04 June 2014

Your unvaccinated kid can't play with my vaccinated kid.


I’ve heard the argument time and time again from parents who choose not to vaccinate their children: “If your child is vaccinated, why are you worried about him catching anything from my unvaccinated child?

To most people, this would be a pretty compelling argument. After all, my kid is protected, so who gives a lick about your kid. Neither is a threat to the other, right?

What many parents don’t understand (or flat-out deny) is that, while vaccinations are highly effective and greatly decrease the chance of contracting preventable diseases, no vaccine is 100% effective. The CDC reports that “most routine childhood vaccines are effective for 85% to 95% of recipients. For reasons related to the individual, some will not develop immunity.”

Therefore, during an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease, those unvaccinated children can and do increase the risk of disease for everyone that may have been exposed, even if the people who have been vaccinated greatly outnumber those who have not. While a small portion of the vaccinated population may be affected, this does NOT prove that vaccines are ineffective.

To gain a greater understanding, we have to look at the percentages involved. A great example of this has been provided by the CDC:

In a high school of 1,000 students, none has ever had measles. All but 5 of the students have had two doses of measles vaccine, and so are fully immunized. The entire student body is exposed to measles, and every susceptible student becomes infected. The 5 unvaccinated students will be infected, of course. But of the 995 who have been vaccinated, we would expect several not to respond to the vaccine. The efficacy rate for two doses of measles vaccine can be higher than 99%. In this class, 7 students do not respond, and they, too, become infected. Therefore 7 of 12, or about 58%, of the cases occur in students who have been fully vaccinated. 
As you can see, this doesn't prove the vaccine didn't work - only that most of the children in the class had been vaccinated, so those who were vaccinated and did not respond outnumbered those who had not been vaccinated. Looking at it another way, 100% of the children who had not been vaccinated got measles, compared with less than 1% of those who had been vaccinated. Measles vaccine protected most of the class; if nobody in the class had been vaccinated, there would probably have been 1,000 cases of measles.

I for one am grateful to be able to give my son the possibility for immunity against communicable diseases such as, but certainly not limited to, measles. Considering the example above, though, and what’s going on in our community today (one small example is a recent outbreak of pertussis in Virginia, which is scarily close to where we live in Maryland), I am scared shitless for my son and, thinking about it on a grander scale (some might call it a socialist mindset!), for others’ children.

After all, it’s the unvaccinated crowd that has reintroduced and continue to introduce the disease into our communities. The many examples going around recently serve to answer why a vaccinated person may be concerned about contracting a disease from the relatively small – but continually growing – unvaccinated sect of the population.

As much as anti-vaccinators want to deny it, it’s herd immunity that has allowed them the privilege to choose whether or not to vaccinate their children. After all, if enough people are vaccinated, then I don’t have to worry about my kid, right? Right!

... wrong. Considering how rapidly the number of anti-vaccinating parents is growing, I imagine we’ll soon fall below the recommended threshold of 85% of the population being vaccinated to guarantee herd immunity. And that could come with some very scary results.

I recently came across an interesting simulation that shows just how herd immunity works. I really encourage you to try it, if only because it’s an interesting show of how statistics work. You can see how, sure, some of the vaccinated population will be affected by a disease, but for the most part, so long as it remains over 85%, the rate at which the disease catches on is actually quite low. (To try, you’ll need to enter “0.85” for “immunization rate” on both the right and left.)

When putting in a lower vaccination rate (say, 0.8 or lower), the disease spreads more rampantly, guaranteed to affect all of the anti-vaccinators while taking some vaccinators along with it, considering the 5-15% margin of error for vaccine effectiveness.

This is unacceptable. As it stands, in the modern first world, measles itself has a mortality rate of 1 to 3 deaths per 1000 cases, depending on the country and the study. There is no study that says anything lower than 1:1000. And if we were to get down to the actual reason why we should be concerned about herd immunity, it’s meant to protect those who literally cannot have vaccines, such as the immunocompromised or babies too young to be vaccinated.

Herd immunity is NOT meant to protect those children whose parents decide, based on false “science” and other woo, that vaccines are so dangerous that having them is worse than contracting an otherwise preventable disease.

As for the vaccines being dangerous, the numbers speak for themselves, especially when compared to the dangers of the infectious diseases they prevent:

DISEASE 
Measles 
Pneumonia: 6 in 100
Encephalitis: 1 in 1,000
Death: 2 in 1,000 
Rubella 
Congenital Rubella Syndrome: 1 in 4 (if woman becomes infected early in pregnancy) 
VACCINES 
MMR 
Encephalitis or severe allergic reaction: 1 in 1,000,000 
DISEASE 
Diphtheria 
Death: 1 in 20 
Tetanus 
Death: 2 in 10 
Pertussis 
Pneumonia: 1 in 8
Encephalitis: 1 in 20
Death: 1 in 1,500 
VACCINES 
DTaP 
Continuous crying, then full recovery: 1 in 1000
Convulsions or shock, then full recovery: 1 in 14,000
Acute encephalopathy: 0-10.5 in 1,000,000
Death: None proven

To clarify, this post is not meant to change anyone’s mind on whether or not to vaccinate. I wish it was that easy, but for the most part, those parents who decide not to vaccinate will not change their minds, regardless of the facts, science, and evidence used to convince them otherwise, nor the way those facts are presented. Sobering, isn't it? So this is not a post of conviction.

Instead, this is a note to all those anti-vaccinating parents out there. Before we hang out with you, before I potentially expose my child to yours, I will ask whether your child is vaccinated. I will decide whether or not my child is safe around yours, considering your answer. And I will pull my child from the situation, regardless of where we are or who is with us, if you are an anti-vaccinator.

Because considering these numbers, and considering how many whackjob parents Tycho and I will inevitably come across where anti-vaccinators’ children are allowed to roam free (including but not limited to his daycare and school), I simply cannot take the risk.

Vaccine denial is dangerous. And I will never knowingly put my child in danger.


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19 comments:

  1. Holy crap! A controversial post from you I agree with!

    Totally kidding about that but seriously, great post. Vaccinate your kids, people!!!

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    1. Haha! No, it's totally true. ;)

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  2. This is one I agree with.
    The unvaccinated also pose a serious risk to: Infants too young to be vaccinated. Those with compromised immune systems who can't be vaccinated. Those with a legitimate allergy to a vaccine ingredient.

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    1. Yes, absolutely! Which is why it's so important for those who *can* vaccinate to do so! Being an anti-vaxxer is a privilege, one that is rapidly fading.

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  3. Another complication I learned about recently: even if you've had two doses of the measles vaccine and they "took" (i.e. you're fully immunized under normal circumstances), certain common medications can temporarily lower the effectiveness of your immunization and make you more susceptible to the disease.

    I learned this while reading the package insert for the Medrol dosepack I take during migraines. Turns out that Medrol can temporarily lower one's immunity to measles while you're on it, even if you've had your vaccinations. Which was kind of disturbing to me, given that I take this stuff a week out of every month and that it's commonly prescribed for a number of ailments in both adults and kids.

    So unvaccinated people can even imperil those who are fully immunized in certain circumstances. Another reason to avoid them, I suppose.

    (Look at me! I'm commenting on your blog!) :)

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    1. 'Sup lady! :D

      Really now, interesting! It makes sense, much like how taking antibiotics can lower the effectiveness of birth control pills (and why a couple of my friends ended up with ABX babies, haha). I didn't realize the same could work with immunity as provided by vaccines, but considering the other evidence, it makes total sense.

      So I not only vaccinate for the babies, or the immunocompromised, or the allergic. I also vaccinate for you. :)

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  4. Excellent post.

    My worry is that the people who are too stupid/selfish/(insert any other additional derogatory adjective here) to vaccinate their kids are also to stupid/selfish/(insert any same additional derogatory adjective here) to understand this post.

    Nonetheless, absolutely right.

    *multiple thumbs-up* (do big toes count?)

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    1. TRUE THAT. You're absolutely right, which is why this post isn't aimed at them. Not for that reason, at least. ;)

      Thank you! And I'd count those piggies!

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  5. Love this post! Anti-vaxers need to understand that, not only are their children at risk for preventable diseases, but their decision to not vaccinate puts the entire population at risk.

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    1. Thank you! And I agree, but try getting that through their skulls: If they're unwilling to do it for their own children, what makes you think they'll do it for yours? Sigh.

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  6. Its terribly sad so many people fill their children with poison due to the paranoia big pharma has brought out. GOD created us with an immune system. Those who were born without were decided by Him to be that way. He will take who he wants when he wants no matter how many toxic fluids you inject yourself or children with in order to try to prevent it. It is immoral for doctors to profit off of administering fake immunity. That is not God's way. Stop feeding into the paranoia and trying to act as God.

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    1. I am sorry to hear someone accept diseases we can prevent.
      A. None of the ingredients in vaccines are toxic in the amounts in vaccines: vaccines are not poison.
      B. Yes, we have an immune system. It's very good. It's not perfect, and the diseases we vaccinate against have a history of defeating it. God gave us brains; brains gave us vaccines. I would think that means that God expects us to use our knowledge to protect children, because my reading in the bible is that it supports the sanctity of life.

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    2. ... I rather appreciate Dorit's response and don't really have anything to add. If we were in fact put here by a Creator, I imagine that the brains given to us would be best served when actually used, such as with the invention of things such as, but not limited to, vaccines.

      Oh, and I could go on all day about how "Big Pharma" is merely a scare tactic to keep people away from vaccines (and how hypocritical it is when you go to urgent care or to a hospital for treatment by "Big Pharma" for a disease that could have prevented that disease in the first place), but I should probably reserve a whole new blog post to that. ;)

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  7. You are supposed to have faith in God, the devil is fear and paranoia. You are letting the devil in when you allow your fears and paranoia dictate your actions. Yes God did give us brains, but they were meant to learn of the natural cures he's also given us. We are not meant to create toxic remedies (that don't even work) that MAKE BIG PHARMA MONEY. its all about money. Big pharma doesn't care if they make people sicker. That just allows them to sell more medications to make themselves richer. Mercury is very toxic and has been proven to cause neurological damage. They use mercury to preserve certain vaccines. They are now trying to genetically engeneer the flu shot. To make it faster and cheaper. So I assume you beleive in genetically engineering as well? Go ahead and dumbify your kids through vaccines. That's what the medical system wants. A stupid sick CUSTOMER. My children will live long happy healthy lives the way God intended. They will have strong immune systems. They will be smart. They will thrive. And they will feel sorry for those suffering due to vaccinations destroying their brains and bodies, and hopefully be able to help them some day. And I'm sorry to tell you but vaccines DO NOT prevent any diseases. They have hurt more people than the diseases they are supposedly preventing.

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    1. "Mercury is very toxic and has been proven to cause neurological damage. They use mercury to preserve certain vaccines."

      This in itself deserves its own post, so thank you for bringing it up! Expect a long response, full of science and other things that people have come up with using their God-given brains, in the near future. :)

      "I'm sorry to tell you but vaccines DO NOT prevent any diseases. They have hurt more people than the diseases they are supposedly preventing."

      Ooh ooh, same with this one! You've given me much fodder, thank you!

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  8. Great post! And it really does make a lot of sense. When it comes to their children, parents can't afford to take chances. All of the vaccinating would be for naught if one of your kids' playmates didn't get the shots and infected your kid. It's heartbreaking for a parent to see their child sick and it's because of someone's prejudice against taking precautions. At least by vaccinating, you know that you've done your part.

    Johna Mccaa @ US Health Works Medical Group

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