China has one of the most vaccination compliant populations in the world. In fact, measles vaccination is mandatory. So why has China had over 700 measles outbreaks between 2009 and 2012 alone?
The obvious answer is that the measles vaccines are simply not effective.
via Why is China Having Measles Outbreaks When 99% are Vaccinated? | Wake Up World.
I will no doubt get some comments on this post reminding me to stop wasting my time on stupid crap from fringe blogs. Fair enough. Then again, the motivation for 97% of all blog posts is the classic “Someone made an incorrect statement or said something that pissed me off, and I wanted to respond or debunk.” This is one of those occasions.
The blog in question is “Wake Up World,” and while I’m not a regular reader, just the title alone (and the post in question) suggests to me that this is either wacky, nutjob conspiracy stuff or surprising evidence that folks with anencephaly can write blogs.
I won’t make this too unpleasant by adding a lot of numbers, but a quick look at the “evidence” used to back up that above statement is revealing. Did something really odd go on here in China from 2009 to 2012? Was there a sudden outbreak of measles?
I only needed to spend about 47 seconds reading the introduction of one of the studies cited by these science/reality bashers before finding the following:
Between 2008 and 2012, the incidence of measles in all age groups, including those not targeted for vaccination, decreased by at least 93.6%. However, resurgence started in late 2012 and continued into 2013.
Right. I’m not sure I see anything there that suggests measles vaccines are ineffective, do you?
But wait, although these guys are clearly full of shit, there is a tiny kernel of truth here insofar as there was indeed a resurgence of measles that began in late 2012. Is this evidence of the ineffectiveness of vaccines?
Hardly. Again, it took me this time about 13 seconds to find the following two passages in the very same study:
Although there is evidence of progress towards the elimination of measles from China, resurgence in 2013 indicated that many children were still not being vaccinated on time. Routine immunization must be strengthened and the remaining immunity gaps need to be identified and filled.
The resurgence of measles in 2013 occurred primarily among young, unvaccinated children, including infants who were too young to have been vaccinated and children of pre-school age who had missed one or both of their scheduled vaccinations.
Resurgence . . . among unvaccinated children!!! Apparently anti-vaxxer fucknoodles can’t read this sort of thing and understand it without someone emphasizing the important words for them, so there you have it. No surprise, the same study they held out as proving their point actually supports the exact opposite. The stupid, it hurts.
Yes, there was an uptick in incidence of measles in China last year, but rather than this being evidence that vaccines don’t work, this is actually an example of what happens when vaccine programs do not provide sufficient population coverage.
I can certainly accept laziness in a blogger and perhaps even a measure of stupidity or ignorance. Misleading readers on purpose regarding a significant public health issue goes beyond the pale. If you’re willing to go this far to reject facts and reality, you might as well get into the religion racket and enjoy the tax breaks.
Stay out of China, anti-vaxxers. Then again, the cops here are supposed to do something about dangerous rumor mongers. Hmm, I changed my mind. Come here for a visit, a well-publicized and transparent one.
© Stan for China Hearsay, 2014. |
Permalink |
No comment |
Add to
del.icio.us
Post tags: measles, public health, vaccine