It Might Still Just Be Bronchitis.

[kungfuwaynewho]

Dear parents who have chosen not to vaccinate your children:

Thank you. No, really. Thank you for choosing to believe one single study, that has since been discredited and its author stripped of his medical license, over every other medical professional's opinion. Thank you for watching a segment on the Today Show and basing your decisions on that eight-minute stretch. Thank you for reading Jenny McCarthy's book and thinking, "Yeah, she's onto something."

Thank you for dragging your sick children out into public, as well. That's a vital part of this whole equation.

Thank you for all of that, because I probably have whooping cough. WHOOPING COUGH. A disease that was practically non-existent in this country because enough people were vaccinated against it, keeping those who weren't (me, as a baby, because I had a horrific reaction to the shot) safe through herd immunity. Thank you for destroying the entire concept of herd immunity. Thank you for making idiotic decisions that not only threaten the life of your own children, but also the lives of all the people your children come into contact with.

XOXwlejiafo;eiji;eoa

Sorry.  Just had a coughing fit. At least this time I didn't run out of breath or start wheezing or get dizzy or vomit because of it.

Anyway, XOXO. Yeah.

Comments

[hollywobbles.livejournal.com]

*look of absolute horror*

[ghanimasun]

That sounds terrible :( I'm sorry you're having to deal with that shit. Also I agree with you totally on the idiocy that is anti-vaxxers.

[icepixie]

There should be two choices for anti-vaxxers: Vaccinate, or quarantine your entire family until the children are old enough to assent to getting shots on their own.

[dref22.livejournal.com]

THISSSSS. These clueless people have no idea how vaccination is extremely crucial especially in the 3rd world countries.

[naushika.livejournal.com]

Ughhhh that's terrible. :(

[nhpw.livejournal.com]

OH NO!! :(( I really, really hope you don't have it - and am so glad you finally went to the doctor. That's nothing to be messing around with :(

I've always been of the opinion that anti-vax people are idiots, but I have a new RAGE!HATE against them now because I have a child who's too young to be vaccinated against most things - she's only had her first round of shots. So when we arrived at her daycare a couple weeks back and there was a sign on the door that said "one confirmed case of pertussis" and she happened to wake up the next morning with (what turned out to be) her very first cold, I COMPLETELY LOST MY SHIT. I have a new appreciation for the decisions parents make and try to cut people some slack, but I put on my JUDGING YOU hat when it comes to the anti-vax movement. Jenni McCarthy is not a doctor. She's an idiot, and if you listen to her, then you're an idiot too. And a bad parent. And have no sense of social responsibility. Etc. RAGE.

I'm sorry you have so many meds but I'm glad they were able to put you on something to help, and that you haven't had to be hospitalized. I assume you have to stay home from work?

*HUUUUUGS* Please take care of yourself. I'll say "get well soon!" even though it might be a long recovery road - because we can always hope for 4 weeks instead of the outside of 5, right?

[ufgator1977.livejournal.com]

One of the things that absolutely drives me nuts is how *one* study gets published and people immediately take it as gospel. Especially if some famous fool gets on the bandwagon.

I'm almost 60 and I had all those vaccinations, so did my 30 year old son and we're just fine. As a matter of fact, he had to have the MMR before they would let him into school. I had measles, rubella, mumps(twice) and chicken pox as a child. It was touch and go when I had rubella I almost didn't make it(I was 4) so I had no compunction about vaccinating my son.

This is in line with all the "antibacterial" products out there that are created super bugs and compromising our immune systems.

Sending positive vibes; hang in there and feel better soon.

[jerusha]

Gah. I hope you feel better soon.

[dizzyknee.livejournal.com]

I hope you're feeling better soon. It makes me so mad that idiot adults would put their own children and other people in danger by not getting them vaccinated. There's nothing proven about vaccinations causing autism. Any child where a connection exists likely already had a predisposition anyway. And as someone who is studying to become a developmental therapist and will work with many autistic children this makes me especially mad. Who in their right mind would think that risk of death or serious illness is worse than the child being autistic?

Also Jenny McCarthy's son being "cured" by following a certain diet? Grrr this whole topic makes me so angry.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

With one family member on anti-rejection drugs and another with a delinquent immune system, I hear you about the anti-vaxxers. Be careful around your father. Be careful with yourself; whooping cough is no joke.

[openended.livejournal.com]

I seriously can't deal with people who don't do immunizations because of the "but it causes autism" nonsense.

Thank you for making idiotic decisions that not only threaten the life of your own children, but also the lives of all the people your children come into contact with.

Yes. It's not only putting their own kids at risk (which I guess is their prerogative though really doesn't sound like excellent parenting), but OTHER PEOPLE AT RISK AS WELL. At best, they've massively inconvenienced a relatively healthy individual (and possibly screwed them out of pay, depending on how their employment works). At worst, they've sent someone to the hospital. And at extreme worst, they've indirectly sent someone to their death (I don't know; elderly person comes in contact with whooping cough, goes to the hospital, develops pneumonia, never recovers; something like that).

And I just...everyone gets so uppity when a kid with a runny nose shows up at kindergarten. Runny noses are comparatively cake when put up against WHOOPING COUGH.

[nenya_kanadka]

Ulp! Scary shit. I hope it's one of the lesser coughing diseases!

My cousins on the one side of the family are all "raw milk" and "FDA sucks", but I don't know about their position on vaccinations. A cousin on the other side had whooping cough as a baby, and I'm pretty sure hearing that story from our parents when we were small terrified us all into wanting to be sure we gave our kids shots when the time came.

[indigoviolet.livejournal.com]

Huh, I missed this. Hope you're OK!

I was reading through some anti-vax blathering once, and came across 'the flu vaccine contains such and such evil chemicals blah blah etc INCLUDING THE FLU VIRUS ITSELF'

YOU DON'T SAY