Anti-Vaxxers Are Nuts

07 March 2019, 11:17 PM

A kid isn’t vaccinated for tetanus. He gets a cut. He gets lockjaw. He’s airlifted to the hospital, spends 87 days in the hospital, at a cost of almost $1 million.

The punchline ... his parents still won’t vaccinate him, for tetanus or anything else.

https://gizmodo.com/it-took-tw...rce=gizmodo_facebook

07 March 2019, 11:31 PM

Steve Miller

I am running out of motivation to care about these people. They’re not interested in what I think and they’re not my problem.

You can’t fix this.

07 March 2019, 11:45 PM

Daniel

I don't understand. We were vaccinated in public school. End of. Or make other arrangements for your child's education. Since when isn't this a matter of public policy? Huh?

08 March 2019, 09:19 AM

Axtremus

Having caught tetanus once, would the patient not have developed immunity from that experience? Would one who have contacted real tetanus still benefit from vaccination of the same disease after the fact?

The part about not willing to vaccinate against other diseases is harder to justify. Cannot really think of a single allergen common to all vaccines that can justify one refusing all vaccines.

08 March 2019, 10:15 AM

AdagioM

The article I read said that you can get tetanus more than once, so the poor kid isn’t immune from tetanus by virtue of having had it.

The kid cut his forehead, and they sutured it at home. OUCH. And then tetanus. This kid went through excruciating pain not to mention expense, and the parents are apparently fine with that over having vaccinations.

Article in the Oregonian.

08 March 2019, 11:40 PM

AdagioM

Also, here’s the CDC report.

09 March 2019, 08:10 AM

ShiroKuro

quote:
The kid cut his forehead, and they sutured it at home. OUCH. And then tetanus. This kid went through excruciating pain not to mention expense, and the parents are apparently fine with that over having vaccinations.

Jesus. And other parents get CFS called on them for letting their kids play in a park. What is wrong with this country??

09 March 2019, 12:39 PM

Nina

I see your nutjob and raise you.

09 March 2019, 01:53 PM

QuirtEvans

quote:
Originally posted by Nina:
I see your nutjob and raise you.

I didn't think it was possible to raise that.

I was wrong.

09 March 2019, 02:20 PM

ShiroKuro

quote:
Originally posted by Nina:
I see your nutjob and raise you.

There isn’t an appropriate icon for this.... picture me tripping over myself trying to simultaneously roll my eyes, face palm and do the “nutjob” hand signal.

09 March 2019, 04:15 PM

pianojuggler

quote:
Originally posted by Nina:
I see your nutjob and raise you.

quote:
"Your body is yours, but to put something in it or tattoo something on it, is a whole different level," Townsend said. "I am really trying to help people understand that and many are not seeing what I am trying to say.

"They are assuming I am anti-vaccination. That is not my point," she continued. "My point is your body is your own and at what point do we draw the line and say the government should be able to take your body and do with it what they decide?"

Like deciding when you can discontinue an unwanted pregnancy?

Oh, sorry.

09 March 2019, 06:47 PM

Piano*Dad

quote:
Originally posted by pianojuggler:
quote:
Originally posted by Nina:
I see your nutjob and raise you.
quote:
"Your body is yours, but to put something in it or tattoo something on it, is a whole different level," Townsend said. "I am really trying to help people understand that and many are not seeing what I am trying to say.

"They are assuming I am anti-vaccination. That is not my point," she continued. "My point is your body is your own and at what point do we draw the line and say the government should be able to take your body and do with it what they decide?"

This is an interesting issue. I think most reasoning people would agree that the government should not be able to "do anything they want" with peoples' bodies. That's really not a point of contention. But "if" we collectively decide that people can choose not to do something as sensible as vaccination, and after their choice they can demand $800,000 of treatment to fix the error of their choice, perhaps we should also have a collective decision to allow people to face the consequences of their choice ... the kid gets palliative treatment and is allowed to die. Oh, wait, the kid is innocent. Hmmm. It's complicated.

09 March 2019, 07:44 PM

QuirtEvans

quote:
Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
quote:
Originally posted by pianojuggler:
quote:
Originally posted by Nina:
I see your nutjob and raise you.
quote:
"Your body is yours, but to put something in it or tattoo something on it, is a whole different level," Townsend said. "I am really trying to help people understand that and many are not seeing what I am trying to say.

"They are assuming I am anti-vaccination. That is not my point," she continued. "My point is your body is your own and at what point do we draw the line and say the government should be able to take your body and do with it what they decide?"

This is an interesting issue. I think most reasoning people would agree that the government should not be able to "do anything they want" with peoples' bodies. That's really not a point of contention. But "if" we collectively decide that people can choose not to do something as sensible as vaccination, and after their choice they can demand $800,000 of treatment to fix the error of their choice, perhaps we should also have a collective decision to allow people to face the consequences of their choice ... the kid gets palliative treatment and is allowed to die. Oh, wait, the kid is innocent. Hmmm. It's complicated.

Maybe slightly complicated with tetanus. Not at all complicated for infectious diseases.