Is It Safe to be Near the Anti-Vaxxers at the State Capitol? (dangerous, estimate)

[Elliott_CA]

When the anti-vaccine people gather and protest at the capitol building, is it safe to be near them? Having them grouped together like that seems like it would be a petri dish of measles, chicken pox, tuberculosis and other airborne disease flying around... quarantine the area and seal if off with police tape.

I'll steer clear, thank you.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/un...aks-2019-04-25

[saibot]

Most anti-vaxxers were themselves vaccinated as children. And if you're also vaccinated, I don't think you need to worry quite so much.

[ryanthegoldengod]

As long as it's not Bring Your Kid To Protest Day, you should be in the clear.

[cb73]

Not having been vaccinated does not automatically give you a disease. There has to be someone that actually has it first.

And totally besides the fact that there's no vaccination for tuberculosis, it's been a given for quite some time now that the majority of the cases have been ahem....slipping over the southern border....so to speak. So standing around the Capital won't expose you to that either.

And depending on the age of the protesters, it's possible that they weren't vaccinated as children. My generation only got 3 vaccines. My son got 5. It's only the current generation that's getting 30 or 40 vaccines. And yet the older generation doesn't seem to immediately die of the diseases they weren't vaccinated from. Odd that.

[Elliott_CA]

Originally Posted by cb73

... And yet the older generation doesn't seem to immediately die of the diseases they weren't vaccinated from. Odd that.

As I understand it, if a high enough percentage of the population is immunized then the "herd immunity" principle means that the unvaccinated won't get sick either. That's why the anti-vax movement is so dangerous, if enough people join their ranks then the herd immunity threshold won't be met and we will have Typhoid Mary all over again.

Herd Immunity animation

[AliceTheHousekeeper]

Clearly with 99.9% of folks being vaccinated, it is highly unlikely you would contract any disease from them


Your chances of contracting other diseases, well better go hide in your closet

[Elliott_CA]

Originally Posted by AliceTheHousekeeper

Clearly with 99.9% of folks being vaccinated, it is highly unlikely you would contract any disease from them
Your chances of contracting other diseases, well better go hide in your closet

You're right, the chances of me contacting a disease from the anti-vaxxers is quite small. But I have some concern for the elderly and others with compromised immune systems.

[JohnS_15]

Originally Posted by cb73

Not having been vaccinated does not automatically give you a disease. There has to be someone that actually has it first.

And totally besides the fact that there's no vaccination for tuberculosis, it's been a given for quite some time now that the majority of the cases have been ahem....slipping over the southern border....so to speak. So standing around the Capital won't expose you to that either.

And depending on the age of the protesters, it's possible that they weren't vaccinated as children. My generation only got 3 vaccines. My son got 5. It's only the current generation that's getting 30 or 40 vaccines. And yet the older generation doesn't seem to immediately die of the diseases they weren't vaccinated from. Odd that.

Actually there is a vaccination for tuberculosis. The BCG - but it's not routinely given in the U.S. Many kids in other countries get it at birth. It's effectiveness is limited and the U.S. has a very strict protocol of monitoring and treating TB so it's generally not thought suitable for use here. It's a good illustration that public health scientists do actually consider vaccine safety and effectiveness when recommending disease prevention strategies.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by cb73

And depending on the age of the protesters, it's possible that they weren't vaccinated as children. My generation only got 3 vaccines. My son got 5. It's only the current generation that's getting 30 or 40 vaccines. And yet the older generation doesn't seem to immediately die of the diseases they weren't vaccinated from. Odd that.

I suppose if there are protesters over 80 years old, they might never have been vaccinated as children.

Your estimate of children being given 30 to 40 vaccines today is a little high. I was born in 1969 and I got 8 vaccines:

Polio
Diphtheria
Tetanus
Measles
Mumps
Rubella
Pertussis
Smallpox

My children are teens and they have had all of the above minus smallpox, but adding:

Chickenpox (not the most serious disease ever, but no one wants shingles later in life)
Hepatitis A and B
Meningitis (we know a young girl who is permanently disabled from meningitis)
Pneumococcal
Hib ((Haemophilus influenzae type b)

I count 13 different vaccinations, not 30. Some need to be administered more than once to be effective. It was the same when I was little.

[MyNewsLogin]

Originally Posted by saibot

Chickenpox (not the most serious disease ever, but no one wants shingles later in life)

Chickenpox is usually mild but before the vaccine, about 10,000 people landed in the hospital each year due to complications and 10 died.