Anti Vaccers Win, America Loses, Measles at its Highest Level in a Decade

The number of measles cases in the United States this year, 131, is the highest since 1997, and we've got 5 months to go. And to no one's surprise in the reality-based community, half of them are the children of anti-vaccers.

"Childhood vaccination rates for measles continue to exceed 92 percent, but outbreak pockets seem to be forming, health officials said.

Of this year's total, 122 were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. Some were unvaccinated because the children were under age 1, making them too young to get their first measles shot.

In 63 of those cases _ almost all of them 19 or younger _ the patient or their parents refused vaccination, the CDC reported.

In Washington state, an outbreak was traced to a religious conference, including 16 school-aged children who were not vaccinated because of parents' beliefs. Eleven of those kids were home schooled and not subject to vaccination rules in public schools."

Once again, those who deny the importance of taking on religious lunacy with vigour have some explaining to do. Why isn't this considered the child abuse it is? Freedom of religion means you can believe the gods hate vaccines if you want, but it doesn't mean your children should die because their parents are nut jobs. It is no different than refusing to let your child wear a seat belt or motorcycle helmet, except that you don't infect other people when you die in a crash.

Idiocracy here we come. You can find more detailed write ups here and here.