Welcome to West Virgina: Measles Sanctuary State

Today California finds itself at the mercy of a measles outbreak raging through the state. Thirteen cases have already been reported. Terrified for the safety of my family (after all public health officials say the measles is a killer), I began to think of leaving the state. But where would I go? It seemed the entire country was being affected. Perhaps we could seek refuge in America's heartland, I thought. Those hopes were crushed when I, to my dismay, heard a single case, occurring in Iowa, had triggered a state-wide public health emergency there. How long would it be till that case would engulf the entire region? Too risky, I told myself. It was back to square one. Then I began to hear whispers of a place that was measles-free, of a place where a family could go to live in safety away from the specter the measles

Initially, I scoffed at the idea, "Measles-free? Impossible!" But those whispers wouldn't stop. They grew louder until finally it was revealed to me that there was a safe zone. In the mountains, there was a whole state of people there who didn't get sick; and that state was West Virgina.

I learned local news station were reporting on this miracle.

WOWK TV trumpeted: 

No Measles in W.Va. while Other States See Increases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported a nationally increase in measles, but that trend is not holding true in West Virginia, state officials said.There have been no cases of measles reported to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services (OEPS), this year, officials said.

How could that be? What was West Virginia's secret?

“West Virginia has a strong school entry law which requires vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and there is no doubt that could be playing a role in helping protect our children,” said State Epidemiologist and OEPS Director Dr. Loretta Haddy.

So that was it. We could thank the herculean efforts of petty tyrants such as Dr. Loretta Haddy: Public Health Servant of the People.

Apparently, the virus couldn't survive the authoritarian vacciantion laws implemented by the state.

While the rest of the country was playing Russian roulette with the lives of their children by allowing parents to claim a vaccination exemption, those in West Virginia, by forcing unwanted vaccines on children and their families, were creating an impenetrable cocoon into which no infectious illness could penetrate.

West Virginia do-gooders were like the pig who built his house ot of bricks while others, oblivious to the dangers, built theirs out of straw: ideal kindling for the wildfire that is the measles

There was one thing however that seemed odd and it made me want to read the story one more time so I could better understand what was transpiring.

What stood out was Dr Public Servant's saying, “West Virginia has a strong school entry law ... and there is no doubt that could be playing a role in helping protect our children."

Which was it, I though, "There's no doubt its protecitng our children" or "It could be playing a role protecting our children" My curiosity was piqued. Rather than rely of the word of public health officials, I was motivated to learn more about the measles and the factors influencing West Virgina's absence of cases. I came across this report by the CDC stating:

During January 1--May 20, 2011, a total of 118 cases were reported from 23 states and New York City

So more than half the states, regardless of vaccination laws, were just like West Virginia: they also experienced exactly zero cases of the measles. The Mountain State and its totalitarian laws were not so special after all.

I even discovered that California, with it's liberal exemption laws, had a 79% vaccination rate. West Virgina with it's draconian laws managed a vaccination rate of only 77%. (This is based on 2008 data the most recent I could find)

Additionally the CDC reported:

Of the 118 cases, 105 (89%) were associated with importation from other countries,

That made me ask myself, "Is West Virginia a hub of international travel?" After all four states accounted for almost half the reported cases. And all see more visitors from abroad than does West Virginia. California and Massachusetts (another state without a philosophical exemption) due to their size; Utah, due to Mormon missionaries and Minnesota, due to it large Somali population.

As to the measles, the more I looked into it I found they weren't the deadly killer they were portrayed to be. As a matter of fact, before vaccination, almost everyone who got the measles did quite well. Even parents of the era expressed little concern when their children contracted the illness.

There was no West Virgina miracle. It was all an illusion. We could stay home. We'd be safe in California, measles or no measles. What a relief

Turning a few cases of a mild illness about which few parents in the pre-vaccine era were concerned into a disease akin to Ebola or for that matter the Andromeda Strain is simply a transparent attempt by the vested interests to lay the groundwork to restrict exemptions in the future. If more people wake up to the scam that is the modern vaccine program, rates may, as the establishment fears, drop. If that does happen, more cases of mild illnesses may occur. Therefore, if the public can be made to accept the idea that a few cases of the measles is an emergency, the establishment will be well positioned to call for rollbacks to exemptions if any substantial increase in infectious illnesses occurs due a partial repudiation of vaccination.

What the establishment does not want to accept is that regardless of the number of measles cases, they do not have the right to medicate children against the wishes of their family. If people see more cases of a certain illness and feel threatened by that, they can certainly get their children vaccinated. But to force that vaccination on families is a direct affront to the liberty that lies at the core of this nation. Forced vaccination was not justified when all children contracted these childhood illnesses and it certainly wouldn't be justified if a fraction of those pre-vaccine era cases returned.