If you watch TV in America, you're probably starting to get a little concerned about the recent measles outbreaks. That's right, outbreaks with an 's', because we're now definitely talking about measles outbreaks in the plural.
If you're wondering why there are so many outbreaks of a disease that we thought was eliminated, keep reading.
Vaccines, while mostly safe and effective, are still a medical treatment at the end of the day, and every medical treatment carries risks. Just like some people are allergic to penicillin, some people are allergic to various components in vaccines. Just like some people have rare diseases, some people have strange reactions to vaccines that we don't really understand.
Rather than acknowledge these facts and educate the population about these rarities, pharmaceutical companies, in their official statements, largely ignore that they exist. Whenever pressed on the topic, the message from Big Pharma is overwhelmingly "Safe and effective."
They're not lying to you. That statement is true, it just isn't the whole truth, and because it isn't the whole truth, a number of cash grabbers, rabble rousers, and outright psychopaths have led a significant number of Americans to believe that all vaccines are dangerous.
The unfortunate truth is that both of these groups of people just want your money, and the less educated you are about vaccines, the more likely you are to give extra money to one side or the other. I suspect that the really unfortunate truth is that they're actually just the same group of people.
You see, these measles outbreaks are going to send people flying to their doctors and supplement stores, to buy more vaccines and colloidal silver. From what I've seen on the news about it so far, the number of sensible people between these two extremes is only going to grow smaller.
The news, even when it gives you all the information, prefers to put emphasis on the information that will make you panic.
On Today this morning, for example, they briefly mentioned that an outbreak is considered 3 or more related infections. Then, they spent quite a bit of time telling us how many states had outbreaks, but didn't give the numbers for each state. They did give the numbers for Texas, which has the highest numbers with over 100 infected people. They told us that most of them were infected children. They didn't tell us the number of deaths, so it's pretty safe to assume there haven't been any yet.
Then, in a 10 second monologue with no graphics at all, they gave the number that I had been waiting to hear: the number of cases in people who were vaccinated. They were still only talking about the numbers in Texas, so it's fairly safe to assume that was the only state that had infections in people who were vaccinated. The number was 5, out of a total 124 cases. That's about a 4% chance of getting infected if you're vaccinated and surrounded by a sea of measles.
That is extremely effective, but it's not exactly a guarantee. If vaccine advocates want any credibility, they need to address this fact.
The news then went in to a long segment with a number of charts and several people reinforcing that although the measles vaccine is safe and effective, everyone over the age of 25 should consider getting another shot anyway, and anyone over 65 definitely needed another shot. They did not bother to tell us the ages of any of the vaccinated people who had become infected. In fact, they didn't give us any information about those people at all. It seems to me the experience of those 5 vaccinated people is the real story, since that is the one that will be relevant to the vast majority of Americans, who are already vaccinated against measles.
I understand that a lot of their medical information is protected by law, and I'm sure that other people wondering why those 5 people aren't on the 'news' are being given that excuse. I wonder though... why would it be legal to use anonymous medical information to scare people, but not to give them relevant information?
If any one of those 5 people dies, I'm willing to bet that information, again without any relevant context, will be on the very next segment of the 'news'.
If you're panicking about the recent measles outbreaks, please stop. If you've been vaccinated, the chances of you getting measles are less than 4%, judging by existing data, even if you live in a town full of unvaccinated, infected people.
If you haven't been vaccinated, and there's no reason why you can't be, you should go get that shot.
I hear it's safe and effective.