This is really remarkable:
This isn't about the COVID vaccine. It's about childhood vaccines in general: measles, polio, pertussis, hepatitis, RSV, etc. After a yearslong jihad sparked by COVID conspiracy mongering, only 26% of Republicans still think childhood vaccines are important.
26%! It's like half the country has gone back to living in the Dark Ages.
it's not just kids. As we age our early in life vaccine induced immunity wanes. We have been by the low incidence of these disease in our communities. if these disease become more common because of lower immunization rates in kids than all of us could be exposed and susceptible.
↑_(•ˇ_ˇ•)_↑
A lot of those Republicans are rural, meaning their preventable disease outbreaks are going to happen in schools with more unvaccinated kids and with less hospital access. That's a recipe for a lot of dead kids.
I guess that explains why they have so many more kids. /s
Like the middle ages - have lots of kids because you know you're going to lose a few.
Before modern medicine, half of children didn't make it to adulthood, and there was no way to know in advance which half. A typical family lost half their kids, but some families lost more than that and some unlucky couples didn't have any kids survive.
This should be part of the standard history curriculum. Teach kids what it was like before vaccines so that they will understand how important it is to get their shots.
The percentage among Democrats was also surprisingly and disturbingly lower than I would have expected. Why isn’t it 80% or higher??
The percentages are for respondents agreeing with "extremely important". It would be useful to have the percentages agreeing with extremely important and important as these groups would be highly likely to follow through with vaccinations. The word "extremely" likely as significant ambiguity affecting how often its selected.
See: https://news.gallup.com/poll/648308/far-fewer-regard-childhood-vaccinations-important.aspx
Go to the bottom and click on the PDF link to see the breakdown.
Tack.
When you add Extremely Important and Very Important you get 93% of Democrats. That could easily result from some parents thinking, "well, I make sure my kid gets them when we go in for our regular checkup, but I'm not desperately making an appointment as soon as they are eligible" or maybe "the measles vaccine is extremely important, but chicken pox and flu are less so." Both of those groups are very likely to get their kids vaccinated pretty much on schedule, although you might see some failure to get all the flu and covid boosters on time.
Republican parents only get to 54% when you add those two groups together, which is pretty worrisome.
Is it "worrisome" or is it "good news"? The "Quiverfull" women already massively out-breed Democratic women, so maybe childhood epidemics are God's way of keeping the IQ median up.
Unless the Democratic Parties start figuring out this "messaging" thing, deaths from outbreaks of preventable diseases will be laid at their feet.
By Republicans: some bizarro-world conspiracy theory about how Evil Democrat Scientists started the epidemics for money. And then wouldn't let us buy horse dewormer or chicken grit to cure it.
By the talking heads and other op-edders: the Democrats FAILED their civic duty to prevent Republicans from yada yada yada.
Dems must stop being so polite and mannerly, and start calling out, "blaming and shaming" the guilty Party in Power. Yeah, I know Republicans are post-shame.
It’s not the Democratic Party’s job to save people from themselves. Elected republicans also have agency and could do more to save their own voters. You can’t help people who won’t help themselves or their own loved ones, and who will actually attack you if you try to help them or their kids.
Welcome to the sadness of the Dark Ages Part II. Plenty of people knew back then things were very wrong and couldn’t do anything about it. And lots of people know now that things are very wrong, and American voters strip their ability to change it. Buckle up for a future of more death and despair.
RFK wants to revoke the approval of the polio vaccine! Welcome back the iron lung. Just in time too. Didn't the last person to be in one just die?
Stock Tip!!!!
Buy Medical Appliance Makers!!!!
It's especially insane when you consider that polio is THIS CLOSE to being eradicated. Just keep up vaccinations for a little while longer and the vaccine will become permanently unnecessary!
Sir Bedevere:
...and that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana shaped.
King Arthur:
This new learning amazes me, Sir Bedevere. Explain again how sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes.
Amazing how predictive comedy can be.
In the words of Radiohead:
Aaand adding this to the playlist for the week.
I quote Green Day:
I quote Steppenwolf:
America, where are you now
Don't you care about your sons and daughters
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
I saw this insanity hit someone who refused the shingles vaccine. Their lives have been a nightmare going on 8 months.
Sucks that you know someone who FAFO. Some kids won’t listen to warnings and just have to touch the hot stove to believe that it will burn them.
Some 30 or so years ago I asked our doctor why my daughter was not vaccinated against smallpox. He said the risk of infection was lower than the risk of a bad reaction. The government does have a stock pile of small pox vaccines for just in case.
Smallpox has been eradicated. It's extinct in the wild. No new cases since the 1970s. Greatest public health triumph ever.
8:17 AM · Dec 16, 2024 5.8M Views
Marjorie Taylor Greene @mtgreenee
I fully believe vaccines cause Autism.
It’s another example of crimes against humanity.
And innocent babies, children, and their families are the victims.
https://x.com/mtgreenee/status/1868691840624730462
Anti vaxxers against COVID only risked their own health.
Anti vaxxers against measles, etc, risk the health of everyone in the school they send their children to.
I can imagine some heated school board meetings if they show up pushing their views. And some pretty rough justice if their kids infect other people's kids.
Tropic of Thunder
Kirk Lazarus: You went full retard man, never go full retard.
Kevin, you said, "Only 26% of Republicans still think childhood vaccines are important." I expect better from you than this kind of cherry picking of stats.
In fact 80% of Republicans think childhood vaccines are important to different degrees, extremely important, very important, or somewhat important.
Nonetheless, the partisan difference is striking.
"It's like half the country has gone back to living in the Dark Ages."
Ya think? I think the more important question is how far back they're going. I suspect quite a ways, to the Roman Empire at least but maybe as far as hominids on the plains of the Great Rift valley. I mean, what's going to stop them? Seriously. What's going to stop the slide of American 'conservatism' into full on pre-enlightenment magical thinking and fully pre-conscious behavior? No joke here. What real world possibilities exist to slow, halt, or reverse this?