The War to End All Measles

Altho much of this discussion hinges on children (rightfully so), people should be aware that, even if children escape the various so-called childhood diseases, they can come down with them as adults. Having experienced mumps, chicken pox, and German measles as an adult, I can honestly say I was totally miserable each time and, to add insult to injury, I developed mumps -related pancreatitis, which resulted in constant nausea. It was like early pregnancy. Folks, all of this was not pleasant to endure, but we didn't have those vaccines yet. Do you REALLY want to bestow these gifts on your children? And don't forget that having chicken pox also lays one open to developing shingles later on--another gift that keeps on giving.

Science is the new religion. Should we really hold people down and vaccinate them, against their will and beliefs? Ostracize and shun them for the crime of potentially diluting our purity? Even if their philosophy of health and disease is more consistent, more gentle, and more effective than our own? According to the historic record, during the Spanish flu of 1918 those cases treated by evidence based modern medicine had a very high mortality rate, while those treated by homeopathy had a mortality rate of 1%. The vehemence and vitriol which arises regarding these issues is evidence of the fear which is the basis of our medical system. Please know that there are other systems which are not based in fear and profit. Unless you have openly, fully, and diligently listened to the other side and investigated it for yourself, I would hold that it is you who are ignorant.

A family member suffered mumps encephalopathy a couple of years or so before a vaccine became available. She was in a coma, but survived and was fine. It was not a fun week in the family. I myself was said to have had rubella as toddler and never got vaccinated. But I got lucky — I started working in a virology lab as a student, and my supervisor realized that I may not have had rubella. Off I went for testing. He was right, I got vaccinated, and he saved my kids from the risk of congenital rubella syndrome. Visited a big old cemetery in the northeast not long ago. There was an entire section for dead babies and toddlers. All the old cemeteries are like that up there. And yet the ignorati tell us that vaccines are “dangerous.” After all, they contain scary things like “buffers” (salt water), “too many antigens” (your kid gets way more of those from breathing, eating, and putting his fingers in his mouth), and aluminum (there’s more in breast milk). But facts be darned! Because...autism. Because...needles. The only solution is legislation, as evidenced by skyrocketing immunization rates in California in the wake of our wonderful law that gives people a choice: you can either vaccinate your snowflake or homeschool him (only valid medical exemptions excepted).

I am nobody special. But I did suffer through all those childhood diseases; measles, rubella, chickenpox, mumps. They were all horrendous in their own way, and I was then unaware that I could die from them. I developed chickenpox at age 16. Our family doctor’s jaw dropped when he saw me during a house call (remember those?). I was literally covered from head to toe with angry oozing pustules. I looked like an alien, and felt like one too. Fifty years later, I still have scars. And you be sure that I receive every vaccine that wasn’t discovered or available back then. The antivaxxers are nuts.

I would like to address the disparaging comments which vilified Orthodox Jews as failing to vaccinate their children : My Orthodox Jewish parents had each of their five children vaccinated as per the recommended vaccination guidelines, as did the other Orthodox Jewish parents in the neighborhood, and as do all the Orthodox Jews whom I know..The people in the article who chose not to vaccinate their children are not representative of the Orthodox Jewish community. . My friend's children's pediatrician gave a couple a choice of vaccinating their children or removing them from his practice. He was not going to allow them to risk the lives of the babies in his waiting room who were too young to be vaccinated. If other pediatricians follow suit, the anti-vaxxers will be forced to decide whether they would prefer to allow their children to go without treatment, or vaccinate. My grandparents buried a four year old child who died of a childhood disease for which no vaccination existed in the 1930s. No parent should have to bury a child in 2018,of an illness for which a vaccine is available, as a result of other parents' selfish decisions.

Talking to you, Marin County!

Born in New York and raised in France, it has always been a bit of a mystery to this reader of how one single student in a day-school of 120 pupils could come down with the measles and end up in the hospital. Mademoiselle Bigoudille, the epitome of a spinster, was in charge of the boarders. There were twelve of us. We all had a bad case of the flu and were given awful brews with a generous dosage of aspirin. At first it was a holiday of sorts, staying in our steel cots, sharing our dreams, and then La Grippe left us, our fever abated, and I remember my friend from Laos, up and about. My fever climbed to a soaring 104; it was suffocating, and I no longer cared if this was dying. A five-year old approached my bed and exclaimed 'you are covered in little red buttons'. The following morning the ambulance arrived, and I was given a get-well send off from my classmates, waving from the biology window. As I walked down the corridor of the Institut Pasteur, where Rock Hudson was later treated for AIDS, young doctors popped their heads out of their office, with a 'wow'. This took place in the mid-60s, where we were being given booster shots for the prevention of polio. Polio, measles, mumps, and more have still not been eradicated in these times, and I was to meet a few grown-up victims of polio in adolescence. There were two cases of measles in the hospital, in quarantine. A baby, screaming in 'anguish'; the teenager felt helpless, but we survived. Save The Children.

My father, born in 1904, was the youngest of nine children. But only 5 made it out of infancy.

I am disgusted and outraged by the orthodox Jewish communities of Brooklyn who refuse vaccines because of so-called religious objections. There are no such prohibitions in any Jewish writings and the claim that there are is an outright falsehood and lie. What is worse is the pseudo intellectual claims of parental freedom of choice and freedom to say no in the face of proven science and medical technology. The conspiracy theorists are equally repugnant. The risks to children of deafness, brain damage, hospitalization, pneumonia, and even death from preventable diseases through vaccination cannot be ignored or set aside because of religion or personal opposition. Children who can't be immunized because of real physical side effects are only protected when the great majority of all other children are vaccinated. We have many freedoms in America. But there is no right to place public health at risk and absolutely no right to say no when the health of the general public, especially children who cannot protect themselves are put in deadly jeopardy. No child should be permitted to attend any public, private or parochial school without proof of immunization. Even home schooled children must be vaccinated. We need to review and where necessary change and modernize our public health laws in all states. We may need a national health directive for public safety. Parents with religious and personal objections take note; You are placing the community at risk not just your children.

My great-great grandfather died of measles in a Civil War camp. He was not alone. My mother had polio, fortunately a mild case, and she recovered. We know others who had it. I myself had measles, German measles, chicken pox, and mumps. You better believe I believe in vaccination.

The good old days: "recruits coming off the farm were especially vulnerable". Well, there goes that myth that farm life makes you invulnerable and boosts that immune system.

Our country is so infected with conspiracists that truth has been overwhelmed. Something as simple and provable as vaccines work has become Big Pharma wants to kill or damage your child. I remember getting vaccinated at my elementary school in the late 60's. We lined up in the auditorium and each took our turn to get our shot in the arm. People didn't opt their children out based on some ludicrous idea, all the kids were just there, scared and waiting their turn, knowing that it was an important and unavoidable thing. A lollipop was our reward. I cannot imagine this occurring any longer in our post-truth, "you do you", selfish society.

My father was a doctor for fifty years, after a stint with the U.S. Public Health Service following combat duty in WWII. He was a pretty thoughtful and experienced guy. One day many years ago, when Dr. Tom Price was a state senator and not yet anywhere near HHS, I introduced him to my Dad. We happened to be discussing anti-immunization laws. Dr. Price had a question for him: "Doctor, how can anyone be against vaccination?" My old man growled out a simple answer: "They never watched a child die of diptheria, that's how."

I nearly died of measles when I was five years old, in 1947. I was infected when my parents and I met with a neighbor who had a relative visiting from overseas. I don't understand, from my personal experience obviously, why some parents will grasp any excuse to avoid vaccinating their children against life threatening diseases. I wonder how these "anti-vax" parents would react if school systems were to enact a policy that all unvaccinated children are to be assigned to the same classroom to protect the other children in their school. If the "anti-vax" parents want their children to be protected by the "herd", they should join the herd.

The New York Times is staunchly in favor of vaccinations and every so often publishes an article similar to this. Parents would be well advised to balance this information with that gleaned from other sources which explain the very real side effects that vaccines can have, as well as the importance of considering a vaccine schedule that makes sense for your situation, as opposed to blindly following the one recommended by pediatricians. For instance, if your child is recovering from any kind of infection, it may be a better idea to postpone that pediatrician appointment and go the following week when his immune system is not already aroused. And, question why vaccines have to be given together - it is not medical necessity, but convenience of the practitioner. There is no evidence that grouping vaccines isn't harmful for children who may have a propensity to suffer neurological effects. Finally, some vaccines can and perhaps should be postponed. Why immunize 2 month olds against Hepatitis B, a sexually transmitted disease? Parents need to empower themselves with information and advocate for their own decisions, just as in every other encounter with the medical professions.

1. I work in Travel Medicine, a specialty that prepares people for travel abroad. 2. My siblings had measles, I did not, but should be immune, right? Wrong, I test negative. 3. I am highly allergic to a vaccine component and cannot receive it without risking anaphylaxis. Given the above, I am a fierce advocate for adhering to the CDC's vaccination schedules. Every outbreak of measles is tied to a traveler. Other imported vaccine-preventable diseases: typhoid (although this vaccine is not highly immunogenic) & diphtheria. Added to the vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) that we have conquered, are diseases like malaria or dengue, which as with measles, many U.S. healthcare providers have never seen and are ill-equipped to include in the list of possible imported diseases resulting in delay of definitive diagnosis. Between defunding of public health initiatives, lack of experience in diagnosing, anti-vaxxers who worship at the alter of the disgraced (& disgraceful) Andrew Wakefield, we are risking lives. Add the propensity for people to trust Dr. Google over a trained NP or MD, we will no doubt see a persistence in measles outbreaks and a reintroduction of other diseases.

It seems no amount of rational thought will convince an anti-vaccination person to change their mind and vaccinate their child. To them, reality is "fake news" and they will come up with all sorts of articles that verify their beliefs but totally ignore the overwhelming evidence that does not fit into their thought process. Anti-vaccers, like climate change deniers are all aboard the same ship of fools.

And yet the greatest risk to those young men of WW1 wasn't the measles or mumps. It was the lust for war residing in their so-called leaders. This is still the greatest of human risks to life and limb awaiting a vaccine.

As a pediatrician it is sobering to visit the old New England cemeteries. These are graveyards full of children many of whom died from infectious diseases that are now preventable by immunization. It is sad to think that being a parent in colonial times meant expecting that many of your children would never make it to adulthood. The one greatest public health discovery in history was that immunization could prevent many previously serious or fatal infections. The challenge with those who make a personal choice to not immunize is that it is not just about you and your child. That choice could infect or kill another child. This is why the maximum number of children need to be immunized to create a herd immunity to prevent spread of these infections. Finally, exhaustive research on the measles vaccine has shown no link to autism. Please let’s just immunize our kids and not return to the good old days when our cemeteries were full of children dying from vaccine preventable diseases.

There is a streak of insanity present in the mindset of certain parents, who are themselves immunized, where they set forth the false proposition that measles vaccinations lead to autism. People who decline immunizations to their children are engaging in conduct which is tantamount to child abuse.

This brings me back to the only night in my long life that I had a doctor’s house call. I had a temperature hovering around 105 degrees, so my Mom said later, and I was delirious. I don’t know what the doctor did, but I made it through the night. Been respectful of vaccinations ever since!

Thank you for this important reminder. My aunt had measles while pregnant here in the US in the 1960’s. My cousin was born with extensive issues, has never walked or talked, and is blind and deaf. I am shocked at how this issue continues to be debated by anyone today.

The anti-vaccers should pay. out of pocket, for the medical costs of their refusal - their own kids and to those who catch it from them. The parents of the secondary cases should sue the parents of the primary cases.

We are the 12th richest nation in the world. According to the WHO the other nations all richer than we are give their children half the vaccinations that we do. I find this troubling.

My stepdaughter started college with the warning that she needed to retake her MMR b/c her medical record shows that her first vaccine was given 2 days before her first birthday. Her bio mother thought her birthday was June 10, when in fact, it was June 12, and scheduled her for her 1 yr well baby visit two days too early.

"The War to End All Measles (in the U.S.)" The CDC website states: "Since 2000, when public health officials declared measles eliminated from the U.S., the annual number of people reported to have measles ranged from a low of 37 people in 2004 to a high of 667 people in 2014." and... "Since measles is still common in many countries, travelers will continue to bring this disease into the United States. Measles is highly contagious, so anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk of getting the disease. People who are unvaccinated for any reason, including those who refuse vaccination, risk getting infected with measles and spreading it to others. And they may spread measles to people who cannot get vaccinated because they are too young or have specific health conditions." so... the risk remains indefinite.

Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics "Acute Encephalopathy Followed by Permanent Brain Injury or Death Associated With Further Attenuated Measles Vaccines" "Conclusions. This clustering suggests that a causal relationship between measles vaccine and encephalopathy may exist as a rare complication of measles immunization." http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/101/3/383.short