Imagine you are the child of a NICU nurse, someone experienced in newborn health and care.
Imagine you married the man of your dreams but that his sister is a committed anti-vaxxer with children and those children are not immunised.
Imagine you’ve just had your first baby.
Ask yourself, do you let your sister-in-law and her unvaccinated children come to visit?
Speaking for myself, I can tell you straight up, the answer is definitely not. Hell, I asked our adult family and friends to make sure they had a whooping cough booster shot before they came to visit us and our newborn babies.
Alys and daughter Claire at 5 weeks old. Image: supplied.
Now, having decided to protect your baby and ask your sister-in-law to keep her unvaccinated children away from your baby for six months, then imagine the totally unjustified indignation you’re going to be subject to.
And then roll your eyes as far back into your head as possible, and join me in a long and loud, “UGHHHHHHHHH”.
This is exactly the position an unnamed woman who is the subject of a post on the Facebook page ‘Things anti-vaxxers say‘ is currently in.
The page has shared a screen capture from God only knows what ugly part of the internet this anti-vaxxer is hanging out at.
It reads, “The ugly side of making the healthiest choice for your kids,” (it’s not), “and choosing not to vaccinate: Your brother in law marries a hypochondriac daughter of a nicu nurse who then decides not to allow your kids to come around their new cousin for the first 6 monts!!” (Frankly, we’re surprised it’s only six months. But proceed.)
“Im so heartbroken for my girls and am struggling not to scream and yell and cry for them… Is fucking ignorance all they teach in med school?!” (Sure. It takes 15 years to become fully qualified in medical ignorance. Ask any paediatrician.)
“I’m so sad right now!!!!!!” (That’s a lot of exclamation points. This woman must feel very strongly about her crazy decision to withhold life saving immunisations from her kids.)
“I guess I knew this would happen at some point…” (Well, then, maybe you should reconsider your poor life choices)
“im fairly used to being the black sheep… but this is hurting my girls!” (You know, there’s an easy way to fix this problem.)
“I haven’t told my husband yet… he will be heartbroken!!! this is his baby brothers first child!!” (Probably not as heartbroken as he would be if his niece or nephew dies from whooping cough. #justsayin)
Forgive my sarcasm, dear reader, but this ignorant attitude drives me insane.
We live in a smallpox free world because of immunisation. That’s a remarkable feat of humanity and science. Image: iStock.
Even as you read this post, there are too many babies sick and suffering from easily preventable illnesses that can be easily eradicated through vaccination.
We live in a smallpox free world because of immunisation. That’s a remarkable feat of humanity and science.
UNICEF says polio could be next, and measles after that.
It’s been said before and, sadly, it will probably need to be said again many times over.
The choice (yes, friends, it’s a choice) to leave your children and the entire community vulnerable to painful, nasty diseases is irresponsible at best and borderline criminal, in my opinion, at worst.
As for our indignant anti-vaxxer poster, you’re damn right, your unvaccinated kids should be kept away from a newborn.
In fact, some commenters say six months is the minimum length of time they would keep their babies away from unvaccinated people.
“[I’m] not allowing my baby around my nephew because my sister has chosen to not vax her two year old. We are even waiting a year until she has received the MMR,” writes Gretchen.
Jamie says, “She’s lucky it’s only six months. I wouldn’t ever let them around my girls.”
