To think there shouldn't be measles outbreaks?

[fatandhappy47]

Surely we shouldn't be having an issue with measles?
Had an email from school (secondary) 'reminding' us to keep kids off with measles, which got me thinking

All my kids band my friends kids of the same age had their MMR (however my youngest did get measles before this)

So why is it an issue in secondary schools of all places? Are people just not vaccinating their kids?

The reason why people had measles parties is because their parents thought that they would have more chance of making a full recovery from the disease, the younger they were when they had it. The older you get, the more chance you will have complications.

So it’s not true that people thought it was a non-issue. Think about it. Does anyone want their child to get unwell? Usually not because of the disruption it causes.

I thought vaccines don't stop the illness just the worsening of the symptoms. Isn't that what they told us with the covid vaccine?

There were no measles parties. That poster is either misled herself or deliberately misleading us.

I’m assuming the poster (“shameles anti Vaxxer” she is) is so well educated she knows the difference between German measles (rubella) and Measles. If I didn’t know how educated she was about diseases I would assume she was talking about the former rather than latter

Agreed, it is dangerous for some groups. We had family friends whose little girl died of measles because it aggravated her congenital cardiac condition.

Between 1974 and 1984, of 51 children in remission from acute lymphatic leukaemia who died, 15 (29%) died from measles or its complications

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c35e849ed915d732cade0a5/UK_measles_and_rubella_elimination_strategy.pdf

It should be a legal requirement for vaccinations to be given.
We had literally eradicated these illnesses, thanks to the vaccination programs.
The measles endemic in south Wales back in 2013 amongst the children who hadn't been vaccinated was dreadful, leaving some with lifelong disabilities and some dead. All because their parents refused the vaccines.
I caught measles as a three year old, prior to the vaccine being available and it left me profoundly deaf. It ruined my life!
My cousin caught measles at the same time and it left her blind and brain damaged.
Why would anyone want that for their child??
I had my kids vaccinated because there is no way in hell would I want their lives to be ruined like mine. I birthed healthy babies and I want them to stay healthy forever, so I did whatever it took.
I wouldn't want any child to be left with a lifelong disability, therefore as far as I'm concerned, it should be law that they're vaccinated, regardless of the parents wishes.
It's a very emotional subject for me.

Measles are very rarely a matter of life or death.

14/50 people who caught measles were hospitalised in 2017 Somali-American MN outbreak. I dunno, is 28% having to be hospitalised a "low" rate of moderate-severe illness?

That’s true for the covid vaccine and flu too, but for other vaccines, against diseases of other types, they can and do prevent the vaccinated person from developing the disease at all. That is how smallpox was eradicated, and until recently, measles and polio were pretty well unheard of in this country. Not all vaccines are the same, and not all diseases are the same - I suspect that the high rate of mutation of coronaviruses means that vaccines reduce symptoms rather than prevent, whereas other diseases are more stable and can be inoculated against. But I am not a doctor or scientist. A quick google will probably give you the answer.

My cousin was an ICU nurse, she experienced similar during covid, however the patients who were yet to be intubated were begging for the vaccine in the hopes that it would work after infection.

Having had measles, measles mumps, and, worst of all, chicken pox as a child, why would any parent subject their children to these diseases unnecessarily?

I would be interested in the demographic most affected by the measles outbreak.

I had it too- pre Vaccines- doctor visited the house daily
It’s a wretched disease.

A vaccinated my son without a second thought .
Measles is incredibly contagious.

https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/immunisation-and-vaccines/immunisation-surveillance/measles-surveillance-and-epidemiology/

You may find this useful?

TITTERS spread like measles through the stalls at Covent Gar¬ den yesterday during the Royal Opera House's dress rehearsal of Don Giovanni Times 1996

There used to be an expression, "Spread like measles" which reflects its R0.

measles with its R0 of between 12 to 18 people. One person infected with measles can infect between 12 and 18 other people – who will then go on to infect between 12 and 18 other people, and on and on…part of why measles has such a high R0 is that, as a disease, it’s highly infectious. The higher a disease’s R0 is, the harder it is to bring under control, which is why a measles outbreak can burn through a community with rather terrifying speed.

https://thescienceof.org/batman-contagion-and-r-naught/

Yes. Spot on. I'm 70 and as a child I knew another child who had measles and died. I also knew a couple of people whose hearing was badly impaired due to measles. I'm told I was very, very ill with it

Later generations have no clue, as you say, because vaccinations for most, provide herd immunity and the negative issues are rarely seen

Absolutely. My sister and I both had measles around 1970. We had to have the curtains shut for a few days. Even then, we both developed bad eyesight which I am convinced was because of the measles-our parents both had good eyesight.

It was horrible, we were so ill. Anyone who thinks measles is a mild disease is fooling themselves.

Are you me, LakieLady? I got all the other illnesses as a child but not chickenpox despite mixing with children who had it. Got it from 3 year old DS at 36. Absolutely horrible, completely covered in spots compared to DS’s 3 dozen or so. Luckily 30 years on not had shingles although he has!

True for flu and Covid, diseases in which the virus is constantly mutating - the aim of vaccination is to prevent severe disease. But for diseases like measles, polio, or smallpox, where the virus is stable, vaccination prevents infection.

It doesn’t account for secondary kids but I imagine there are a lot of current reception kids who missed vaccination due to lockdown. My daughter should have had hers mid Feb 2020, got cancelled as the nurse was ill and rescheduled for a month later, which was cancelled due to lockdown. We eventually got her done in April 2020 but only because we were a bit pushy about it. I can easily see how for parents who weren’t pushy about it - and why would they be - kids were at home and not mixing- it could have slipped off their radar.

@Notanotherbloodynamechange1

Measles are very rarely a matter of life or death.

They often were in the days before vaccinations - and people were usually quarantined - wonder how old your Mother is?

A GP on the radio was saying that if schools said you can’t enrol without a vaccine certificate this would sort out the problem quickly.

No it wouldn't. It would just mean more and more children out of school

There's already a huge issue surrounding attendance (not taking SEN into account for this, just general bad attendance)

Shameless anti vaxxer here. Measles are very rarely a matter of life or death. In my Mother’s Day if a child had measles all the other kids would be thrown out to play with them in the hopes of catching it. Because, like chicken pox (which you can also now vaccinate against 🤔) it’s normally a none issue

I was born in 1960. My DBs, most of my cousins, friends and i all caught it as kids. According to DM most children were very unwell for weeks. Thankfully in a developed country with easy access to medical help, it rarely kills, but it generally isn’t a non issue. It’s utterly miserable. DM nursed us through mumps, chicken pox, tonsillitis, rubella etc. she said measles was the one that really felled us and really scared her.

I remember DM sitting on my bed night after night stroking my head while I moaned because my head and eyes hurt so much and I felt so poorly. I was hallucinating with a high temperature and had an awful cough. DM didn’t want me to see my face because she knew I’d be upset by the rash. My DGF used to come and see me most days. I asked him to bring me the bathroom mirror. He didn’t know DM hadn’t let me see what I looked like, so he got it. . When I saw my face I burst into floods of tears. The spots merged into one giant red blotch , my eyes were red, swollen and weeping. For weeks I couldn’t even look at my favourite comics because my eyes hurt so badly.I've got a pretty bad memory but I still remember feeling and looking so ill and how weak and exhausted I was afterwards as I was in bed for about a month. My hearing was also affected and never went back to normal

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4741262/

I agree with PP thatI think @Notanotherbloodynamechange1 is confusing measles with German measles.

My sister had German measles when we were on holiday. We were staying near family at the time and my cousin put both her DC into the tent with my sister in the hope that they would catch it and get it over with. It didn't work.

Any secondary school teachers on here?

How much is taught at schools about vaccinations?