The toll of the anti-vaccination movement, in one devastating graphic

[douglas9]

Aaron Carroll today offers a graphic depiction of the toll of the anti-vaccination movement. (H/t: Kevin Drum.) It comes from a Council on Foreign Relations interactive map of "vaccine-preventable outbreaks" worldwide 2008-2014.

A couple of manifestations stand out. One is the prevalence of measles in Europe -- especially Britain -- and the U.S. Measles is endemic in the underdeveloped world because of the unavailability of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine.

But in the developed world it's an artifact of the anti-vaccination movement, which has associated the vaccine with autism. That connection, promoted by the discredited British physician Andrew Wakefield and the starlet Jenny McCarthy, has been thoroughly debunked. But its effects live on, as the map shows.

Vaccine panic also plays a role in the shocking incidence in the U.S. of whooping cough, also beatable by a common vaccine. Researchers have pointed to the effect of "non-medical exemptions" from legally required whooping cough immunizations -- those premised on personal beliefs rather than medical reasons -- as a factor in a 2010 outbreak of whooping cough in California.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-antivaccination-movement-20140120,0,5576371.story#axzz2rA0yIgFY

[Victor_c3]

1. Even though the toon is about global warming, I thought it was appropriate to the anti-vaccination

movement.

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All you have to do is find someone who can talk like a scientist and get a couple of celebrities on board and you have just planted a seed of doubt that'll last for generations.

[raouldukelives]

8. Anti-Vac & climate deniers are basically the same type of creature.

Both ignore science and are concerned only with themselves. Not with the lives of any other person, animal or future generations of either.
Like someone who learns about climate change but continues the same lifestyle they had before. Feels no need to augment their own personal lives to help out other lifeforms. Continues with the same support for corporations, airliners & unnecessary trips and wastes of natural resources.
In many cases people that claim to be against climate change have they themselves changed not an iota. As someone would say they are pro-vaccine but secretly refuse to take the shot themselves.

[proReality]

2. It's frightening what a little fear can do without the benefit of some fact checking research and

some simple observation--

The grandparents and parents of the children now getting these illnesses had vaccinations. And we're still here, unharmed.

[SunSeeker]

3. Please post the graphic. I've used up my free views of the LATimes. nt

[siligut]

5. Here, hope it is big enough

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[ProfessorPlum]

6. Thank you! Here is the caption:

Measles outbreaks (purple) worldwide and whooping cough (green) in the U.S., thanks in part to the anti-vaccination movement. (Council on Foreign Relations)

Not sure what the yellow circles are.

[SunSeeker]

7. Thanks. I know a couple whose first baby had whooping cough, almost died.

It is a horrible disease. They vaccinated their second baby.

[JoeyT]

12. Yellow/orange are other and Polio.

It's hard to tell the difference in the two colors.

You can see the full map in all it's horrifying glory here:
http://www.cfr.org/interactives/GH_Vaccine_Map/#map

[siligut]

4. New synthetic DNA vaccines are being developed

The new DNA vaccines use plasmid DNA and clinical trials show no adverse effects. This will put an end to the Thimerosal/Autism controversy as the new vaccines do not contain any part of the virus and thus no poison is needed. The DNA is carried in water, so no egg allergy problems and again, because they contain only the essential DNA they cannot cause the illness they are designed to prevent.

Please also realize that the anti-vaccination movement grew out of medical science just paying lip-service to real problems.

[jeff47]

9. No, it won't.

Thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines in 2000. Antivaxxers still point to it.

New vaccines? They'll still claim they cause autism.

Please also realize that the anti-vaccination movement grew out of medical science just paying lip-service to real problems.

No, the anti-vaccination movement grew out of people preying upon anti-science luddites. There's still billions to be made from defrauding these people with "natural" remedies, so it will continue.

[central scrutinizer]

10. We have forgotten how bad it was just a few generations ago

I went to a family reunion in 2007. My ancestors emigrated from Germany in the 1850s and settled in Nebraska. Different branches of the family shared what they had of their family trees. What was remarkable was the high incidence of infant and child deaths. One family had nine children, only two of whom made it adulthood. That was the extreme case, but almost every family had suffered the loss of at least one child.

[intheflow]

11. Whooping cough outbreak isn't due to the anti-vaccine crowd.

It's largely due to the fact that they used to think it lasted a lifetime, so one vaccine in childhood would last through adulthood. However, they've discovered the whooping cough vaccine's effectiveness wanes over time. They have a booster shot for adults but it hasn't been very widely advertised. I had no idea about this until my doctor told me, literally this week, and I got the booster.

But don't take my word for it. Here's what Harvard Medical School has to say on the subject.