We've all heard of "chicken-pox" parties. This was the practice where the parents of children who had chicken pox would host a party to get all the kids exposed together. In the days before the chicken pox vaccine, this made some sort of sense. It allowed everyone to get sick at the same, predictable time and prevent infection in adulthood, which can be more severe. Let me say that again, IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE VACCINE, this sort of made sense. The chicken pox vaccine (aka. the varicella voster vaccine) has been available in the US since 1995 and is extremely effective at eliminating the risk of infection or making the infection very mild, if it does occur at all. This really is a wonderful thing.
Unfortunately, some parents are so distrustful of vaccines, that they prefer to expose their children to chicken pox, rather than getting them the vaccine. And now, there is a facebook group dedicated the helping parents get together for chicken pox parties.This is fucking crazy. But even crazier, is the practice of mailing pox-infected bodily fluids to other parents who are interested in intentionally exposing their children to a dangerous disease. You can read about this practice here at "Respectful Insolence". Briefly, here is an excerpt from Orac's blog:
True, such complications are fairly uncommon but they can be quite serious, all in the name of being "natural" and avoiding those evil vaccines. It turns out that some parents, apparently having difficulty finding children with active chickenpox in their area (thanks to the aforementioned evil vaccine, no doubt), are mailing the virus to each other:
Here's the local Arizona news report:
Doctors and medical experts are concerned about a new trend taking place on Facebook. Parents are trading live viruses through the mail in order to infect their children.
The Facebook group is called "Find a Pox Party in Your Area." According to the group's page, it is geared toward "parents who want their children to obtain natural immunity for the chicken pox."On the page, parents post where they live and ask if anyone with a child who has the chicken pox would be willing to send saliva, infected lollipops or clothing through the mail.Parents also use the page to set up play dates with children who currently have chicken pox.Medical experts say the most troubling part of this is parents are taking pathogens from complete strangers and deliberately infecting their children.One concern is that they are sending the virus through the mail.
Why would people do this? Because they have been swindled by anti-vaccine propaganda that uses sciencey sounding words to convince people that there are significant dangers associated with vaccines (there are not). When not using fake science and made up statistics, they take advantage of popular mistrust of doctors and bizarre conspiracy theories ("You can't believe doctors and scientists, they are all under the control of big pharma" etc).
Although it's true that most children will recover from chicken pox with little to no side effects, the risks of getting the disease are dramatically higher than those associated with getting the vaccine. In addition to prevented a very nasty, uncomfortable illness, the vaccine has reduced deaths caused by chicken pox by more than 90%. Also, 1 in 10 adults who had chicken pox in childhood will develop a painful nerve condition called Shingles, when the virus is reactivated during a stressful time. The vaccine likely prevents against this condition as well. Let's not forget about the value of herd immunity to protect people who cannot get the vaccine or are immunocompromised, including very young infants, children with leukemia, and pregnant women.
Please stop sending infectious packages through the mail, it's very illegal and dangerous. And please stop infecting your children with chicken pox. Its not "natural", its not safer than the vaccine, and to do so is nothing less than child-abuse.
Although it's true that most children will recover from chicken pox with little to no side effects, the risks of getting the disease are dramatically higher than those associated with getting the vaccine. In addition to prevented a very nasty, uncomfortable illness, the vaccine has reduced deaths caused by chicken pox by more than 90%. Also, 1 in 10 adults who had chicken pox in childhood will develop a painful nerve condition called Shingles, when the virus is reactivated during a stressful time. The vaccine likely prevents against this condition as well. Let's not forget about the value of herd immunity to protect people who cannot get the vaccine or are immunocompromised, including very young infants, children with leukemia, and pregnant women.
Please stop sending infectious packages through the mail, it's very illegal and dangerous. And please stop infecting your children with chicken pox. Its not "natural", its not safer than the vaccine, and to do so is nothing less than child-abuse.
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