Fox Host: 'Progressives' Caused Vaccine Problem, Big Gov't Making It Worse

[DonViejo]

Fox News host Kennedy said on Monday she knew exactly who's to blame for anti-vaccination movement: progressives.

But she also said there's one group that's even worse.

"The only thing I despise more than irrational progressives who don't vaccinate their children are government bureaucrats who tend to overblow these public health crises," the former MTV VJ, who goes by just one name, said on the Fox News show "Outnumbered."

Although Kennedy cast doubt on the scale of the measles outbreak in the U.S., which has been blamed in large part on parents who refuse to vaccinate their children, she suggested that parents have a responsibility to do so.

"Sure, it may be a parent's choice whether or not they vaccinate a child," she said. "The problem is, when you get my child sick, it's not just your problem or your choice." In contrast, guest panelist Gen. Jack Keane, a former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, offered a forceful defense of vaccines.

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kennedy-progressives-measles-vaccination

[chelsea0011]

1. a former MTV DJ, now political scientist. She's amazing.

[kcr]

13. Yep, quite an amazing right winger, that one

She believes in privatizing Social Security. Wow. What's not to like?

[HappyMe]

2. I don't think that anti-vax people are

from one political group only. Those people come from both sides of the aisle.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. I wonder if there actually are any studies out there that show a breakdown.

Or if she's just assuming that because California has been hard hit a couple of times, all California's are 'progressives'.

[HappyMe]

4. She is probably assuming because of California,

which means in that case she's not completely off the mark.

I don't know that medical type studies involve any questions about political affiliation.

[riversedge]

6. I looked yesterday for studies--groups of people

who chose not to vaccinate. Did not find any--but admit I did not spend much time. I had and wondered the same. But to say 'progressives" is just stupid.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. What's really bad is a Kennedy making it worse: Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who should know better.

For everything good about him, as far as I am concerned his vaccine nonsense puts him square into the asshole territory.

[GeorgeGist]

7. Still no vaccine against stupid.

[riversedge]

8. 2009, D support for mandatory child #vaccinations increased 5 pts. to 76% while R support dropped 6

I will have to find the original research:

Just saw this on twitter:
Nu Wexler ?@wexler 1h1 hour ago

Since 2009, D support for mandatory child #vaccinations increased 5 pts. to 76% while R support dropped 6 pts. to 65%. Source: @pewresearch
0 replies 1 retweet 0 favorites

[riversedge]

9. Last Reseach from Pew....Feb2

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/02/02/young-adults-more-likely-to-say-vaccinating-kids-should-be-a-parental-choice/




Fact Tank - Our Lives in Numbers
February 2, 2015


Young adults more likely to say vaccinating kids should be a parental choice

By Monica AndersonLeave a comment

Vaccines Public OpinionAs the number of measles cases linked to the California outbreak climbs to over 100, health officials are urging parents to properly immunize their children, citing unvaccinated individuals as a main contributor to the disease’s spread. Some have linked the outbreak to the anti-vaccination movement – a group whose members claim vaccinations are unsafe and ineffective.

A Pew Research Center report released last week shows that a majority of Americans say children should be required to get vaccinated. Further analysis of the survey data reveals significant age differences in views about vaccines. In 2009, by contrast, opinions about vaccines were roughly the same across age groups. Also, some modest partisan divisions have emerged since 2009, when Pew Research last polled on the issue.

Overall, 68% of U.S. adults say childhood vaccinations should be required, while 30% say parents should be able to decide. Among all age groups, young adults are more likely to say vaccinating children should be a parental choice. Some 41% of 18- to 29-year-olds say parents should be able to decide whether or not their child gets vaccinated; only 20% of adults 65 or older echo this opinion............

[louis-t]

10. 'Young adults' have never lived through an epidemic.

[deutsey]

11. The only thing I remember about her from her time on MTV is her loud belching

Sounds as if she hasn't changed much.

[tanyev]

12. So Christie and Paul are pandering to.... progressives?

¿Por qué?

[struggle4progress]

14. What Do We Really Know About Social Resistance to Vaccines?

By Sara Gorman
Posted: December 13, 2013

... A few, but not many, studies have been done to begin to understand the demographics, spread, and circumstances behind various anti-vaccination movements or instances of vaccine non-compliance. One study published in PLOS One in September 2012 examined fear and resistance to the polio eradication program in Aligarh, India in 2009. The study found that vaccine fear and resistance were borne from a kind of fatigue and suspicion that stemmed from confusion about changing vaccination strategies. When the polio eradication program shifted from a strategy of vaccinating a few times per year to a strategy of a more aggressive short-term vaccination campaign involving shots once per month, families were left confused and suspicious about the efficacy of the vaccine in the absence of explanation by officials. The result was what the authors call “vaccine fatigue,” suggesting that lack of proper explanation of all the details in a vaccine program, including the frequency of administration of shots, may contribute to suspicion and fear of vaccines. A 2007 study published in PLOS Medicine investigated the polio vaccine boycott situation in Nigeria. The author of this article insists that social resistance to vaccines be placed in the wider political and social context of health services in northern Nigeria. Controls on population growth in the region since the 1980s led to suspicion of vaccine programs in particular, which were believed to be a method of checking on the number of children in each family. Similarly, aggressive vaccination campaigns are particularly eyebrow-raising in a region where healthcare is generally difficult to attain. As the author notes, free door-to-door healthcare in northern Nigeria is as bizarre as a stranger going door to door handing out $100 bills in America. In the end, the study urges widespread public awareness campaigns about the benefits of vaccination and sensitivity to local politics to help avoid future boycotts.

A few similar studies following disease outbreaks in the absence of vaccination in pockets of the U.S. have revealed the general demographic of the anti-vaccine movement: middle-to-high-income whites who favor natural, organic foods and remedies. A few other studies have taken a close look at anti-vaccination websites to try and gain a better understanding of how anti-vaccination materials are formulated and how they spread.

The truth is, we have relatively little data about the demographics and nature of anti-vaccination thought and the mechanisms of its spread. But we do know that anti-vaccination sentiments have a very long history, at least in developed nations such as the U.S. and England. A common belief is that smallpox elimination in the U.S. represents a case of unique cooperation between a terrified public and an even-handed, responsible public administration. But resistance to smallpox vaccination was potent, probably much stronger than today’s American anti-vaccination movement. In fact, vaccination against smallpox in those days was often a risky business, with little government control over quality and safety. Compulsory vaccination was seen as potentially dangerous and certainly a threat to civil liberties. Antivaccination leagues in 1900 performed very similar actions to antivaccination activists in 2013: they challenged compulsory vaccination laws and staged boycotts. They even rioted and hid sick children from vaccination authorities ...

http://blogs.plos.org/speakingofmedicine/2013/12/13/what-do-we-really-know-about-social-resistance-to-vaccines/

[lpbk2713]

15. Faux Snooze Golden Maxim ...

Engraved on a mahogany plaque on the studio wall ...


When you find ambiguity, exaggeration and
distortion don't work just make shit up.