Sunday, December 2, 2018

Idiots of the Week: Parents Who Don't Vaccinate Their Kids: Huge Chickenpox Outbreak in NC

Chicken pox- painful blisters on the body
This week's "Idiot of the Week" actually goes to a large group of parents who have children in a private school in North Carolina, and didn't vaccinate them. The main reason cited for not vaccinating their kids "Religious Exemption." Now, many kids have chickenpox, and when they grow up, they're candidates for the very painful adult shingles virus (because it comes from chickenpox virus exposure).  I (Rob) had Shingles and it was VERY painful.
 
NOT VACCINATING IS BAD PARENTING. That's just stupid. When we went to school we had to show we were vaccinated to prevent an outbreak. Now, dumb parents refuse to give their kids vaccines and then cry and pout when their children die. They are all idiots of the week.
   



FACT:  In November 2018, A private school in North Carolina has reportedly been hit by the state’s worst chickenpox outbreak in over two decades after parents claimed religious exemptions to the state’s vaccination requirements.


HERE'S THE STORY (From the NC Citizen-Times Newspaper)
https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/11/20/chickenpox-asheville-waldorf-school-quarantine-court-challenge-religious-freedom-civil-liberities/2069844002/

ASHEVILLE — First came the rash, then the quarantine — and with it, a legal challenge.

The late October outbreak of chickenpox at Asheville Waldorf School prompted Buncombe County health officials in early November to call for the quarantine of 104 of school's 152 students. Nearly 75 percent hadn't been vaccinated for the virus.

That order expired Tuesday, though it is unlikely to mark the end of county concerns at the private West Asheville school that serves toddlers through sixth graders. Buncombe health officials will continue to monitor conditions when students return from Thanksgiving break next week.

In a Nov. 1 order sent to the parents of unvaccinated children, Buncombe County Health Director Jannine Shaphard wrote that "the intent of this quarantine is to decrease the risk of transmission of the illness and protect the health of non-immune students, staff and community members." Asheville attorney Lakota Denton said Tuesday the quarantine violated the civil liberties of the children — two of whom he represents.

WHAT IS CHICKENPOX? Chickenpox (varicella) is a viral infection that causes a fever, and an itchy rash with small, fluid-filled blisters. Chickenpox is highly contagious to people who haven't had the disease or been vaccinated against it. A person with chickenpox may have as many as 500 blisters. The rash can spread over the whole body. Chickenpox can be serious, even life-threatening, especially in babies, adolescents, adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/6wiWtYbwhlg


ABOUT 110 KIDS NOW QUARANTINED FOR 3 WEEKS
"The quarantine placed around 100 children, including my clients, under house-arrest for 21 days," Denton said. "I felt that there should be a more significant threat to public health to justify this kind of curtailing of civil liberties, so I contested the quarantine in Superior Court on behalf of these children."

The quarantine order the county provided to Asheville Waldorf School parents gave them a choice. They could have their children vaccinated, prove they're immune to the virus or keep them away from others.

Given the choice, parents — even those who oppose vaccines — typically choose to immunize, Buncombe Health and Human Services Medical Director Jennifer Mullendore said Friday. Parents can't usually afford to keep their children out of school for so long, she said. That wasn't the case with this outbreak. The majority of parents presented with the county's order chose quarantine, Mullendore said. Mullendore wrote in an email that the county "is committed to protecting the public's health.""The court agreed that the local health director can use her quarantine authority to control an outbreak of chickenpox," she added.

RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS CITED FOR NON-VACCINATIONS
During the 2017-2018 school year, the last for which data were available, Asheville Waldorf had a higher rate of religious exemptions for vaccination than all but two other schools in the state. Of the 28 kindergartners who enrolled that year, 19 had an exemption to at least one vaccination required by the state for school entry. During the same academic year, Buncombe County led the state in religious exemption rates for kindergartners with 5.7 percent.

Who I am

I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

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