November 1-6 has been declared “Vaccine Awareness Week.” What a great idea. Especially with the whooping cough epidemic in California. The epidemic is the largest outbreak in more than 60 years and has claimed the lives of 10 children. Over 6200 cases have been reported since January. A perfect time for vaccine awareness, right?
Let’s dig a little deeper …
“Vaccine Awareness Week” is a fund-raising event sponsored by the anti-vaccine National Vaccine Information Center, a name that would make Orwell proud. “Vaccine Awareness Week” is the brainchild of woo merchants Barbara Loe Fisher and Joe Mercola. With the California epidemic in full swing, their timing is about as good as their science.
Officials in California have concluded that the anti-vaxxers are at least partially to blame for the outbreak and deaths. Fears about vaccines have been stoked by the likes of Jenny McCarthy, a semi-celebrity best know for “dating” Jim Carrey, and Oprah who gave Jenny a platform for her nonsense, and called Jenny a warrior mom.
Children die because they haven’t been vaccinated. We lose our herd immunity if a large enough percentage of the population does’t get vaccinated. This anti-science type of thinking is getting people killed.
Frontline did an excellent show on this subject.
-David Drumm (Nal)
Still think it is a parents choice.
Your readers may be interested in the list of blog responses I am compiling to the slimy fearmongering of Mercola, Fisher et al. at
http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2010/10/the-big-list-of-reality-based-vaccine-infectious-disease-blogging.html
Bdaman, OK. Coburn is not holding the July bill for 1.15, it’s the 5 year plan for rebuilding he’s holding up. or vice-versa, the article you referenced “John Stewart is Wrong…” is poorly written in that it provides no breakdown of the number and title of the bills pending.
The article referenced the rebuilding plan and then says that Stewart was wrong, Coburn is holding up the other bill which it does not particularly identify. Whatever, people are dying of Cholera and a bill to provide aid is being held up either in appropriations or elsewhere in the process by Coburn.
LOL, I’d like enough transparency and simplicity in the process to know just who to blame for exactly what. 🙂
From Salon, McConnal’s letter explaining Coburn’s concerns related to a new bill for $500. million which is the bill he presumably has the hold on:
http://open.salon.com/blog/ezili_danto/2010/10/13/senator_tom_coburn_says_he_is_not_holding_up_aid_to_haiti
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?5-daynl?large#contents
Jon Stewart was wrong: Coburn is not holding up the Haiti relief money.
Foreign Policy’s Josh Rogin writes that Coburn is actually not responsible for holding up all Haitian reconstruction aid because the $1.15 billion is already appropriated to help Haiti, unrelated to Coburn’s hold on an authorization bill — “authorization bills, like the one that Coburn objects to, are useful for setting out Congressional direction on how money should be spend, but aren’t strictly necessary to the disbursement of the funds. The appropriations bills are the ones that actually spend the money.”
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/10/18/jon_stewart_was_wrong_coburn_is_not_holding_up_the_haiti_relief_money
Bdaman, beats me. I know there were a couple of news articles during the charitable fundraising that stated that religious institutions did not legally have to use the money for for the relief effort in any particular proportion. While there are limits on overhead (administrative costs etc.) for secular charities, churches have no such limits and one or two had been found to have astronomical admin. costs.
Lottakatz thats good, we know where that is.
Where’s all the telethon money and everything affiliated.
My sister’s daughter got a mild case of whooping cough while attending UCLA although although she had been vaccinated. She brought it home to my sister who ended up having it for two months because she hadn’t been vaccinated in a long time. Adults need these vaccinations too.
In MO. vaccination was mandatory. You got vaccinated for some things right in the nurses office in fact. No vaccination, no school for you. Of course in St. Louis the Army was also testing the dispersal patterns of chemical agents and the schools were doing the follow-up under the guise of testing for ringworm. The school system had it half right anyway.
Bdaman, Tom Coburn (R) of Oklahoma has a hold action on the $1.15 billion the US pledged to Haiti so none of that money has been disbursed.
Great thread, David.
Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey, et al – you have blood on your hands from most if not all of these whooping cough victims. And these poor kids are just the tip of the anti-vax iceberg.
I am at the point where I think vaccination of all kids should be mandatory.
“The epidemic is the largest outbreak in more than 60 years and has claimed the live of 10 children. Over 6200 cases have been reported since January.”
I would like to bring to your attention of another epidemic that may be in the beginning stages. Haiti is reporting an outbreak of Cholera. Estimates vary but there are approximately 3 to 5000 confirmed cases with 2 to 3 hundred confirmed deaths. There are concerns of the outbreak spreading in the near future as they prepare for another possible disaster with what should be a Major Hurricane, Tomas, in the next few days.
Because of so many people were displaced from the earth quake back in January of this year, most have no clean sanitary conditions as people defecate over open ground allowing the bacteria to spread. In this part of the World it has been very dry and even though the Hurricane Season has produced many tropical systems Haiti has been mostly unaffected this year. Here in N.Fla many locations are 15-20 inches behind in yearly rain fall totals and to date we are approaching 30 days with no measurable rain.
For Haiti, heavy rains and tropical storm force winds are almost a guarantee in the coming week. The heavy rains will produce flooding and standing water well after Tomas leaves the region and the tents and makeshift homes will be no match from the Hurricane force winds sometime next weekend. Sanitary conditions will no doubt become worse as it mixes with human waste on the ground creating muddy conditions. Also people with O type blood are more susceptible to Cholera and the African and Hispanic population have the largest percentage of O type blood.
Back in January if you remember a powerful earthquake struck the island. Relief agency’s were quick to respond. Benefits were cordinated to raise money for relief. Millions and Millions of dollars was raised to help with the effort but the Hatians have not seen it. Before you donate to an organization please research who you are donating to and just cause they’ve been around for years does not make them them a better organization as those have higher payrolls, just look at the Red Cross.
As you ponder that, ask yourself where did all the money go and remember this is not the first time large amounts of money intended for the people of Haiti never made it to them.