In Minnesota, a measles outbreak exposes the gaps in public health

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel - It isn't a "gap" in public health. Technology has given greater credibility to "Sham Scientists" that create these ridiculous and wildly inaccurate studies, and the folks that SHOULD be doing "QA" are not held to standards. Media has done a GREAT job of perpetuating the myth that vaccinations are not linked with autism and even some of the "medical advice" given by TV show doctors is horrible. Combining this with the notion that you cannot mandate vaccines, this is only the beginning. You cannot force people to listen to you, and you cannot force them to take your side. As a result, it is only a matter of time before we begin having some of these diseases make a return to the US.

My biggest fear is that we will soon be facing a small pox outbreak, because an exposure to something like that has the potential to spread like wildfire since it has been eradicated in the US and is no longer even vaccinated against since the mid 1950s. Already there have been small outbreaks of measles, pertussis, and some other preventable diseases. Some of these folks in the Rochester area that are heavily focused on the "anti-vaxxer" standpoint are very well educated and have incredible access to public health resources and education. Healthcare, like the military, is becoming a consumer-driven industry, where the overall satisfaction of the patient matters more than the actual well being. This is less of a gap in coverage but rather a cultural shift resulting in willful decreased utilization of available resources.
v/r,
Jon

Not good!!! LlFE!