TheEndOfEvidenceVille
Not long ago we learned that fanatical superstionists in our midst helped trigger a measles outbreak that started to spread.
Of course, some folks, especially those sympathetic to the superstionists and their fanaticism, responded by saying it was 'only' measles and therefore worth taking a stand against, especially given that sometimes vaccines are generated in human cell lines derived from fetal tissue.
Or some such incredibly nonsensical thing.
****
Ya.
Well.
How does polio sound then?
The World Health Organization has declared polio a “public health emergency of international concern,” marking only the second time the UN agency has given such a designation after the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009.
On Monday, the WHO imposed travel restrictions for people living in Syria, Cameroon and Pakistan after an emergency committee unanimously agreed that the spread of polio constituted an “extraordinary event” in need of a co-ordinated international response....
So.
What do the fanatical superstitionists have to do with this one?
Well.
In Pakistan at least, there is this, as reported by Foreign Policy:
...Although the polio vaccine is safe, vaccination remains a sensitive topic in the region and aid workers face a mounting wave of cultural challenges. Some militants believe the common misconception that vaccinations are against Islamic law or are administered as part of a broader American plot to sterilize children or infect them with HIV. Taliban in Pakistan have been attacking polio workers and their security teams since it was revealed in 2011 the CIA used a fake Hepatitis B vaccine campaign in Abbottabad as part of an attempt to obtain blood samples from Osama bin Laden's children in order to confirm the al Qaeda chief's location.
Despite the Pakistani government's efforts to provide police protection, at least 31 poliovaccination workers have been killed in Pakistansince July 2012. (Police and security personnel working with them have also been shot at, wounded, and killed.) These attacks, unfortunately, have had their desired effect. Along with systemic problems in supply chains and personnel management, the intimidation and violence have increasingly led mothers to opt out of all kinds of vaccines, and have stymied health efforts; outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, have increased. And as a result, polio remains unchecked in several provinces, particularly in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan...
Gosh.
Sounds like someone could uses some fanatical superstionistic lawyers to help get them out of this one.
If you get my 'coming together of the fanatical poles' kind of drift.
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As for that 'plot' thingy....Well, just go ask the superist of super FanSups down south...After all, anything goes in Bush doctrine world, right?
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2 comments:
SH:
It would be interesting to know if the educated among the opponents to vaccines are quietly getting them for themselves and their families.
now that is an entertaining question, Anonymous.
At one time the right wing government of El Salvador did not want the U.N. health workers vaccinating the children of the poor, because they declared it to be a communist action. Oh, what fun we have with idiots. Its just it spills over to other countries and little kids suffer.
Whether its the christian or muslim taliban, its all the same principle, just change the names.
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