Texas Official Warns Against ‘Measles Parties’ Amid Growing Outbreak
At least 146 measles cases have been identified in West Texas so far, including 20 hospitalizations and one death.
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18998979
At this point, with specific regard to populations that are willfully ignorant and resistant to obvious and basic public health precautions: I’m at the point where my reaction is simply “good luck with that”.
I know there are considerations for immune compromised people - I’m on an immune-suppressing med myself. But holy fuck, if these idiots still haven’t found the plot after 5 years and a whole fucking pandemic, they’re not going to.
My wife is allergic to the measles vaccination and relies on herd immunity. The fact that there are parents who legitimately think that the vaccination is somehow worse than the disease itself makes me irrationally angry.
Agreed.
These idiots did the same thing with Covid. Only 3 months in and it’s already time to start handing out 2025 Darwin Awards. Sucks for the kids though.
wow. just wow. its not chicken pox.
Absolutely crazy lol.
And even then that wasn't a great idea either. Chicken pox can happily have serious both short and long term effects.
eyup. I got shingles before being eligible for the shot. Do not recommend. Glad I just got it on my hand.
Never thought I'd read 'measles party' in my life
Like wtf does that even mean? The article was like 2 sentences long
Back in the 80s, but probably before and after that, parents would get their kids together for Chickepox parties. It would spread the chickenpox to ensure kids got it for the immunity, as it is much worse when you are an adult.
There was a South Park episode about it.
This happened to me as a very young kid (6 maybe?) in the early 90s. All my school friends got sick from the party. Apart from the itching and sore throat, I remember just playing with Lego for a few days instead of going to school and it was great.
One of the dads (neighbour) got it and had to stay at the hospital for a few days.
Oml I actually vaguely remember that episode, it was at Kenny's house
It's an old idea, you'd basically have a sleepover of uninfected individuals with a few infected individuals. The idea was you'd give everyone the disease at the same time, meaning the next time the disease came through you'd have unified immunity, rather than a mix some individuals being immune and some still being susceptible having avoided infection the last time. It's better than nothing for disease control, but only just barely.
Of course, it became unnecessary with vaccines for the various diseases "treated" that way. Since with a vaccine you can gain immunity without actually having to catch the disease in question.
Was literally about to say, of only we had a way to make people immune without the risk of so much death...
JFC I grew up in the dumbest state.
I didn't grow up in Texas but I live here now, and my first thought reading the headline was: "JFC this place is so fucking stupid."
Shhhh, don't interrupt the enemy when they want to make a mistake
Sick children aren't the enemy
I'm not talking about the kids, I'm talking about the parents, the same type of people who want me to be locked up in a camp because i need antidepressants to function. The same people who want to ban vaccines, execute the gays, deport my lawyer sister in law (while cheering the release of felons that stormed the capital).
The only way these people can possibly empathize with actual human beings, is to hurt.
These parties are geared at gathering children together to spread measles amongst the children. The parents arranging it are likely vaccinated, so the harm is focused on the kids. You’re suggesting that these kids should get sick and possibly die to spite your enemies.
Not to mention that vaccines are only 97% effective, so spread to vaccinated people is likely. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/index.html
Add to that the fact that measles can also essentially reset the immune system making people lose the effectiveness of vaccines for other diseases. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211112-the-people-with-immune-amnesia
But, that’s all ok just to spite your enemies? Innocent children should be subjected to measles and the general public should be endangered?
... And you just know that as soon as it spreads to a single vaccinated person, that will be "proof" that vaccines don't work!
1000 unvaccinated could die, but as soon as 1 vaccinated person spends a week in a hospital with it before going home w/ minimal issues, they have their "irrefutable proof!"
Yeah, let's do nothing and let the children of people we don't like die. And in the meantime, let's put other particularly vulnerable - like the immunocompromised - at risk. But we'll sure show a handful of people how right we were the whole time.
You might want to rethink your moral compass.
Sometimes, the best you can do is explain a bad decision when you see it. The people who really want to do it will ignore you. The hope is to get the people on the fence to not do it. You won't get them all, but if it saves even one child, it's worth it.
This goes way beyond "people i don't like". These people are stupid, evil or both. People who want me executed because I like Dick. People who want to ban vaccines, so other people's kids will suffer. People who want me in a work camp because I need antidepressants to function. People who are raising those kids to believe the same stupid, evil shit that they've bought into, belief that others should suffer, because reasons.
There's a part of me that hopes willfully ignorant parents do go to measles parties specifically because the lesson they chose to ignore will instead be learned the hard way.
On a more positive note, Wells reported that the outbreak has seemed to sway some vaccine-hesitant parents to get their children vaccinated. Just yesterday in Lubbock, over 50 children came into the city's clinic for measles vaccines. Eleven of those children had vaccine exemptions, meaning their parents had previously gone through the state process to exempt their child from having to receive routine childhood vaccines to attend school. “Which is a really good sign; that means our message is getting out there,” Wells said.
Good news. Shame some people need to touch the hot stove to learn.
