7 minutes ago, Arpeggio said:

Post liver transplant recipients can't receive live virus vaccines, so herd immunity is important. I think everyone who can vaccinate, should. -__-

Yes, I'm usually all for freedom of choice, but when it endangers others it's more tricky. School isn't the only place kids interact. And adults can be in danger too.

I actually had to explain herd immunity to a fairly intelligent person not long ago. How can people not know this?!?

Sorry for ranting. But I did point out this makes me mad...

I'm sure the childern of 'anti-vaxxers' will be grateful when they are suffering from mumps and the effects thereof (or whatever they disease they get) when they are 27.  I'm sure they'll make greeting cards for that: Thanks Mom and Dad, having balls 2x their normal size and the fever and all the other side effects was the greatest gift ever. And i was able to share that gift with a number of other people who are equally as grateful to you as i am. 

Since the guy who said that the MMR causes autism has retracted that statement, why are so many still dumb enough to believe it?  People rather believe some actress who knows nothing, than people who do the research. The mind boggles, it really does. 

We had a few cases of meningitis, young adults and teens and a baby died. The epidemic came from another country. All parents should remember to do the checkups whether the immunity is still enough and in case vaccinate again.

Little son's godmother-to-be is afraid of getting something when she'll be pregnant :-(

We've had quite a few cases of teen boys dying of meningitis the last years, but not due to lack of vaccine - rather it was incompetence in doctors in hospitals or the medical assistance phone who didn't recognize clear symptoms.   The main Danish news channel has been doing a story on it, and it's gruesome reading. In one case a young exchange student only survived because his friend called a student of medicine back home (in Spain I think). When he described the symptoms the student immediately diagnosed it as meningitis and urged them to rush to the emergency room - the person manning the phone at the hospital said it was flu and advised hot tea !

20 hours ago, Timothy M. said:

 the person manning the phone at the hospital said it was flu and advised hot tea !

One of the deadly traps of medical diagnosis is that a whole lot of very bad things looks like flu.

Many people are told, it's just a virus. Go home and sleep it off.

This was unfortunate for postal workers in New Jersey. Several of them were diagnosed with flu and sent home by doctors.

They were dead in hours from inhaling weapons grade anthrax sent by letter in the 2001 anthrax attacks. (1)

A man just off the plane from Liberia where there was a large outbreak of ebola went to a very prestigious hospital the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He was seen and sent home. He later died of ebola and seriously contaminated an apartment building while he bled out. (2)

Medicine is no joke. When I was a kid I was pressured to be a doctor. I knew with my temperament, I could never handle loosing people.  

The people that can do the job of a doctor, and stay sharp enough to notice when things aren't adding up, are very rare and special people.

_________________________

1 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/postal-workers-mark-10-year-anniversary-of-anthrax-attacks/2011/10/21/gIQA4E1F4L_story.html?utm_term=.1e9e269a3567

2 - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/08/dallas-ebola-patient-dies/16786011/

NOOOO! You'll make me catch Autism!

And here is what's happening in India. Muslims routinely refuse vaccinations because they are told by their "Imam"s that the govt. is trying to cull their numbers by vaccinating their children which will render them sterile. [And also any sort of contraception is haram in Islam, but that is another bag of worms.] Infectious diseases are still very much of a menace in developing countries like ours. The climate change, lack of medicines, anti-bacterial drug resistance, general lack of civic sense & education, improper waste management all compound into it. In the cities amongst the educated middle class, autism is a growing concern; Thank you Internet. Oh, and they also refuse vaccinations as part of political protests. All vaccinations under the EPI schedule are provided free of charge in govt. institutions all over the country. Every time a "concerned" parent asks me about  the side effects  of a vaccine, I resist the urges of biting their heads off. You have no right to kill your or any other child or any other human being. Stupidity is not an excuse. 

Interestingly enough, because we have so many big bad wolf diseases endemic still, Flu is a not a diagnosis we generally send people home with. Even in those cases, an empiric anti bacterial trial is usually given (because unlike in USA, cost of investigations is a major concern here).