Florida's response to measles outbreak troubles public health experts
Florida's response to measles outbreak troubles public health experts
The state has at least 10 cases of the illness to date but the state's surgeon general has not called for vaccinations or quarantining of exposed kids. This goes against science-based measures.
In mid-February, a measles outbreak started at the Manatee Bay Elementary School in Broward County in South Florida. There are now at least nine cases in the county and one additional one in Polk County in Central Florida.
Several public health researchers say Florida's current response to the outbreak goes against well-established public health guidance. Florida's surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has so far not urged parents of unvaccinated children at the school with the outbreak to get their children vaccinated, or to quarantine them. In a Feb. 20 letter, Ladapo left it up to parents to decide whether to send their kids to school.
"I'm flummoxed about this," says Dr. Ali Khan, dean of public health at the University of Nebraska. "I've never heard of a surgeon general who didn't at least advocate for best public health practice."
What pisses me off about all of this was anti-vax existed prior to the trump / fauci debacle... but it was quiet and didn't have a foothold. Following that suddenly we have science taking a back seat to politics.
Now that it's 'acceptable' to impose your ill informed lifestyle on others. we're rapidly losing the critical mass needed to protect all of us.
Reduced group immunity means more mutations in strains which will cause even more outbreaks.
Congratulations - we've officially weaponized stupidity.
It’s one thing to ignore childhood vaccinations, that’s been going on for years and is, sadly, a growing movement. But if you’re going to do that, you need to play by the rules and quarantine your kid during an outbreak. It’s insane to let a kid who was exposed to measles just go back and potentially expose others.
It's Florida, a state so red I can see the glow from the other of the ocean. Of they so much as acknowledge the existence of diseases or preventative measures, their voting base will riot
Florida's new policy of using gasoline hoses to put out fires troubles firefighting experts.
Florida, the dong of America, being riddled with infection is pretty spot on. Remember to coat yourself in latex if visiting Florida
FloridaSurgeonGeneral@flhealth.gov Just wrote an email expressing concern for his handling of the situation, here's the email if anyone else wants it.