Kentucky governor Matt Bevin says he deliberately exposed his children to chickenpox

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Kentucky governor says he deliberately exposed his children to chickenpox

Associated Press
Wed 20 Mar 2019 20.26 GMT Last modified on Wed 20 Mar 2019 20.50 GMT

Kentucky governor Matt Bevin says he deliberately exposed his children to chickenpox so they would catch the highly contagious disease and become immune.

During a Tuesday interview on Bowling Green radio station WKCT, Bevin said his children were “miserable for a few days” after contracting chickenpox but said “they all turned out fine”.

Bevin and his wife, Glenna, have nine children, four adopted.

The Republican leader said parents worried about chickenpox should have their children vaccinated. But he said government shouldn’t mandate the vaccination.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/20/kentucky-governor-exposes-children-chickenpox-vaccines

[gopiscrap]

1. what a fucking ignorant asshole

[BlueTsunami2018]

2. Yeah, that's what we all did as kids in the 70's.

If you didn’t get it, your parents brought you around someone who had it. My whole third grade class had it at the same time. When did this become a big deal? Everyone had the chicken pox and everyone was fine within a week. I was covered from head to toe with the damn things but it wasn’t a problem outside of some itching. I got to spend a week out of school watching cartoons and making up D&D characters. The only thing that sucked is that I couldn’t go out and play in the snow even though I felt fine. I was pissed about that. My kids and all their friends got it around the same age in the early 2000’s. All of them were fine too.

It’s not like exposing your kids to leprosy or bubonic plague.

[Mme. Defarge]

3. And I hope that if any of his children suffer with

shingles later in life they will have the right to sue him for damages.

[uppityperson]

5. No, everyone wasn't fine within a week.

https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/hcp/index.html

The most common complications from varicella are:

In children: Bacterial infections of the skin and soft tissues
In adults: Pneumonia
Severe complications caused by varicella include cerebellar ataxia, encephalitis, viral pneumonia, and hemorrhagic conditions. Other severe complications are due to bacterial infections and include:

Septicemia
Toxic shock syndrome
Necrotizing fasciitis
Osteomyelitis
Bacterial pneumonia
Septic arthritis


People at High Risk for Severe Varicella
People at risk for severe varicella include:

Immunocompromised people without evidence of immunity to varicella, such as:
People with leukemia or lymphoma
People on medications that suppress the immune system, such as high-dose systemic steroids or chemotherapeutic agents
People with cellular immune-deficiencies or other immune system problems
Newborns whose mothers have varicella from 5 days before to 2 days after delivery
Premature babies exposed to varicella or herpes zoster, specifically:
Hospitalized premature infants born at ?28 weeks of gestation whose mothers do not have evidence of immunity
Hospitalized premature infants born at <28 weeks of gestation or who weigh ?1,000 grams at birth regardless of their mothers’ varicella immunity status
Pregnant women without evidence of immunity to varicella

https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/182/2/383/2190935

...Varicella is a highly infectious disease that is preventable by vaccine. Before vaccine licensure in 1995, ?4 million cases per year resulted in ⩽9300 hospitalizations [1] and 100 deaths each year [2]. Children bore the brunt of the health burden, accounting for 190% of cases, 66% of hospitalizations, and 45% of deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], unpublished data); however, the risk of severe complications and death was highest among infants, adults [2], and immunocompromised individuals [3, 4]. Moreover, complications and deaths were described commonly among previously healthy individuals [5–9].
(Clip)
Overall, the most common complication among people who died from varicella was pneumonia (27.6%), followed by CNS complications (21.1%), secondary infections (8.6%), and hemorrhagic conditions (4.8%). Fatal pneumonia complications affected all age groups (range, 21.3% for 10–19-year-olds to 32.5% for people ⩾20 years old). Over the 25-year period, pneumonia complications declined among people who died from varicella, especially among decedents with preexisting high-risk conditions, but also among decedents who were previously healthy adults (60.4%). Yet among previously healthy children who died of varicella, the proportion with pneumonia complications was relatively stable at ?20% (table 5). (More)

https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/surveillance/monitoring-varicella.html

Chickenpox used to be very common in the United States. In the early 1990s, an average of 4 million people got varicella, 10,500 to 13,000 were hospitalized (range, 8,000 to 18,000), and 100 to 150 died each year. In the 1990s, the highest rate of varicella was reported in preschool-aged children.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10915066

We examined varicella deaths in the United States during the 25 years before vaccine licensure and identified 2262 people who died with varicella as the underlying cause of death. From 1970 to 1994, varicella mortality declined, followed by an increase. Mortality rates were highest among children; however, adult varicella deaths more than doubled in number, proportion, and rate per million population. Despite declining fatality rates, in 1990-1994, adults had a risk 25 times greater and infants had a risk 4 times greater of dying from varicella than did children 1-4 years old, and most people who died of varicella were previously healthy. Varicella deaths are now preventable by vaccine. Investigation and reporting of all varicella deaths in the United States is needed to accurately document deaths due to varicella, to improve prevention efforts, and to evaluate the vaccine's impact on mortality.

[BlueTsunami2018]

6. Yeah, they were.

Not a single one of the kids in my neighborhood had any complications when I went through the cycle nor did they when my children did. Literally every one of them were fine in a week.

I’m not saying there aren’t people who do, I’m certain there are. But based on my personal experience covering probably 300 kids, it’s not a common thing. And based on the numbers you just put up, my observations are correct.

[uppityperson]

8. "We survived, what's the problem" is poor logic as many didn't.

And none have had intractable nerve pain, corneal scarring or skin infections following shingles either, right?I

I'll be sure to mention this to my patients who do.

[uppityperson]

9. Based on my personal experience, no need to wear a seat belt, and lead based paint is fine

None of the kids in my neighborhood nor my own have ever had issue with not wearing a seatbelt or having lead based paint in their homes.

This is poor logic.

https://www.thisisinsider.com/what-are-chicken-pox-parties-are-they-safe-2019-2

[keithbvadu2]

4. How many people did he allow his children to pass it on?

Here is a personal story on why Chicken Pox vaccinations are so important.

From a previous forum

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142287050

There is good reason for the vaccine. It's not only children who are affected by this.

I never had Chickenpox as a child. In 1990, my young son got chickenpox. This was about 5 years before we had a vaccine for it here in the US. He ran through it in record time, with no problems. Two weeks to the day after his outbreak, I also broke out with chickenpox. I was 30 years old at the time. It was horrible. Those little sores you see on a kid had nothing on me. I was covered with blisters from head to toe. They were everywhere on my body. Yes, even there. Anywhere you can possibly imagine. Then came the real bad stuff. The chills. The aches and burning pain. The double vision. The constant fever. The swelling. The itching.

I called my doctor at the first signs. He told me a few things to do and watch for. He told me that this was more dangerous for anyone past the age of puberty. He had me calling him every 4 hours 'round the clock to see how I was doing. At one point, I forgot to call, and he called me. He always wanted to know my temperature, what I was feeling, etc. From start to finish, this crap took three weeks of my life. The first week and a half was the hardest. When it was all over, my Doc had me in to his office to check me out, as I was no longer a threat to anyone else. Things turned out OK, but he shook me with one comment. He told me that I was just one of those phone calls away from having an ambulance sent to get me. Had my fever not broken, I was facing possible death. He also told me that I was now at great risk of getting Shingles in my life. So far, so good.

So, to the anti-vaxxers I say this: Fuck your personal beliefs. You are but one of 7 billion. The rest of us want to live the healthiest lives we can.

[rownesheck]

7. Why is it so fucking hard

to just trust the fucking scientists and fucking doctors?! FUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!

Please, America, vaccines are good. They do good for the people.