news
US posts highest annual measles case tally in Thirty Three years amid Texas outbreak
Discussion
Texas working hard to stay in the news
For all the wrong reasons.
It's really worrying how measles cases are spiking again, especially when so many people are choosing not to vaccinate... we need better ways to combat that, because the vaccine has saved way more lives than most realize.
It's rebounding BECAUSE of the anti-vax movement.
The entire movement depends on herd immunity. Even the earliest morons spreading this nonsense acknowledged this. Herd immunity doesn't work if the herd isn't immune.
I just don’t understand how people’s minds are so easily manipulated toward destruction and selfishness and magical thinking, but it’s so difficult to manipulate them toward kindness and cooperation and rational thinking.
Hatred and moral superiority are a terrible thing people make the choice to embrace. It makes them feel good and better so they select that bubble and they think the rest of us feel that same way, so we're already enemies.
The only way out of this is to invent a new miracle cure using nature itself whereby you actually inject yourself with a small, harmless bit of the natural virus, thus allowing your body to naturally build an immunity to it. Call it “organicure” and slap a non-gmo all-natural label on it, don’t put an fda-approved sticker on it, have TikTok influencers market it, and you’re good to go! Humanity saved.
Don't forget to run promos on the podcast circuit!
I have been saying that a new sub category of oppositional defiant disorder needs to be created for folks who are anti-vax . Without an allergy or a legitimate medical reason to abstain, refusing to vaccinate is a whole lot of " you can't tell me what to do!"
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."
Agent K , Men In Black.
I remember watching last season of Doctor who opening with David Tenant and his companion.
" echoes of War reach farther than any love letters can ever do."
Bad education and hatred for government.
Three full generations of idiots were thoroughly convinced if they willingly paid a bit more to the people who had all the money, and let those same people pay less, then they'd get all the money, too. Then they were convinced that the reason that never happened was the other people who disagreed with this were holding it all back. If you are that stupid, it's very easy to manipulate you.
I just don’t understand how people’s minds are so easily manipulated toward destruction and selfishness and magical thinking, but it’s so difficult to manipulate them toward kindness and cooperation and rational thinking.
Capitalism leads to a toxic individualistic society, which in turn leads to the above phenomenon.
The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. -- Why Socialism? by Albert Einstein
In reality, humans are extremely social and cooperative beings, and it takes a lot of propaganda to change this. So you could say that capitalism does not lead to species-appropriate behavior in humans.
It's not that difficult, but you have to start early and there are a lot of parents out there who don't want their children to learn anything in school that will contradict their authoritarian parenting or religion. Not to mention, if you teach kids how to identify and resist propaganda, they're going to do things like identify and resist marketing. And we can't have that...
I mean measles haven't been an issue in 40 years so these people don't think it was ever an issue due to their inability to think beyond their tiny lives and worlds.
The truth is complex. Lies are simple.
The way to do that is to make genuine connections with people across the aisle, and learn to approach conversations with conpassion and non-judgment. When people feel judged or talked down to, they shut down. And they dont feel safe with the "other" so you have to get them to see you as a person first and develop a relationship with them until the aspects that make you "other" don't come to mind first, but rather, you as a person/your relationship comes to mind first
Unfortunately, its really hard to put aside judgment and find a way to understand someone who is okay with the torture and murder of other groups of people, or people think they're being untrue to yheir own moral compasses to make such connections with people. I get it, bit thay doesnt change the fact that its the most effective way.
Example:Daryl Davis
It’s a valid approach and it does work … sometimes.
However I do wonder: why is it always the left who has to make genuine connections, make concessions and compromises and keep validating the feelings of people who (at best) let themselves be rolled like a bunch of rubes by - let’s face it - a bunch of pretty obvious grifters?
I know. It's not fair. But that's always the struggle for progress. The "why" is because we care about what's right and making progress, and that is always faced with opposition from those who dont see themselves as standing to gain from it. People fight tooth and nail out of fear over what change will bring. This is just one example of the fight, and when you think about where the alternative can lead, its better than fighting for our lives and dying over it. I'd rather nip it in the bud and "be the bigger person" than take up arms in a civil war.
Fairness is part of it but not the most important aspect. There’s the whole effort-to-results ratio: it’s a heck of a lot of time and energy to convert one person. Particularly when it’s even money that they flip back into the deluded state after watching a bit more Fox News.
And I hate to point this out but the left has been trying all the things you suggest and taking the higher path for years … and has been steadily losing ground. To the extent that there are serious doubts about the current incumbent leaving peacefully. The sad fact is there may not be anything that can be done to avoid the outcome you (rightly) fear.
Social media has allowed these grifters to make money off of lies. It’s insane.
You need ways to combat it? How about the fucking vaccine ??
Start charging parents with negligence if their children get measles.
The choice is still there. If they want to risk jail time they can choose not to vaccinate.
Just tell the masses that the Dems started the anti-vax falsehoods to try and kill them off.
Measles one of the toughest to combat other ways too, it’s extremely contagious.
Totally agree! For anyone looking for ways to get involved in this issue, I just wanted to share a few organizations you can follow and support:
I work for SAFE Communities Coalition, a national pro-vaccine advocacy organization (I run their state chapter in Massachusetts): https://www.safecommunitiescoalition.org/getinvolved They have a mailing list with state and federal legislative updates and frequently share actions you can take. You can also make even more of an impact by connecting with a chapter in your state. (If you are in Massachusetts, let's talk!) They don't have chapters in every state yet but are working on building out new ones.
Two good organizations for combatting vaccine misinformation are Vaccinate Your Family (https://vaccinateyourfamily.org/) and Voices for Vaccines (https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/). I don't work quite as closely with them but they are important partners for our group and I definitely encourage you to support their work!
Thank you for sharing!
I am not in MA, but I appreciate the important work that you and others are doing.
It is demoralizing that a handful of opportunists have managed to cast doubt over one of the greatest achievements towards improving modern health.
You get absolutely bombarded on social media. My wife is on the skeptical side but isn’t fighting me on vaccinations with our daughter who is being born in the Fall. She’s shared a couple of posts with me which have been easy to debunk. But now I’m bombarded by “vaccine neutral” pediatricians who seem to interpret studies in interesting ways to come to conclusions that aren’t supported by the original study. We’re first time parents but older than most, I can see where the fears and anxieties for younger parents would lend themselves to skepticism in this day and age.
Fear of disease in this day and age is because people started doubting vaccines.
100%. There’s so much misinformation and fear tactics coming from people who purport themselves to be doctors (and by extension scientists) who do not challenge our current recommendations in good faith. Skepticism is healthy, but people with little to no education outside of high school are being bombarded by hucksters and conmen without the ability to suss it out.
Anyone who is stupid enough to doubt the science behind vaccines is incredibly naive and dumb. They deserve all of the woe that might come their way. The only people I feel sorry for are the people they victimize along the way with their selfish, terrible decisions.
This ×1000
Luckily my pediatricians office has signs in the waiting rooms that if you decline the vaccine schedule then you can go elsewhere for a doctor.
That's the kind of pediatrician I'd want if I had kids, but it sure makes you feel bad for the kids who's parents look at that and say "okay". I'll bet the people who have to explain that to anti-vax parents have seen some stuff.
Yeah, it apparently became a policy due to COVID. Not even the Covid vaccine but the increase in overall anti vaccine parents.
I live in Louisiana where the government essentially pulled public funding for seasonal vaccines and issued an order that doctors are NOT to recommend vaccines anymore. You are to only 'educate' about vaccines in a neutral way, and only if the patient asks. You can't say "You really need this vaccine."
A lot of this nonsense is also in Texas and Arkansas.
Most doctors aren't out spending their free time reading real studies at their source. They're just following guidelines being issued by their hospital, insurance carriers, and the government, and skimming periodicals. This isn't a case of a host of well-educated people reading research papers and just collectively misunderstanding, this is just busy people being flat-out told "Stop talking about vaccines."
Government telling doctors they can't recommend vaccines? Completely fine.
Government telling crisis pregnancy centers that they have to honestly state that they do not provide abortions and that none of the employees are actually nurses or doctors? Court says that an infringement on their free speech.
I can see where the fears and anxieties for younger parents would lend themselves to skepticism in this day and age.
Yeah, if someone is falling for the anti-vax nonsense, they're not fit to parent.
This⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️
As much blame we put on the anti-vax freaks we need to put equal culpability on social media companies who knowingly spread this but do fuck all to stop it. Plenty of engineers who are essentially weaponizing social media against basic social norms and collect 500k+ paychecks to justify it to themselves.
100%. I feel the same anger at folks who should know better, but just seeing how my algo changed literally overnight really changed my point of view. This could be mitigated if social media, hell regular media, companies were held to any sort of standard for the content they purvey.
at this point- go after the engineers. I say this as an engineer. We've known long enough what's been going on. But you walk down the streets of SF of NYC and they don't give a fuck.
Might be worthwhile to make your wife sit down for the HBomberGuy video about vaccines. Really tears into the room of "vaccine skepticism" while keeping it on a level that's easy to understand.
I probably didn’t clarify enough that she’s not a vaccine skeptic in the idea that it will cause autism, but having seen negative side effects from her nephews immunizations (he got really sick after his first round and had to be put in the NICU) she’s skeptical of their safety for very young children. It doesn’t help that she was raised by religious nuts. I’ve shown her some things and tried to reassure her, but I also cannot claim to know the fears and anxiety of someone literally growing a person inside them. It’s a vulnerable time for any woman, and being inundated with fear based media doesn’t help.
Gotcha, thats absolutely fair. Ultimately, as long as she's working through that concern, you're all good.
She’s not sceptical! She’s gullible, and overly certain about the wrong things. If she were truly sceptical, she’d be sceptical about being sceptical about what actual public health experts and guidelines recommend.
Tell her that.
I think I can handle my own marriage and know my wife better than some rando on Reddit. Thanks for your concern.
Good luck!
But now I’m bombarded by “vaccine neutral” pediatricians who seem to interpret studies in interesting ways to come to conclusions that aren’t supported by the original study.
Journalistic neutrality is a ratcheting effect for reactionary news content. Vaccine neutrality is the same.
Have her watch this. It’s incredibly entertaining and informative at the same time. There is no way you can watch the first 30 mins and then think Wakefield’s MMR study was legit in any way. The conflicts of interest alone are mind boggling
Measles epidemics make vaccine believers.
Vaccine believers make measles eradication.
Measles eradication makes anti-vax nutcases.
Anti-vax nutcases make measles epidemics.
Sooo hopefully we will come full circle soon, right? Right, guys?
I really need to get a titer done. I had 2 doses and the 2nd was in 1991. And even then, I'm only 97% protected.
Story time. This happened just a few days ago. I saw someone posted that 21 people in Texas were fully vaccinated for measles who contracted it.
I googled and as of that day, 753 contracted measles cases just in Texas. 21/753 is .027, or 2.7%. The measles vaccine is 97% effective.
That person just proved the science is correct, the statistics work out, and vaccination is a good thing.
My son is a transplant recipient, and typically, they don't do live vaccines after transplant. He was 5 months old at the time of his transplant, so he couldn't get the measles vaccine. Now, our transplant center is planning on dosing the vaccine for certain patients, and we are hoping to be one of them. I can't believe we are at a place where the risks of getting a live vaccine for him outweigh the benefit, but here we are.
No, most people realize it
To add to the nuttiness, measles was considered eradicated in the US before this.
we need better ways to combat that
How about vaccine-loaded dart guns?
I feel sadly ok with anti-vaccers dying from measles.
I see it as evolution.
Killing/infecting the populace that voted for you is idiotic.
Only if you need them to vote for you again.
They keep asking for more every year since the 90s. Republicans have had complete control for decades. It’s insane.
Diseases and floods. What's next in the your God is mad at you list?
Hello Darwin my old friend…
I've come to send you some new friends...
The kids being killed by this don't have any choice in the matter.
Well yeah. People stopped vaccinating.
The only known cure for “anti-vaxxing” is a bunch of your kids dying over and over again. You can try decades of deprogramming, but it’s unlikely.
That's only a possible cure.
There was that Texas couple whose kid died of measles and they said it wasn't as bad as the media was making it out to be.
It’s called evolution and it should be left alone to do its job.
You’re suggesting millions of people should die from preventable disease because “evolution?”
You can lead the horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink.
Before a measles vaccine was licensed in 1963, an estimated 3-4 million Americans were sickened each year, 48,000 were hospitalized and an estimated 400-500 died, according to the CDC. From 1994 to 2023 in the US alone, the CDC estimates the measles vaccine saved 85,000 lives and prevented 104m illnesses.
Generations of people used to hope and pray for a cure for these diseases. Now people spit on the science that has saved so many.
They’re gonna fix it by firing the person that reports measles cases.
Texas is really batting .1000 in the "our policies are killing our kids" category as of late.
If texas Christians actually read the bible, they’d start to get scared. Floods, plague….
If Texan Christians actually read their Bible, they would see that the Bible encourages quarantine of disease. But those dumb fucks in Texas are to ignorant too even follow guidelines in a book they consider holy. And yeah, they should be wary, flood, plague, and to add to that war, food shortages and false prophets and idols. But they will never look at the things right on front of their faces.
Is this the same Texas that had: summer camp kids washed from flooding due to being cheap on weather warning system and school children left with shooter for 1 hour and no officials were fired?
I see Texas is big on apathy for kids.
One of the complications of measles in boys is infertility.
How many worms have to eat from your brain to make you think it would be a good thing not to vaccinate you kids?
I think Alberta is either ahead of Texas or a very close second. Canada wins again!
Texas doesn’t seem to be a good place for children,Uvalde,camp, measles
Thanks to the antivaxx idiots out there, measles couldn't be making a comeback without your dumbass efforts.
You can’t talk to stupid, but apparently you can infect it.
Texas is, again, winning!
They did this to themselves and it's going to be fun watching the state slowly implode. Only regret is the children who are going to suffer for no other reason than being born in a 3rd world society to dipshit parents
I hope some day the revolution happens and we finally make it illegal to be that stupid
I forgot about the whole measles thing. With everything else going on and all that
Some Old Testament scourges playing out in Texas.
They did have some leprosy a year or two ago. How's that going?
Always torn on stories like this. I always want to be smug about how they're being idiots, but it's the kids that don't have a choice who are suffering. So I can't even take solace in the outcome of their decisions.
Go Texas, really taking in that red vote experience
These numbers are still too low, too low to make an actual dent in people's voting behavior.
I feel horrible for the upcoming generation with so many seemingly willfully ignorant parents out there. Life apparently got too easy.
Why listen to doctors and scientists with many decades of research and experience when one can do their own research on tiktok, youtube and facebook? The internet and social media has empowered morons to make their own medical decisions.
President Pestilence strikes again.
Texas taking hits left and right; the consequence must suck for them.
We're turning into a third world country that's dangerous to live in. We reject science but embrace Bronze Age mysticism.
Putting water on it doesn't seem to have worked.
1998 a moron used fake data to get his own version of vaccines for money. While the medical world turned on him and called him an idiot and fraud. Jenny McCarthy ran with it and got Opera and Barbara Walters to push it completely even though they said: “check with a medical professional first.” Instead of saying: “Jenny you are a fucking moron who if you didn’t have a great set of knockers you he still serving hot dogs in Chicago.”
Shocking. Who would have guessed that. And it’s just the beginning. Polio US comeback tour is in making too.
We were so close to eradicating worldwide :( definitely won't happen now.
Love how social media only pushes negative garbage, personal attacks, conspiracy theories & AI slop if you dont selectively choose exactly what content you want.
Antivaxx movement didnt grow overnight its systematic destruction through propaganda & malicious actors controlling algorithms.
I feel sorry for the children that have to deal with measles & potentially polio because of the circus we call an administration.
Genuine question, if I was vaccinated as a child do I have to worry? Or is this just affecting those with ignorant parents/people who can’t get the vaccine for health reasons?
Ask your doctor. He can get a blood test that will see if you have antibodies.
[ Removed by Reddit ]
Not only have republicans destroyed America. They have brought back a long dead sickness. America great yet?
TX officials: It’s the gobmint’s fault for being incompetent at…uh…offering preventative health care in the form of vaccinations to everybody. But…they missed some people. And we’re gonna sue!
So much winning it’s giving us a fever and spots oh wait
Things in Texas are going great
The movie Idiocracy is coming true!
The right are claiming it's all brought in by unauthorized migrants.
News Snippet: The annual tally of measles cases in the US is the highest in 33 years, as an ongoing outbreak in west Texas continues to drive cases.
The latest figures mean Americans will have to look back to 1992 to find a worse year with the vaccine preventable disease. The official tally very likely undercounts the scope of the outbreak, experts told the Guardian.
“When you talk to people on the ground, you get the sense that this outbreak has been severely underestimated,” said Dr Paul Offit, director of the vaccine education center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Confirmed cases appear to be the “tip of a much bigger iceberg”, he said.
Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. However, as the pandemic disrupted routine childhood visits to the doctors and anti-vaccine organizations saw their coffers swell during the pandemic, measles vaccination rates have fallen below a critical threshold to prevent outbreaks in some communities.
As of 4 July, Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Outbreak Response Innovation counted 1,277 measles cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 1,267 cases, but has not updated its data since 2 July.
“The number of new cases has slowed down, but I don’t think there’s any reason to suggest this will be our last,” said Dr Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert and dean for the national school of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston,
Any federal monies that support vaccinations are discontinued. It's up to states to support this. Thank God that my blue state advocates for vaccines. The state health plans will cover the cost. I.pity those below the Mason Dixon line that can't get coverage for vaccines. Y'all better stay home from now on.