News sources are reporting the re-emerging trend of “Chicken Pox Parties” in which genuinely concerned parents actually believe it is safer to expose their toddlers to the chicken pox virus directly or (naturally) to create supposed” life-time immunity” over using the formally approved vaccine! How and why Pox parties are being sought by parents and why they are a bad idea according to health authorities is covered in this article, in an effort to convince anyone considering this illegal and dangerous alternative to reconsider their position.
How Parents are Seeking Chicken Pox Parties
Believe it or not, parents are locating “Pox” parties on social media sites such as Face book pages such as this one: Find A Pox Party Near You. Although this particular site claims it does not send viruses through the mail, other groups online are sending chicken pox viruses illegally through the mail, according to an article posted yesterday, Nov. 7, 2011 on the website Medical News Today. Other parents who live in the same area are actually holding pox parties and offering infected children to expose the virus to other children in person! This is absurd and dangerous.
According to an article posted by Kimberly Curth on WSMV-TV, she interviewed a Nashville woman whose postings on Face book offered a number of items tainted with the chicken pox virus. One of her postings read “free batch of pox in Nashville shipping of suckers, spit, and q-tips available tomorrow 50 dollars via Pay Pal.”
How far would you go to protect your child from the chicken pox? Hopefully not as far as looking for a Pox party and choosing to pay for and receive bodily fluid from a complete stranger on the internet and expose your children to it!
Why Some Parents Seek Chicken Pox Parties or Buy Chicken Pox Infected Items Online
#1 – Some parents are skeptical of formal “unnatural” immunization programs, especially those regulated by the Federal Government.
#2 – They may have a phobia of needles and don’t want their children to be vaccinated with a needle.
#3 – Some people believe the official chicken pox vaccination may impair fertility.
#4 – Parents are afraid of a “possible” allergic reaction to something in the vaccine.
#5 – The parent’s religious beliefs will not allow the conventional vaccination.
#6 -The chicken pox vaccination does not offer lifelong immunity as natural immunity.
#7 – The vaccination has not been proven to be effective.
There are many more reasons or excuses for opting for natural or self-contamination over the vaccine. Why are health officials warning parents to avoid being influenced by this dangerous scam?
Dangers of Chicken Pox Parties and Pox Infected Items Bought and Sold Online
#1 – Sending viruses through the US Mail is a federal offense and could result in federal prosecution!
#2 – The “natural” inoculation parties are formed by lay people without any public health authority, supervision, or quality control.
#3 – There is a higher risk of unexpected infections such as hepatitis, encephalitis, staph germs, HIV, and group A strep, say pediatricians.
#4 – Children who are not vaccinated by the conventional method pose a public health risk to other children they mingle with who is not be protected against the virus.
Parents don’t gamble with your child’s health by participating in chicken pox parties or buying pox infected items from anyone in person or through social media sites. Heed the warnings of pediatricians, virologists, and other health officials that choosing NOT to vaccinate your children through legal means is similar to playing Russian roulette with your child’s health and/or life.
Sources:
Chicken Pox Parties | childhood illnesses | Parents Connect; parentsconnect.com
Find A Pox Party Near You; Facebook.com
Feds warn ‘pox party’ zealots not to send viruses in post • The Register; theregister.co.uk
Chicken Pox Parties Is “Middle Ages Vigilante Vaccination”; medicalnewstoday.com
Doctors Wary of Dangerous Pox Parties – ABC News; abcnews.go.com