Let’s see. Three months into 2014 New York City began to see an outbreak of measles. Last fall California reported the worst whooping cough season in 55 years. The herd immunity on which anti-vaccine parents have relied since the 1990’s is breaking down due to the increased numbers of anti-vaccine activists.
Of course, the excuses come rolling in. Interestingly enough, some anti-vaccine activists and some anti-immigrant activists have mixed it up together and come up with the theory that these outbreaks are all mostly due to illegal immigrants who carry the disease and then infect some of our (pure?) citizens.
The claim is still running around that somehow vaccinations damage children, despite no proof of that. Sadly, there are those who misuse religion to try to claim that God does not want children vaccinated.
None of it matters. The numbers of unnecessarily diseased children is going up. There is nothing like epidemiology to show one the truth of a situation. Eventually, the situation will became drastic. Sadly, by then many children may pay the price of bad reasoning and an unthinking distrust of science.
Epidemiology is one of the few areas in which it is not just a matter of opinion. There are no truthers, no conservatives, no liberals, no godly people resisting godless secularism in epidemiology. There are only diseases and epidemics. The only measure of truth is that either the disease goes away or the disease spreads. Sadly, that is what shows who is right.
Hey I want a lumpy the bear just for the “LOLZ” 😉