border_Patrol_agents.html
“Border Patrol agents being widely infected with diseases; union VP warns all of America at risk”
The CBP commissioner reports that recently they’ve seen seriously ill illegal aliens with diseases ranging from pneumonia, tuberculosis, yellow fever, dengue fever, parasite infections, to AIDs. CBP officers and other federal agents have caught a variety of diseases from illegals they’ve arrested and detained. A number of illegal aliens have died in CBP custody. Not because they were abused. But because they’re seriously ill before they leave their home countries. This is obvious given their condition when they arrive. One Guatemalan died of complications from Influenza B on Christmas Eve. There really was nothing anybody could do for him.
The fact of the matter is the media is flat out lying about illegal aliens and the public health risk they pose. They used to report on the subject (the article I linked to is from 2014) but since Trump was elected they’ve placed a black-on this news.
Portland is a sanctuary city in a sanctuary state. If parents aren’t vaccinating their kids that would create ideal conditions for disease transmission.
All medical procedures carry some risk. The relevant question is not whether some procedure is totally, 100% safe (getting out of bed is not ‘safe’) but whether the benefit justifies the risk. But in general regarding medical procedures, it’s difficult to find many that offer as high a benefit-to-risk ratio as vaccination.
Nonetheless, one may as well acknowledge the conflict between individual vs public risk here. For even if the risks of vaccination are very, very small, one could still make a case that ideal situation would be for everyone but you to get vaccinated, as that way you’d have a high level of protection and no risk at all.
Conflicts between private choices and public risks are inherent in public health which, if it is to adequately protect the public, must sometimes favor public safety over individual freedom.
“Conflicts between private choices and public risks are inherent in public health which, if it is to adequately protect the public, must sometimes favor public safety over individual freedom.”
I would agree with you if we lived in a world where trillions of dollars in profits did not interfere with what is considered “the common good”. So what you are advocating for is that government and thus lobbyists, can determine what vaccines are in the “common good”.
I wonder how many children, whom RECEIVED proper medical care, actually died of measles in the US. I bet the number is very small, tiny. And yet, try to even delay an MMR vaccine and the entire wrath of the nation is upon you.
I always find it very interesting that often the same people who want the government to be allowed to break down your door to shoot up your children with whatever the government has determined is for “the common good” today are frequently the same people that poo-pooh the idea that illegal immigration contributes to increased rates of TB measles and other infectious diseases.
The reason that you get outbreaks in “crunchy liberal areas” is because those parents have done their homework and are not convinced the science is settled and therefore some don’t vaccinate. However, it is more complicated than simply saying it is because they live in clusters that don’t vaccinate, as that same population of people the so-called blue areas” also have high contact with illegal immigrants who clean their homes and serve their food. I personally believe it is the combination of the two that creates the problem.
You can also see the same effect in more rural areas where they open a meat packing plant or other industry that brings in a large population of immigrants.
Yes, I agree. Vaccinate your children! But those of you advocating that the government be able to FORCE vaccinations might wish you had requested a few more protections for yourself when they start determining that YOU should be forced to take a litany of new and highly profitable vaccines, all for your own good of course.
Public health nurses in this area really, really dislike the local Amish- who don’t vaccinate for measles. Or anything else I know of. The deafness rate in the Amish community is much higher than the surrounding population- as a complication of measles. You don’t hear much about measles outbreaks in Amish communities because the parents know what measles is- and the kids aren’t taken to doctors for treatment. Doctors who can’t do much in the way of treatment anyway except to diagnose- “Yeah, the kid has measles.” If the cases are never reported- they never happened. AS far as public statistics go. The Amish and Mennonites go to their own schools, which apparently don’t require proof of vaccination as public schools do.
I believe most of the Mennonites vaccinate. I’ll have to ask my neighbors next time I see them.
The cases don’t spread to the surrounding community because the Amish kids don’t mix with the surrounding community. And the adults, most of them, had measles as kids, so they’re not carriers when they interact with the rest of us.
Before the measles vaccine was available, families would introduce their children to the first kid in the neighborhood to catch the disease.
Just get it all over with at once was the plan.
The same with mumps, it was better to suffer the mumps as a kid than as an adult.
if your were male you wanted to catch the mumps a youth, if you wanted to have kids
Ditto for chicken pox, or so my doctor told me.
And every so often a kid died and the parents never forgave themselves for having been so stupid.
In those days, it was all but guaranteed that everyone was going to suffer the measles and the mumps. The only thought process was how to reduce the effects.
If your child has the flu, that’s a very bad time to catch the measles or the mumps, ditto pneumonia and other diseases. So if your child is otherwise healthy, that’s a good time to get the measles or the mumps.
Of course, if one of your children came down with polio, your family was isolated and you prayed, a lot.
And every so often someone dies of influenza, even in modern times with the annual flu vaccines and the annual push to vaccinate all the people.
But even back in the day when kids were intentionally exposed to the measles to build the immunity to normal “childhood” diseases, the mortality rate was very low.
In the 50s and early 60s, for example, before the measles vaccine, it’s estimated 3-4 MILLION cases were reported each year, with 400-500 deaths on average (https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/history.html). That’s a mortality rate of ~0.015%, even without vaccination.
And such deaths were nearly always due to additional complications, not necessarily the disease itself.
I don’t mean to downplay the individual tragedies, but please keep it in perspective. The media reports on modern outbreaks invariably use words and phrases like “extremely contagious” and “virulent”, which make it sound MUCH worse than it is. Even chicken pox gets this verbiage. Chicken pox! While technically true (it does spread easily), it’s a fever and a rash, for crying out loud!
But reading the media reports, it may as well be smallpox, or ebola!
Regarding the parents “having been so stupid”, it was the norm — backed by conventional wisdom — just a few decades ago (and still is, in some of the so-called “anti-vaxxer hot spots”). Doctors near-unanimously agree, if you’re going to get what used to be “normal childhood illnesses”, it’s better to get them young (within reason); kids tend to bounce back easier. Adult chicken pox, for example, has a higher rate for complications, which can affect everything from brain function to future fertility.
Just my $0.02.
I’d cut it to about $0.01. For example, chicken pox, which you dismiss so casually, can be very serious if adults develop it. The virus also lies dormant after the initial infection, and frequently re-erupts as herpes in older adults. This disease is painful, and sometimes disfiguring. One shouldn’t be so offhand about communicable diseases
Sorry, I misread your post and conflated it with some others. My bad, as they say.
You are misquoting your source. What your source says is that “It is estimated 3 to 4 million people in the United States were infected each year. Also each year, among reported cases [emphasis added], an estimated 400 to 500 people died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and 1,000 suffered encephalitis (swelling of the brain) from measles.” The 400-500 deaths were not from the 3-4 million estimated cases, but only from the unknown but surely much smaller number of reported cases.
Except when a kid dies from it. It’s rare, but it happens.
Just a fever and a rash? From the Mayo clinic: Overview Chickenpox
Chickenpox (varicella) is a viral infection that causes an itchy rash with small, fluid-filled blisters. Chickenpox is highly contagious to people who haven’t had the disease or been vaccinated against it.
Those small fluid filled blisters are a lot more than “just a rash” and can cause permanent scarring. Before the vaccine, one of my kids had a REALLY severe case. Including blisters in his mouth. Also from the Mayo Clinic In severe cases, the rash can spread to cover the entire body, and lesions may form in the throat, eyes and mucous membranes of the urethra, anus and vagina. I remember being miserable when I had it. But the childhood diseases have kind of blended together in my memories.
Wrong about that. Childhood death was an expected part of life until very recently. Until a child survived measles, mumps, smallpox, chickenpox, polio- a parent just didn’t know if their kid was going to make it to adulthood. And everyone knew getting mumps as a kid was better than mumps as an adult. People weren’t stupid.
Polio vaccine didn’t exist in 1955 when I was born. My family was first in line at the first mass vaccination event in our local community. I can’t be certain why, but I only recently discovered my oldest cousin wasn’t firstborn. I have my suspicions, but there’s no one left to ask…
People live with what they have to live with. All my kids were vaccinated. Chickenpox vaccine is new, so my older kids had chickenpox. All my grandchildren are vaccinated.
In the same vein, there’s sunburn. It was an accepted part of life growing up for my generation. You went to the shore- you got sunburned. There was no sunscreen. Now it’s child abuse allowing your kid to get sunburned. Side effect- skin cancer rates are going up. Kids can spend a LOT more time in the sun. Because they don’t get sunburned. Like many things, some sun exposure is good for you- too much is bad for you.
https://cis.org/Immigration-Studies/Vaccination-Rates-Among-Immigrants-Are-Legitimate-Concern
The short version is “bureaucrats lie” so the validity of the data regarding vaccination rates of 2nd and 3rd world countries is suspect.
Alien-sourced antigens is another reason to build a wall, a sort-of “Ellis Island” to quarantine immigrants for review and processing, before integrating them with the general population.
Guys, believe me, I enjoy bashing Portland more than most, as I live about 100 miles upstream from the city and am 100 miles downstream from the loony politics that emanates from there.
However, despite the headline, this particular public health crisis emanates from Clark County, WA. Its politics are much different. While the Columbia River may keep measles to the north, it also is a barrier to Clark County’s more sensible politics.
From Wikipedia: Clark County is a swing county in U.S. presidential elections that recently has voted slightly more Republican than the state and nation as a whole. For example, while President Obama carried Clark County by a few hundred votes representing a fraction of a percent, he ran behind his national showing of a 3% margin. George W. Bush carried the county twice, by 52% to 47% over John Kerry in 2004 and by 49% to 46% over Al Gore in 2000. Clark County usually votes for the winning presidential candidate. It voted for Ronald Reagan twice and for Bill Clinton twice. The last three presidential elections where Clark County did not vote for the national winner were 1968, when it voted for Humphrey over Nixon, and 1988, when it voted for Dukakis over Bush, as well as in 2016 when the county narrowly voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over Republican nominee and winner of the election Donald Trump.”
Just thought you’d like to know.
Possibly irrelevant. The problem with contagious diseases is that they don’t respect borders, political or otherwise. If someone from Portland, carrying measles, passed into neighboring Clark County, and infected several local residents, the source of the problem was Portland, regardless of the virtues of Clark County. The whole anti-vaccination movement is incredibly irresponsible, because communicable diseases are not confined to the individuals taking certain risks, but to everyone who might come in contact with them, or with intermediaries or even objects that came in contact with them.
A quick note:
likely more than half the population of Clark county, WA (in which you find Vancouver, plus quite a few more cities) works in Portland, OR; just think of the number of people commuting back and forth daily.
And how often did you go into work with a cold?
As has been noted, state borders are amorphous and porous and apolitical.
When reporting outbreaks, it should be on the basis of a commuting radius.
It’s a controversial topic, whatever you choose to believe. I don’t mean to stoke the fire here, but….
I’ll need to see the source material saying 20 of the cases were unvaccinated children. Not just the county reports, the actual (anonymized) vaccination records.
The reason I’ll need to see this is because the reporting on this has changed 180 degrees. Before the national news agencies picked up the story, when there were only 12 or 13 confirmed cases, local reporting was consistently saying that most of the cases were vaccinated children. People were starting to question the vaccine’s efficacy rate.
Then, suddenly, it changed, and is now reported that most of the cases were unvaccinated kids.
So which is it? Those are two mutually-exclusive statements; they cannot both be true. If it was a journalistic mistake or misstatement, the media needs to own it, otherwise we have a 1984-esque situation (“Oceana is at war with EastAsia. We have always been at war with EastAsia.”).
Portland may be a “anti-vaxxer hot spot”, but the reality is most people — the VAST majority — still vaccinate their kids. It’s a “hot spot” because ~2-3% object to vaccines instead of <0.5%, far from the implication that non-vaccinated kids are the norm (evidenced by the kickbacks clinics get from pharma companies; they lose their kickbacks if vaccination rates among their patients fall below 98%, and they’re all still getting their kickbacks). Assuming the vaccine efficacy rate is what they say (a big assumption, in my opinion), “herd immunity” requires about a 97% rate, which they should have.
I have more to share on this topic if anyone’s interested (personally, I believe this outbreak will be used to justify a campaign to outlaw ALL vaccine exemptions and further diminish parental rights, but that’s just me), but this comment is long enough already. Suffice to say, because the reporting flipped — with no corrections or acknowledgements — I’m less able to trust what they’re saying now.
Look, it is not as bad as it seems. Yeah, if you don’t get your kid vaccinated they may go deaf, or even die. But at least it will be natural and organic. /s
One issue that I haven’t seen discussed (and was not covered in the report that I read), is that measles tends to be considered a childhood disease. One overwhelming reason for wanting as many vaccinated as possible and achieving herd immunity, is the prevention of birth defects. I don’t know if the public health officials treat this like STDs, but I would think they’d want to know who the infected people have come in contact with and then track down to see if any of those are pregnant. Pregnant women without vaccination are at risk of developing measles which can cause miscarriages and severe birth defects. I’d be willing to wager that this risk is one reason that vaccinations are given at a young age. Most people have their children within 2-4 years of each other. So vaccinating at a young age protects that child, any subsequent children that the mother might carry, and any other children and/or potentially pregnant women with whom that child might contact. Then, in turn, those girls grow up into immunized women of childbearing age.
Balance that against the risk of some complication. Yes, within the population there will be some who for whatever reason, react to the vaccines. That’s a tough choice. Having been to other countries and done the historical research, birth defects, polio, etc., is much more rampant in history and in developing countries than it is in the US. Overall, vaccines are a benefit to individuals and to the population as a whole. When you compare the childhood mortality (not infant mortality) in the age group 1-5, vaccinations are worth the risk. Remember, up until WWI and II, most deaths in wartime were due to disease — in the Civil War it was childhood diseases that killed many. Flu epidemic in 1917-18 infected 500 million, killed between 50-100 million, which was 3-5% of total world population.
One note on the autism causal debate. Right — science isn’t settled. (As Einstein reportedly said, “that’s why we do research.”). We have good indications that vaccines are not the cause and we are still searching for the causal conditions, which are undoubtedly multi-variate. I am reminded of the Gulf War Illness studies. I think most of them were inconclusive but they all pointed to a combination of factors that led to the symptoms and diagnoses. Some military personnel were exposed and got symptoms, some were exposed and did not. Some took all precautionary shots, some did not. Some analysis indicated (and this was before widespread genetic mapping) that the affected military personnel had a genetic disposition to react to a particular combination of environmental factors, including perhaps chemical exposure, exposure to microbes/bacteria/viruses only found in that region of the world, etc. There were also widening diagnoses of issues that were grouped into GWI. It goes to the application of population wide studies and attributing that probability of causation within the population to an individual. My mother smoked from age 15 to age 87 when she passed away without a single symptom. A good friend who lived in Alaska (pure air) and was a lifetime non-smoker developed lung cancer and passed away at age 59.
Sorry for the ramble.
“Gulf War Syndrome” is a myth, just like “Agent Orange syndrome” before it. (See also here and here)
You needn’t be so tentative in your support for vaccination. You might not remember when polio was a scourge, but I do. The number of people who were permanently crippled was huge. The disease rightly terrified parents all over the world. It had almost been eradicated, when this scumbag of a lawyer decided to drum up business for class action lawsuits by disseminating some discredited ‘research’ and a few very speculative claims by some highly marginal scientists, and managed to upset people who were already inclined to doubt anything about medicine that was not ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ in its origin. (In the state of nature we lived in before modern medicine, the mortality rate, especially among children was horrifying, and the average life expectancy was 40-something.) Those who have disseminated this ‘alternative’ public health notion have blood on their hands!
Given your logic, you and everyone else in the United States should be FORCED to take each and every flu shot that comes on the market, since flu kills far more than measles, mumps or rubella.
All of you clamoring for FORCED vaccinations are setting the stage to be forced to take any and every vaccine that can in anyway be shown to save lives, regardless if you have reason to believe that it is not safe.
I don’t think it’s all or nothing. For instance, folks travelling from someplace where a particularly nasty disease is common, ought to be required to have proof of inoculation; same for those traveling to such locations lest they bring it back.
Public schools are another place where vaccinations for severe or highly infectious diseases should be mandatory. The people, hence the government, have a very strong interest in preventing debilitating diseases.
You are making two different points. One is that governments should have the right to insist that people traveling INTO the country should be required to take precautions to prevent disease transmission; something we turn a complete and total blind eye to on our southern border.
The second is that citizens born HERE, who want to participate in the pubic square, should be forced to take vaccinations if it can be shown that can prevent the spread a communicable illness.
My point is….be careful what you wish for!! Flu kills millions more than MMR and chicken pox combined.
Using the same logic as to why children should be forced to take MMR and varicella vaccines, why shouldn’t YOU be FORCED to take every single flu shot that comes on the market, since flu is far more lethal?
It’s one thing to demand that un-vaccinated children stay home during an outbreak, or to manage a serious outbreak in isolated parts of the country. Quite another for the government to be able to force EVERYONE to take them against their will – for the common good.
Lots of money in flu shots and up and coming vaccines. If you don’t want to be forced to take any and every vaccine the government’s lobbyists determine are in your interest, I would not make the argument for forced vaccinations.
You are quite right. I believe the hidden agenda is to grant TPTB the authority to mandate forced vaccinations on all, child and adult alike. This is unconscionable for those who love liberty. If you want to get a vaccine, fine – have at it. If vaccines will protect you, then you have nothing to fear from the unvaccinated.
At least that’s the case if you believe the pharmaceutical marketing materials.
Another concern that few people realize is the use of aborted fetal tissues in the development of vaccines. This poses an ethical problem for pro-life individuals. Hence the religious exemptions from vaccines.
Let people make their own decisions.
I had scarlet fever, chicken pox, and measles as a kid. It really isn’t a big deal for the vast majority of kids. Sure, there are those who suffer complications – but as others have pointed out, complications are more likely to arise when these illnesses are contracted in adulthood rather than childhood.
The vaccines are neither 100% safe nor 100% effective. Talk about blood on one’s hands – if you’re eager to demonize those who decline to vaccinate their kids due to concerns about vaccine reactions and paint them with the blood of kids who die from complications of a disease, just realize that door swings both ways. By the same logic, those who advocate mandatory vaccines have the blood of vaccine-injured individuals on their hands.
As for myself, I think it’s less about public safety and more about the $$$ from having vaccine mandates. (Gee, where have we heard about health mandates before…?) Pretty nice gig going when the government forces everyone to use your product.
It is rare but it happens when an infant has a harmful reaction to the shot. Before the child is vaccinated, the parents are given a paper to read about the possible effects and the availability of a fund for the unfortunate who experience debilitating effects. I used to heavily disagree with not vaccinating, but I now have an open mind. I don’t have a dog in the fight because my kids were vaccinated, except I refused gardisil on behalf of my kids.
The coming “perfect storm”…….
Flesh-eating bacteria found on Central America migrant in Border Patrol custody
https://cbs4local.com/news/local/flesh-eating-bacteria-found-on-central-america-migrant-crossing-with-large-group
And this is just another day on the border. These type diseases coming across the border are becoming a common occurrence.