I wrote and re-wrote this diary several times. Each time I just got angrier, because this outbreak, part of a global one that’s killed thousands, is entirely preventable. But because of westerners and our bullshit, here we are. In Samoa, families are burying their children. This is the most toned down version that I could do.
Thanks, Jenny McCarthy, and thanks to the gaggle of Karens who want to “Bring Back Childhood Diseases!” Actually, and honestly, fuck all of them.
In brief, it appears the genesis of the Samoa outbreak was two-fold. In the past until very recently, Samoa had 90%+ vaccination uptake, and little to no measles (measles elimination requires 90%+ vaccine uptake to work, it’s that virulent a disease). Two unfortunate incidents involved the death of infants caused confidence in vaccination programs to plummet. Antivaxxers capitalized on this and that came at the wrong possible time. In New Zealand, where a considerable Samoan diaspora lives, there is also lowish confidence in vaccines thanks to Jenny McCarthy’s inability to handle the fact that her child was not neurotypical, a common pattern in Westernized nations (this was the kindest way that I could write this sentence without violating the site rules, by the way). A massive and completely preventable measles epidemic is currently underway there. That Samoan diaspora living in New Zealand bought it home, as there’s considerable travel between the two countries. You can read more at this Guardian article.
Here’s what it’s caused in Samoa:
Fa’aoso Tuivale sleeps on her children’s grave during the day, when she misses them most.
She and her husband, Tuivale Luamanuvae Puelua, are sitting on the newly-dried concrete that mark the graves of their three-year-old Itila and 13-month-old twins, Tamara and Sale, talking about the week that has passed since they buried them.
“My children’s deaths came like a thief in the night, so sudden and unexpected,” Puelua said.
“Your mind becomes empty and you are speechless because there are no words on this earth to describe how my wife and I feel having to say goodbye to our children.”
I’m not going to castigate the parents. They are deep in grief. Instead, I’m going to call out the bullshit artists who are responsible for poisoning the population, not just in Samoa but all over the goddamn world, including our miserable shitty President.
All because, again, Jenny McCarthy couldn’t handle that her child was not neurotypical, and being the vain, trashy narcissist that she is, found herself some shitty science (thanks Andrew Wakefield, fucking jackass), and now diseases that had been all but eliminated from many places are back with a vengeance. Measles is not just a “childhood disease” (and I’ll add here none of those fucking “I want to speak to the manager” people had measles when they were kids. They’re all my age. We all were vaccinated!) It fucking wrecks the immune system.
Great Job, Ms. McCarthy. These dead children are now added to your death toll. (The author of that site stopped updating when he became a parent. )