I hate anti-vaxxers

[An89]

How can anyone in this day and age be an anti-vaxxer? London and West mids currently suffering from a meassls outbreak. DS is under 1 so cannot yet have vaccine, I know of someone whose 10momth old contracted measels as they were too young for vaccine.
Ridiculous that reckless and tardy parents are putting all our children at risk. Actually terrible.

We’re dealing with people in society whose ignorance is frightening - but we do nothing about it and put others at risk.

No child who should have been vaccinated but hasn’t been for no good reason should be in childcare settings or state schools. I was absolutely furious when DS1 was at nursery when I realised that there were 2/3 years olds there who were not vaccinated. I raised it with the nursery manager, but she said there was nothing she could do.

I don’t know how anyone lives with themselves if their unvaccinated 3 year old passes measles to a baby.

I’m in France where your child can’t go to school or into a childcare setting, including holiday camps etc without being vaccinated.

My kids both had their BCGs at my request as it’s no longer mandated here either. In our tiny rural primary there was an outbreak of TB and my kids were the only vaccinated ones.

I’m incredibly pro vaccination as herd immunity has saved my bacon. It turns out I wasn’t vaccinated for any of the childhood vaccines. It was discovered when I was pregnant with my eldest.

During covid quite a lot of our friends didn’t vaccinate - it has definitely changed the way I feel about them.

I thought that was the case in France - something we can definitely learn from the French here in the UK. And yes, I dropped a friendship with a woman who thought Andrew Wakefield was credible and thought it was her duty to try to enlighten me from my vaccinating ways.

No travel abroad could be an alternative deterrent.

Are you not even concerned about your kids dying of preventable illnesses?

Colds and mouth ulcers aren't the threat to everyone the way measles etc are. And you underestimate how ignorant people think anti vaxxers are. I mean, I respect your right to your choice, but I wouldn't have you in my house. And I'd blank you at the school gate. If I worked with you, I'd think you were a nutter and avoid you .

I actually worked with an anti vaxxer during covid. He refused to wear a mask, and then got, and spread, covid to several children we worked with. He himself was very ill with it. Due to my precautions, I avoided it. I refused to be in meetings with him because he refused to wear a mask and IF he wore a mask, I would insist on having a window open despite his wingeing about it being cold (put a sweater on, idiot!).

So you carry on in your AV bubble, thinking people don't really care. Most of us DO. It's just most people IRL don't know you're anti vax. If they did, you'd be avoided.

I agree with you, OP. My grandma was a hunchback because of polio and my uncle is deaf because his mum contracted scarlet fever in pregnancy. We know how to prevent the majority of diseases and people who refuse to get vaccinated are self-obsessed, melodramatic idiots (in my opinion).

They are so selfish and irresponsible but there won't be any way to change their minds as they will believe in some wacky conspiracy theory involving "big pharma". I think kids shouldn't be allowed to attend school without being vaccinated.

People nowadays living in wealthy countries with vaccination programs are extremely fortunate that we no longer routinely see children disabled or killed by childhood disease. There was a time where almost every family lost multiple children to these illnesses. Where everybody would have seen children in their community die on a weekly or monthly basis. It wasn't very long ago. If a doctor had told those mothers and fathers "we have an injection that will prevent your children from contracting measles", they would have queued for days with their children to have them vaccinated. The arrogance of grown adults to not only reject this vital medical treatment, but to be so proud of their wilful ignorance, is astounding. Any parent of a child who contracts a preventable childhood disease as a result of choosing not to vaccinate for no good reason ought to be charged with a crime.

Same. I have to provide copies of my kids' vaccination records before I can access anything for them that I have paid for through my taxes.

My only complaint is that chicken pox isn't one of the standard ones. My poor DS really suffered.

That's literally not how vaccination works, Ayn Rand.

I have an adult dc living with the life-changing consequences of anti-vaxers' decisions. Despite being fully vaxed, my dc caught mumps in a mini epidemic at their university. It triggered a severe autoimmune illness. My previously completely healthy dc is now tied to the healthcare system for life, dependent on immunosuppressant drugs that make them more vulnerable to infectious illnesses. My dc knows that they are likely eventually to need major surgery to remove organs destroyed by this condition, and that they at a vastly increased risk of cancer.

Thanks, anti-vaxers. You may be willing to take the risk with your own children, but you harm many more people.

I agree.

No flying without vaccinations.
No public schooling.
No childcare (unless the provider is also anti vaxx and it needs to be publicised so parents make an informed choice).
No state funded medical care.

It's fine to have an extreme opinion. But if you don't want to function as part of society, you need to be prepared to go it alone. There are always people that do reject society and social standards. But it's a choice to set yourself aside and you shouldn't get to benefit from herd immunity while being a risk to others.

I read a thread on here recently. The op said “my child can decide for themselves when they are older”.

i was desperate to reply “here’s hoping they live to decide”

My children and I have had all the childhood vaccinations but never had flu or COVID vaccine and never will.

I don’t know any anti vaxxers or if I do they don’t talk about it. I’d be interested to know what their thoughts were about the recent outbreak of measles in Texas where they have reported 753 cases, 99 hospital admissions and 2 child deaths. Those cases really seem to have focused the minds of some parents who have been rushing to vaccinate their children.

I have to be honest and say even though I’m a reasonably intelligent person I wouldn’t be equipped to understand scientific data in its raw sense so do rely on “experts” to translate it for me. I grew up in a family of Doctors and nurses so I’ve been lucky to have people on hand to explain aspects of it. How do these anti vaxxers manage to do all their exemplary research that they’re so proud of? What are their sources?

The number of parents now refusing the school leavers vaccines is staggering, and curious when these children had their baby jabs. The meningitis ACWY is so important, as is the final tetanus booster.

I hope you home educate then. Selfish to impose those choices on other children.

Unfortunately too many people get their news from TikTok and will believe every conspiracy theory going.

But don’t you understand? IndeedCoffee wouldn’t care.

I would never vaccinate any child of mine. Hate all you want.

also, lower numbers anti vaxxers have previously demonstrated the ease and lack of infection in their children simply as they were relying on everyone else being vaccinated.

they’ve talked about their experiences online and others have decided to do the same but that’s when the herd immunity breaks down.

i can see why Covid has led to more distrust; people don’t see that as the novel catastrophic event and virus that it was in relation to well established regimens of vaccination for other viruses. A lot of comment was binary on that. The reality was that it was a shite event and whatever anyone did to best manage it, it still was absolutely shite.

Don't use state education and state healthcare then.

Opt out of society.

Nah they go to school.

So you're just being goady.