Saturday, May 30, 2015

The Vaccine Culture War in America: Are You Ready?

NOTE: This tour de force originally posted here: http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/March-2015/the-vaccine-culture-war-in-america-are-you-ready.aspx

3/8/2015
 
by Barbara Loe Fisher


More than 1.2 million people in the United States are infected with HIV 1 but government officials do not ban HIV infected children and adults from attending school, receiving medical care, being employed, or otherwise participating in society. In fact, there are anti-discrimination laws that guarantee civil rights protections for Americans infected with HIV or living with AIDS. 2

No Discrimination or Societal Sanctions for Infected Citizens

In 2012, public health officials reported that about two million people in America are infected with chlamydia, tuberculosis, syphilis and gonorrhea, 3and they estimate another three million people are infected with hepatitis C. 4 Like those with HIV or AIDS, these citizens are not targeted for discrimination and blocked from getting a public education, being employed or moving freely in society.

Live Polio Vaccinated Children Could Still Attend School

Between 1963 and 1999, doctors gave live oral polio vaccine to millions of healthy American children, who became infected with vaccine strain polioviruses they shed in their body fluids and transmitted, sometimes causing other children and adults to contract vaccine strain polio paralysis and die. 5  6 Those with compromised immune systems were at special risk for getting vaccine strain polio and shedding vaccine strain poliovirus for longer periods of time than healthy persons. Yet, children recently given live oral polio vaccine were not excluded from attending school.
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Calls for Societal Sanctions After Measles Diagnosed at Disneyland

But in 2015 after a handful of measles cases were identified at Disneyland, suddenly Americans are being asked to surrender civil liberties. We are being asked to discriminate against and condone extreme societal sanctions against fellow citizens, 7 including removing religious and conscientious belief vaccine exemptions from state laws 8 9 so children cannot attend school without 49 doses of 14 federally recommended vaccines by age six and 20 more vaccinations by age 18. 10
How did a handful of measles cases at Disneyland turn into a full-scale assault on civil and human rights in America?

12 States Introduce Bills to Eliminate Non-Medical Vaccine Exemptions

Why have politicians in 12 states already filed legislation to eliminate non-medical vaccine exemptions, leaving only a very narrow medical exemption that most people cannot get? 11 12
With 93 percent of pediatricians reporting that parents don’t trust the safety of the government recommended child vaccine schedule, 13 why are many of them refusing to provide medical care to children if they have not gotten every dose of every federally recommended vaccine – no exceptions and no questions asked? 14 15 16

Censorship of Speech, Shaming, Imprisonment, MD Licenses Revoked?

despair.jpgWhy are editorials calling for censorship of speech 17 18 and for parents with unvaccinated children to be hunted down and publicly identified, 19 sued, 20 21 criminally prosecuted and imprisoned, 22 and for doctors who criticize vaccine safety to have their medical licenses revoked? 23
What is happening right now in America is not about the the measles or public health.


Disneyland “Patient Zero” Never Found – Assumptions Made Anyway

It all started in January 2015 after 320 million Americans 24 had just finished ringing in the New Year and California health officials announced that nine visitors to Disneyland were infected with measles. 25 Two weeks later, the total number of measles cases was 51 but no public health doctor in the country could find “patient zero.” 26 That didn’t stop newspapers from proclaiming that a single “unvaccinated” person with measles spoiled the Magic Kingdom and that measles is invading America because of “a decline in parents having their kids vaccinated.” 27 28

Measles Immunity Wanes, High MMR Vaccination Rate in U.S.

It did not matter that the science shows measles vaccine immunity is not lifelong and wanes, 29 30 family.jpg31 32 just like pertussis vaccine immunity is temporary and wanes, 33 34 35 or that it is illogical to put all the blame for measles at Disneyland on 1.8% of children attending school with vaccine exemptions 3637 when 95% of children entering kindergarten have gotten two MMR shots 38 39 and only 1% of children under age three are unvaccinated. 40 With a grand total of 170 measles cases reported in 17 states by March 2015, compared to 644 cases reported in 27 states last year, 41 and with 42% of the California-related cases documented to be in unvaccinated persons, while 13% of cases were vaccinated, 42 there is no justification for gutting vaccine exemptions in state public health laws.

Witch Hunt Led By Doctors Against Families, Dissenting Doctors

burning-at-the-stake.jpgRational thinking has been the first casualty in this 21st century equivalent of a 17th century witch hunt 43 led by defensive doctors in government, industry, academia and media, who are fed up with parents asking them questions about vaccine risks and failures they can’t answer. 44 45 46 47  Assisted by communication conglomerates 48 and Astroturfers, 49 50 51 52 53 they piously wave the science flag and call parents “anti-social” if they don’t vaccinate 54but completely ignore parents with vaccine injured children talking about how their vaccinated children are never healthy anymore. 55 Some of the most vicious attacks have been on families consciously choosing to stay healthy a different way 56 57 and on doctors caring for families whose children are unvaccinated or receive fewer vaccines on an altered vaccine schedule. 58 59

The Cultural War on Freedom, Values & Beliefs

After headlines like “What would Jesus do about measles?” 60 and “God wants you to vaccinate your children” 61 marked a new low in American journalism, it became clear that the so-called “vaccine war” 62 63 is really a culture war 64 on freedoms, values and beliefs that have long defined who we are as a nation. 65 66 67 How it is fought and where it ends will determine the kind of nation America will become in the 21st century.

Remainder of article & references here: