Anti-vaccination stronghold in N.C. hit with state's worst chickenpox outbreak in 2 decades

[left-of-center2012]

Source: Washington Post

Chickenpox has taken hold of a school in North Carolina where many families claim religious exemption from vaccines. Cases of chickenpox have been multiplying at the Asheville Waldorf School, which serves children from nursery school to sixth grade in Asheville, N.C. About a dozen infections grew to 28 at the beginning of the month. By Friday, there were 36.

The flare-up demonstrates the real-life consequences of a shadowy debate fueled by junk science and fomented by the same sort of Twitter bots and trolls that spread misinformation during the 2016 presidential election.

Not all parents seemed to grasp the gravity of the outbreak. Nor does everyone see the rationale behind vaccines, which some believe — contrary to scientific evidence — cause more severe health issues than they’re meant to cure. The claim of an autism risk, though it has been debunked, has remained a rallying cry of the anti-vaccine movement.

The chickenpox vaccine became available more than 20 years ago. Since then, the two-dose course has succeeded in limiting the highly contagious disease that once affected 90 percent of Americans — a public health breakthrough.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/19/anti-vaccination-stronghold-nc-hit-with-states-worst-chickenpox-outbreak-decades/?utm_term=.df4f39f61d5e

[hatrack]

1. This calls for a song . . . .

[geardaddy]

41. Interesting trivia about that song.

From wikipedia:

The album opens with "Cretin Hop", which pays homage to Ramones fans,[12] and was inspired by Cretin Avenue of St. Paul, Minnesota, named after former Bishop Joseph Crétin.[13] When the piece was performed at concerts, the band would pogo dance on stage.[12]

[d_r]

54. 1-2-3-4

[ret5hd]

2. Kids: "Thanks for ensuring we will get shingles when we are 60-ish!!!"

[angrychair]

14. I got them in my 40s

While on vacation....lol. Not fun at all.

[MissMillie]

20. I was 13 when I got shingles

I didn't know what they were. The first doctor I saw tried to tell me I had poison ivy I think she didn't realize someone that young could get shingles.

[sdfernando]

57. My mother had a bad case of shingles

and a friend had the worst I've ever seen...shingles on his face and even in his eyes. Really quite dangerous to have those sores in your eye-lid. Luckily he got through it but the pain was unimaginable..caused lack of sleep too.

I'm hoping I never get them...I had Chicken Pox twice as a kid....unusual but I'm hoping it will keep me from getting the shingles.

[suffragette]

60. You may want to check with your doctor since shingles stems from earlier chicken pox.

I’ve had shingles and the multiple levels of pain from it are terrible. Wish there had been a chicken pox vaccine when I was young.

[sdfernando]

63. I have discussed with my Dr....he can't say for sure if

having had Chicken Pox twice would really impart any immunity against shingles. Not enough research in that area, and since it is so rare to encounter, probably won't happen. He recommends getting the shingles vaccine when I turn 60....So I guess, better safe than sorry.

[suffragette]

65. Definitely better safe than sorry. That virus is so sneaky in the way it hides out in the body for

years, to then emerge as shingles later.

The idiocy of those parents in the OP who purposefully expose children to chicken pox, without thinking about how they may be setting children up for possible shingles, is stunning to me.

Bad enough for those of us who had chicken pox anyway and face that risk, but to make the odds worse on purpose. Just mind boggling.

[ellie]

72. I had shingles in 2014

and I would not wish it on my worst enemy. I had to go to the emergency room and get a prescription for oxy, which really helped with the pain. It was just awful.

[Johnny2X2X]

3. Ignorance has consequences

The children who are sick did not make this choice, their parents should be ashamed and maybe criminally liable.

We live in a post facts world, one where conspiracy theories hold just as much weight as proven science for a portion of the population. We have an Anti-Vaxxer in the White House, people forget that.

[Julian Englis]

4. I hope the kids get even with their parents for giving them shingles in the future.

When the first of these children, victimized by this child abuse, gets shingles an adult, I hope they pay back their parents.

[NurseJackie]

5. That's a shame. Maybe THOSE kids will vaccinate THEIR children in the future.

[UpInArms]

6. That vaccine wasn't available when my son was young

Chickenpox sucks ... for so many reasons

[forgotmylogin]

29. At least children are much more able to fight off chickenpox.

Although it sucks, it's better to have it while young, which creates natural resistance to it - the lore I always learned is chickenpox can only affect an individual once.

Chickenpox in adults is much more serious.

I remember my parents purposely had me hang out with a kid who was getting over chickenpox because they wanted me to contract it in my childhood before later school years when missing class would be more difficult.

I know that sounds crazy. I'm sure it's much better to get medically vaccinated.

[meow2u3]

31. The chickenpox vaccine wasn't even available when I was 29

I contracted chickenpox at age 29--and it floored me for 2 weeks! My doctor told me my case was mild and a more severe case would have killed me.
Now I'm awaiting the availability of the shingles vaccine at my local pharmacy. I'm a bit anxious because I could come down with shingles at any time.

[dixiegrrrrl]

79. Usually shingles hits much later in life

but there are people who get it earlier.

I got a severe case of shingles about 5 years ago, over half of my torso from front to back.
Couple of years ago my brother got it, in exactly the same pattern.
I found that interesting.

It can leave lingering nerve pain, my doc put me on Amitriptyline, which is normally used for depression but off label for nerve pain. It is very effective.

[ProudLib72]

7. I found out a few years ago that I had never had chickenpox as a kid

No immunity. I got the shot immediately! Shingles is nasty business.

[Siwsan]

10. I had both Chickenpox, as a kid, and Shingles, last Spring

The only childhood vaccines I had were polio, small pox and (maybe) diphtheria. I remember having chickenpox, measles and mumps, but I also remember never feeling that ill. It was kind of a holiday from school.

As for Shingles, I think my daily Turmeric habit and avoiding certain foods really mitigated the rash and pain. That, and nightly soaks in Epsom Salt baths. The rash and blisters were uncomfortable, for sure, but I found the neuropathy that followed to almost be the worst part of the whole ordeal. I thought once the rash and blisters cleared, it was over. I was wrong. Within a few weeks, though, I was about 90% back to normal. So, I recommend taking Turmeric to everyone.

A friend of mine got the Shingles vaccine and a few months later developed a case from Hell. She was 3 months into it, when I saw her, and still in great discomfort. So, go figure.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

22. There's a vax for shingles & anti-viral. Turmeric good for long health & cognitive faculties.

I got a case of shingles which I was pretty sure was such when the blisters came out one day. I did some on line research that same day, went to a clinic the next day and got an anti-viral which I took for the next seven days. It knocked it out in days and there were no further symptoms, no neuropathy.

Your friend may have got the vaccine too late. It might have been close to breaking out when she was vaccinated. Generally I support vaccinations.

Turmeric is a seasoning that is thought to be protective of cognitive functioning against aging. People in India eat large quantities of it and that country has an especially low incidence of Alzheimer's and dementia. It needs to be used with black pepper to release the beneficial substances. I just dust my potato or rice or veggies with it and grind a little black pepper over it.

[Siwsan]

30. Turmeric is also a great anti-inflammatory.

I've done a lot of research on it - my favorite way to use it is in 'Golden Milk', which I drank a LOT of, during the Shingles attack. I grind my own spices.

And my friend was vaccinated well in advance of the outbreak. Even her doctor was shocked. At one point, there was a class action law suit over one of the vaccines so maybe that was the problem.

I'm lucky to have a very robust immune system. I think that's what eased me through childhood 'afflictions'. Ironically, the sickest I have ever been, in my life, started following all of the vaccinations and 'health care' I received while in the Navy. I had chronic URIs for most of my enlistment. I kept up on the medically acceptable treatments for several years after I got out, and still had the problem. Then I said ENOUGH, stopped taking prescriptions and started treating it myself with more 'old school' remedies. I haven't had one, since. I think my immune system just needed to re-boot.

Along with Turmeric, I am a devoted user of raw garlic. I bruise a small clove, (I grow my own) every day, swallow it whole and wash it down with a glass of water. I learned this from my grandfather (he chewed BIG cloves, raw, every morning at breakfast). He lived to 97, and had the blood pressure of a 20 year old athlete. I also make a strong garlic broth based soup on the rare occasion I feel a cold coming on. Within a day or two, I'm fine.

I just try to time my garlic habit so it doesn't interfere with people contact. Another benefit is, I have no fear of vampires.

[haele]

33. My great-aunt developed Shingles when she was 92. She died in pain in a hospital.

Both her sisters (Great-grandmother and great-aunt) lived into their 100's as alert, active, elderly ladies who both died peacefully in their sleep.
Great-aunt Alma was the only one of the sisters who had Chicken Pox in 1902 when the other two sisters were away at school.
Another older member of the family (supposed to be an uncle in his 20's) also caught it at the same time, and apparently died of suffocation because the pustules had formed in his mouth, throat, and sinuses.
Back in the day, common childhood diseases killed. I had scarlet fever that almost killed me as a baby; luckily, my pediatrician was a proponent of regular checks during early infancy and it was caught early. My parents recall in the 40's living in L.A; they had neighbor children and classmates in elementary school and Jr. High School dying or becoming "crippled" due to measles, whooping cough/pneumonia, diphtheria, influenza, scarlet fever, "rashes"/chicken pox, polio, or tuberculosis. My mom had tuberculosis as a child, missed an entire year of school.

People forget that child mortality was a concern with most families.

Haele

[Siwsan]

38. How awful!

In my family, my maternal grandfather traveled around helping the priest give last rites, during the Spanish Flu epidemic. He had 3 small children, at the time. Nobody in the family ever got the flu and all 8 children grew to adulthood. My maternal grandmother came from a big family and they all survived to adulthood. On Dad's side, he had a total of about 26 aunts and uncles - all but 2 lived to adulthood. My grandmother's niece is 103 years old. I think some of my cousins have had the flu, but I know I haven't, and neither did either of my parents.

Some of us are blessed with very strong immune systems. It's just how things work out. But even with my family history, I would NEVER refuse to vaccinate a child. It's not worth the risk to them, or to others.

And I know I was VERY lucky in my Shingles experience. I've seen and heard what other people have gone though. I had maybe 4 or 5 larger blisters (one the size of penny and the rest more pea sized) and the rest of the rash was not a complete sternum to spine swath of angry red. It reminded me more of a really big and bad encounter with stinging nettle - something I have had repeated experience with. And, unfortunately, it occurred on the side I usually sleep on, so that was annoying as hell.

[ProudLib72]

67. Yep, we don't believe these diseases can kill us in this day and age

Early this fall I told my students that last year 80,000 + people died from flu in the 2017/2018 season, so they had better get their shots.

I remember having a little notebook with my vaccination dates written in hand by the doctor. My parents had to show this to the elementary school before they would let me enroll.

[ProudLib72]

66. I have been hearing that having chickenpox does not mean immunity from shingles

About twenty years ago, when my grandmother had it, everyone was saying that going through chickenpox offered immunity from shingles later in life. Now we know better, and I will be getting my shingles shots when I am older.

[Siwsan]

68. It is my understanding that Chickenpox is a precursor to the Shingles virus

The virus goes dormant but it's always there, waiting for some thing to trigger it.

I believe mine was stress triggered. I was trying to settle my mom's and my aunt's estates and not handling my survivor guilt over my younger sister's death. I really ran myself down. And I made the mistake of going back to temp at my old job, for a while. It was a very hostile environment, when I was there as an employee but I figured it wouldn't be as bad, working pretty much on my own terms, as a temp. I was wrong. Right about the time I finally got probate taken care of, and felt I could finally breathe, the Shingles hit.

All in all, I guess I should be surprised that I had such a relatively mild Shingles experience.

[Sgent]

12. You should ask your doctor

for the vaccination sequence -- its given to children but can be given to adults. They may also do a blood test to see if you got chickenpox but never got sick.

Chickenpox as an adult is much more dangerous than as a kid (and its no picknick then), plus shingles later on.

[beachbum bob]

8. If I or my kids would be infected by the people who are anti-vax, the

School would be sued...then let them say...no vaccination...no school to those parents.

[ck4829]

25. +1

[unc70]

9. Waldorf Schools have high rates of unvaccinated

In California, their unvaccinated rates were up around 40% (from reports a few years ago).

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. Stereotyping never goes out of fashion at DU. NT

[Nitram]

16. I have nothing against Waldorf Schools, but is the quoted statistic untrue?

[angrychair]

19. To be fair, what would you call them?

Willfully ignorant? Religious nutjobs? Plainly stupid? Dangerous and inept? A public health crisis?

[MicaelS]

64. I would call them ignorant motherfuckers. n/t

[LanternWaste]

35. Nor does self-righteousness.

[Nitram]

15. I'm glad to hear it. I hope this happens elsewhere, too, but not to the extent that a nation-wide or

worrld-wide epidemic results. Tjhe death of theirr children is something even conservatives understand.

[RobinA]

45. How Pleasant You Are

Hoping children get sick? Do you call yourself a liberal?

[Nitram]

48. I knew someone would come back with that. Judge me if you will, but if it takes the deaths of

their children to bring conservatives to their senses, then it is certainly worth it. The alternative could well be a world-wide epidemic that kills millions of children. I don't want to see any children die, but anti-vaxers are a danger us all.

[EllieBC]

51. Asheville is hippy woo central.

Just like WA, OR, CA, and BC. Loaded with "natural" types who freak out over everything and fear BIG PHARMA. And science. Sad thing is many of them are educated but usually with non-science degrees.

Oh shit there goes your rant.

[GulfCoast66]

69. Conservatives? Hardly.

Anti-vaccers are as likely to be hippy dippy progressives who don’t trust companies. Look for our residents ones to show up soon.

[Nitram]

74. Actually, Gulf, we're both right. New Age-type progressives, and conservative Evangelicals both

filld the ranks of the anti-Vax crowd.

[GulfCoast66]

75. Oh, I did not mean to indicate only liberals are anti vaccine

Unfortunately, believing in Woo is non partisan.

[Chemisse]

50. I can't believe you are hoping children will die to prove a point to conservatives.

Is your hatred toward anti-vaccers really that intense?

[Nitram]

58. I have no hatred of anti-vaccers. I have a love for humanity and human life. Anti-vaxers risk the

lives of millions. The wrong flu virus mutation and unvaccinated people will cause millionsof deaths all over the globe. This isn't a game.

[Texin]

17. I had a really bad case of this back in the 60s. I was utterly miserable.

The very idea that a parent would even think of letting their child(ren) get infected with something like this when there are effective vaccines to prevent or mitigate such an infection is just unconscionable. Chickenpox might seem a small matter to these parents who are younger and lived during an era when most of the population in the US was routinely vaccinated because public schools mandated it, therefore they reaped the consequences of good vaccine immunities are subjecting their kids to risky infections that are largely preventable.

Well, good! I'm sorry for their sick kids, but maybe the parents will see the consequences of their decisions, though they themselves won't have to worry about shingles when they hit their 50s or 60s (and sometimes younger), their kids will.

[3catwoman3]

18. Surprise, surprise. I suspect most vaccine refusers don't know that there can be...

...serious, even fatal complications from chickenpox - pneumonia and encephalitis, It's not "just" a skin rash.

I can usually tell, within about 3 sentences, if I stand a chance in hell of being able to convince/persuade a vaccine refuser parent to reconsider their stance. It is usually an exercise in futility and frustration. I particularly don't understand those who refuse the meningitis vaccines. That damn disease can kill you in a matter of hours - by the time you realize how sick you are, it can be too late to be helped.

[Volaris]

21. Thoughts and Prayers, you dumb motherfuckers.

[NCjack]

23. They are doing what their cretin preachers told them. nt

[erronis]

28. Maybe it's just a form of eugenics practiced on the ignorant. A weeding out of the weak-minded sheep

Unfortunately the anti-vax preachers are also causing perfectly intelligent people to get sick since their are more live vectors out there.

[Nitram]

59. Not eugenics. natural selection. Eugenics is the result of government policy. Natural selection

works when there is no human intervention.

[erronis]

62. My premise is that there is intentional human intervention. That there are human-based

forces that would like to practice some population selection.

[ck4829]

24. K&R

[keithbvadu2]

26. Freedom of religion... God's will

[Corvo Bianco]

27. They're probably delighted their children have a

Disease sponsored by God

[workinclasszero]

32. Gee couldn't see that coming huh?

Why isn't it child abuse to withhold needed medical treatment to children, even if its your own kids?

What gives these magical thinking flat earthers the right to infect other innocent people with diseases?

[homegirl]

34. Imagine if this

was a polio outbreak!

[PatrickforO]

36. No surprise there.

Might be a good idea to defer to scientists on this one. Not taking a vaccine to prevent a controllable disease is just foolish.

[Initech]

37. I think it's time we as a society just collectively banned Russia from the internet.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45294192

Fuck you, Russia. Thanks to you, we have chicken pox, and small pox, and hey maybe even polio!

[Squinch]

39. Had chicken pox when I was 29. Agony! Then I went back to

school in my 30s and was tested and found to have no chicken pox titers. Had the 2 shots. Was tested again before a hospital rotation and was found to have no titers AGAIN! I am a mutant.

So I had it and the vaccines twice but apparently I have no immunity. Begging my doc for the shingles vaccine but she says not yet.

[Progressive Jones]

80. I got chicken pox at the age of 30. I nearly died. My doctor

told me after I was out of danger that he was thinking that I only had a couple of days if things didn't turn around.
It was horrible, and put me out of action for over a month. I had a fever so bad that I had hallucinations.

I got them from my son. He was 4 at the time. There was no vaccine back then.

[LakeArenal]

40. They want $250 for a shingle vaccine for me...

WTH?

[ananda]

43. Medicare completely covered mine.

I got the shots at CVS about 3 months apart.

[GulfCoast66]

70. I've had shingles. $250 is a bargain.

[ananda]

42. I had chickenpox.

And now I had to take anti-shingles vaccines.

[Politicub]

44. I'm old

I didn’t even know there is a chickenpox vaccine.

It’s a good thing there is, though. I had chickenpox in 2nd grade and it was awful.

[still_one]

47. People who had chickenpox as a child, as an adult if they are exposed to chickenpox run the risk of

shingles, which is why it may be prudent to get the shingles vaccine for older adults

[LakeArenal]

49. My dad got shingles at 92.

[still_one]

46. It also poses a risk to adults with shingles, if these adults had chickenpox as a child

[bearsfootball516]

52. I had chickenpox when I was 7.

It was nothing more than an itchy cold for me.

I suppose the real danger is getting shingles when I get older.

[RobinA]

78. I Thought It Was

rather uncomfortable, but I lived. Got the first part of the shingles vaccine and am due for the second part next month. Don't want to be getting that. In researching the anti-anti-vaxer hysterical claims I've actually learned a lot about some of these illnesses.

[Solly Mack]

53. Always a shame when children are born to idiots.

The children always suffer.

[EllieBC]

55. There used to be a near 100% compliance in my town.

Sleepy logging working class town.

Since 2010 the flood of people moving here from Vancouver has made the population explode. Lots of microbreweries and organic this and that. Juice places making ridiculous and dangerous health claims.

Oh and a crashing vaccination compliance rate.

I wish they’d have kept their anti-vax shit in Vancouver.

[DonCoquixote]

56. sometime, a cartoon says it all

[Byte606]

61. This helped solve the anti-vaxxer problem for my daughter

My daughter's best friends were anti-vaxxers until she informed them that they would not be allowed to play with my grandchildren unless they followed the accepted vaccine regime. They quickly conformed. A win-win for all the children in their play group.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

73. Did your daughter demand medical records?

How does a play group enforce vaccine compliance? Or did your daughter administer the vaccines?

[earthshine]

71. Asheville is a beautiful place to live with a lot of well-meaning spiritualist types ...

who believe more in "manifesting" reality than in actual reality.

Many anti-vaccers are well-meaning people. But, I feel they are misguided.

I lived in Asheville for 10.5 years. Two weeks ago, I permanently relocated to South Florida solely because Asheville became too cold for my wife and I.

It was a warmer place when I moved there. Great people.

[Freethinker65]

76. Lucky kids. Ignorant parents. If not vaccinated, better to get chickenpox when young.

[Blue_Tires]

77. ignorant yokels...