I met a real life full on anti vaxxer today

[shiningcuckoo]

And some of her opinions were so out there and aggressive I had to walk away. Apparently if we hadn't vaccinated against measles we'd all be ok because measles provides immunity. And actually measles never hurt anyone. And polio never hurt anyone either. People being seriously ill was a conspiracy designed to get us to accept vaccines back in the day, al" heading towards the greatest conspiracy of all and that is population control and the existence of Covid. She apparently knows loads of "elders" who nursed people through polio. Apparently it's very mild. I asked her to define "elders" and she talked about my generation. My generation were vaccinated. No one had polio, never mind nursed others. And there is no Covid in Africa. And no Covid in Nepal. She knows this because she once went on holiday to Nepal. And she is applying to remove her children from Steiner to homeschool them because vaccinated teachers (it's mandatory here) are a poor moral example. Either that or are being forced . When I said that I didn't know a single teacher who had been vaccinated against their will (and I know loads having been a teacher for 20 years) she said that was just my opinion and one opinion counted for nothing. I had to leave her company.

This happened near where I live. An anti-vaxxer managed to get into the hospital and urged a very sick man with covid to leave (the patient was also an anti vaxxer). By all accounts, it was all orchestrated by the lovely Professor D.C (I don't know if I can say her full name?) www.irishtimes.com/news/health/covid-patient-who-left-letterkenny-hospital-and-later-returned-has-died-1.4683189

That’s really interesting @onlychildhamster.

But the subject of continued boosters, Chris Whitty said earlier this week that they expect polyvalent vaccines in about 18 months.

So that would protect against several
variants (known and yet to arise) a bit like the pneumonia vaccine. My understanding is that they target a different part of the virus, one that’s less likely to mutate than the spike proteins.

It’s harder to do that’s why it’s taking longer.

news.sky.com/story/amp/covid-19-each-six-months-will-be-better-than-the-last-says-chief-medical-officer-chris-whitty-12497234

I don't think the mmr existed for those of us in our 40s, did it? I had rubella one in school. I caught measles, mumps and chicken pox all before the age of 10.

The MMR vaccine was licensed in the US by Merck in 1971, so it's been around for quite a while. Pediatricians took it up very quickly as it simplified completing the recommended schedule.

Did you ask her whether she would expect to access medical help if she gets ill?

Apparently if we hadn't vaccinated against measles we'd all be ok because measles provides immunity. And actually measles never hurt anyone

I am from the generation that had measles, chicken pox, German measles (rubella) parties. No vaccinations.
I must admit to not knowing anyone who had any adverse reactions but it could be because our mums went out of their way to make sure we were infected with everything by the time we were about 6 years old as if you got older the worse the reaction.

However I have had measles. It didn’t stop me being really ill with Covid.

I was bitten by a rabid dog a couple of months ago. Rabies is a 100% fatal condition if contracted and I had to argue strongly to receive post exposure treatment. I wonder what an anti-vaxxer would have done in that situation. 🤔

Are many anti vaxxers religious?
I know that one group of people are anti blood transfusions, would they be more likely to not want the vaccines too? Or any kind of vaccine.
The people I know anti the vaccines are not religious, but it is just a thought. I don't want to upset anyone on here.

@MissConductUS it was the mid 80s when mmr arrived in the UK.

I was born in 84 and my year was a funny bridge year. A lot of us were given mmr as part of a catch up drive but many weren't. However, because a lot of us did have it, there weren't many outbreaks at school meaning no natural immunity.

When we got to uni the diseases went like wildfire amongst us. Every man I know who had mumps (including DH) ended up in hospital.

@villainousbroodmare

I was bitten by a rabid dog a couple of months ago. Rabies is a 100% fatal condition if contracted and I had to argue strongly to receive post exposure treatment. I wonder what an anti-vaxxer would have done in that situation. 🤔

I remember those terrifying posters warning us against rabies in the 1970s.

Risk wise Covid is somewhat similar to polio. For maj of cases, polio was mild. In a significant minority it was devastating and in a significant minority it had long lasting debilitating effects. Likewise Covid and (it looks like) long Covid.

The similarities between polio and Covid does not mean we should minimise polio. They mean we should take Covid seriously.

The UKHSA has put the figure at 36%.

Frontline staff report that all or nearly all admissions at their hospitals have not been jabbed.

www.theguardian.com/society/2021/dec/22/help-us-to-help-you-doctors-in-england-make-pleas-to-unvaccinated

I just squeaked in under the wire and got one of the earliest polio vaccines. Kids a year or so older who had already had polio wore braces on their legs just to walk with difficulty.

Polio terrified parents and caused wholesale closures of beaches and swimming pools, plus restrictions on large gatherings.

Anyone opposed to vaccination are misinformed.

And as far as killing off the old people as a plan. I suppose, if you want to remove the burden of caring for the elderly. But as some sort of sinister plan to control the population, think again.

Old people are past reproductive age. Killing them off does nothing for future population control or natural selection.

If you want to limit future population using a deadly virus, it has to be aimed at the young.

How awful to even think about.

I know one (a relative, unfortunately) who thinks the NHS is staffed only by useless idiots.I did wonder why he spends so much time at the doctors, though.

I met someone yesterday who said she was a medium and that the spirits had told her not to have any covid vaccinations.

@ohtsmeagain

I met someone yesterday who said she was a medium and that the spirits had told her not to have any covid vaccinations.

Perhaps they want her to join them on the Other Side.

Can anyone explain WHY governments have invented covid? What is their motivation for this huge conspiracy? I've never heard an anti-vaxxer explain this.
The one I know says it's because there are too many of us in the world and they need to control the population. Also they need to get rid of wealthy people because they want us all to be in debt,
Also that people aren't dying of Covid, they are dying of the vaccine.

When I tell her that she is speaking rubbish, I get "you just don't know", said very slowly.
When I told her that I had had the Pfizer vaccine I have made a huge mistake. I got told this morning that Boris had even said that the vaccine is now no use, when I told her to find that information and let me see it she couldn't.
She has had the first two vaccines but is waiting till the last minute to get the booster.

This person is highly educated and has two Doctorates. She has a friend and I think they egg each other on.

A friend of mine is against this vaccine, he's had others but won't have the Covid one. He works as an alternative therapist and his FB page is full of posts about the government controlling everyone, dangers of the vaccine and the great reset etc. I just ignore those posts and like the occasional post that's not about Covid. He has a lot of folk on his page though and they're all in agreement, many have alternative therapy businesses as well and post similar on their pages. I'm not sure what to think of it all but it looks like guys who used to work with him have tried to argue back about stuff being incorrect and he's shut them down so maybe some lost friendships along the way too.

I've met two anti-vaxxers. The mumbo jumbo they sprout. One believes that the earth is flat and that is all a conspiracy.

Apparently if we hadn't vaccinated against measles we'd all be ok because measles provides immunity. And actually measles never hurt anyone.

I need to put this here because it's something I didn't know about measles and I wonder how many of you do. I've been doing a virology course recently and was shocked to hear this. Clearly your anti-vax person had no idea, either. I wonder whether she would believe this, but it's a scientific fact, only discovered about 2 years ago.

The measles virus, if you contract it and get ill, will wipe out a significant proportion of your previously-gained immune memory. So say for instance you're 15 and have never had the measles virus. By that point you will have received multiple immunisations against other illnesses, you will also have contracted some as well. What the measles virus does is disrupt the memory cells so that in effect they 'forget' about previously-encountered encounters and immune responses to viruses. This will vary between people as to how much of that memory is lost, but it is significant. It means your immune system will need to start again with developing immunity to many of the previous infections.

This is an absolutely huge thing and is, for me, the one outstanding reason to get yourself or your child immunised against measles asap, whether as a sole jab or as MMR, because you cannot afford to get measles later on and lose all that precious immune memory (or indeed suffer measles which isn't very nice, to put it mildly).

Can anyone explain WHY governments have invented covid? What is their motivation for this huge conspiracy? I've never heard an anti-vaxxer explain this.

In the US the nutters have speculated that it's been to kill off the elderly so that they stop collecting their Social Security retirement benefits (government pension). I guess everyone else is just collateral damage.

Ah --- it is because they are power freaks and love controlling us?

Or because they want to make sure they do not get elected again?

Or because they enjoy watching economies being wrecked?

Or because they like being on TV every day making pronouncements?

Who knows?? - nowt so queer as folk.

Ah..... but maybe not governments .... maybe big pharmaceutical companies who need people to get sick so they can boosts their profits? - but their personnel risk dying too, so that gives them a bit of a problem.

How about it's a long-predicted act of nature that we should have been prepared for but weren't?

@NandorTheRelentless

I think you're very right, I dont know anyone affected by polio, measles, etc.

I know why, but for anti vaxxers you can almost see their point if you squint

Hi @NandorTheRelentless, good to meet you. I'm Gertrude Kerfuffle.

Now you know someone affected by measles. I'm in my early forties and caught measles as a baby, shortly before I was due to have my jab. I was poorly for weeks with a high fever (high enough to melt one of my adult teeth in the gum and cause a deformity to it) and ended up with a burst eardrum and poor eyesight. I was lucky though; I lived and did not end up with brain damage.

Can anyone explain WHY governments have invented covid? What is their motivation for this huge conspiracy? I've never heard an anti-vaxxer explain this.

Trying to think logically about conspiracy theories makes my brain melt. The thing is you can't use logic to unpick something that never had any logical basis to it in the first place.

@GertrudeKerfuffle

Well hello! Lovely to meet you, cup of tea?

I'm pro vax all the way, had mine and dc done as soon as possible. My oldest has aspergers (which he tells me is now called high functioning autism) but I would still vax again and again

A neighbour is anti-vaxx. With the usual 'well it's not been tested and we don't know' reasoning.
The woman's 46-yo sister died of covid during the first wave, but they still think the vaccine side effects are worse than that. You can't make this up.