8 things everybody should know about measles

[SidDithers]

https://www.vox.com/2019/1/29/18201982/measles-outbreak-virus-vaccine-symptoms

In an unvaccinated population, one person with measles can infect 12 to 18 others.

The measles virus is one of the most infectious diseases known to man. A person with measles can cough in a room and leave, and hours later, if you’re unvaccinated, you could catch the virus from the droplets in the air the infected person left behind.

No other virus can do that.

For anyone born before 1960, there’s a good chance they suffered through a measles infection. They may have lived to tell about it, but they probably had friends who didn’t. In the US, before a vaccine was introduced in 1963, there were 4 million measles cases with 48,000 hospitalizations and 500 deaths in the US every year. Measles was also a leading killer of children globally.

The beauty of the vaccine is that people who get the proper doses will never get sick with measles, even if they’re exposed. And by 2000, because of widespread vaccination, the virus was declared eliminated in the US: Enough people were immunized that outbreaks were uncommon, and deaths from measles were scarcely heard of.

Much more at the link.

Sid

[Claritie Pixie]

1. My brother had the measles at 2 weeks old, before being vaccinated.

He almost died.

Anti-vaccers are conspiracy theorists. They are chosing to believe vaccines are worse than the infections they protect against. Their beliefs are hysteria based and ungrounded in scientific facts.

Vaccinations must be required by law to protect the public health.

[LuvNewcastle]

2. Yes, the anti-vaxers think that the government is poisoning kids

with vaccines. Some believe that the vaccines keep the children from developing their own immune system; they want their kids to fight off these diseases naturally in order for the children to have stronger immune systems. Other anti-vaxers think that there are ingredients in the vaccines themselves that cause some kids to develop autism. There's no science to back any of this up. The only thing you can count on is that these children will get sick and will need to be vaccinated before they can be seen in a clinic or hospital. It's a colossal waste of time, and it can easily cause a needless death.

[Charlotte Little]

3. I wish there was a way

for Jenny McCarthy to be held responsible in a court of law. She really brought the anti-vax hysteria to the mainstream.

https://www.fatherly.com/health-science/jenny-mccarthy-masked-singer-measles-outbreak-anti-vaxxer/

I truly despise that woman.