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BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands in Bay area

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Re: BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands in Bay area

#21

Post by whyenot »

Goopplesoft wrote: post #3
hyperion2010 wrote: post #2

Damn I wish the media would run more scare stories about pandemics of extremely virulent diseases that are actually completely preventable! "Don't want to risk having your child die? Don't want potential life long health problems? Get vaccinated today!" >_<

The externalities of not getting vaccinated (see: this article) makes a strong case for requiring them or at least making a subset of them required upon exit for reentry (similar to passports) without religious exemptions.

I had to deal with this in Ecuador about a decade ago. I had to always carry around a health certificate showing I was vaccinated against yellow fever or they wouldn't let me enter the eastern Oriente (Amazon) region.

I think it was a good idea. Too bad there's no vaccine against bot flies :(

Re: BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands in Bay area

#22

Post by hox »

fingerprinter wrote: post #8
pmorici wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are vaccinated as most people in the US should be then why should you care that you were exposed?

Think about the children! But seriously, children don't usually get vaccinated for measles until they are 1yo.

Seriously. I have a 3 week old right now and was taking BART in everyday. People who know they have contracted a highly contagious disease and decide to travel on mass transit the day after should really consider the consequences of their malicious (even if unintentional) actions.

Re: BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands in Bay area

#23

Post by toomuchtodo »

YokoZar wrote: post #16
ars wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds good on the surface, but has problems in the details. Do you want a country that prohibits people from leaving when they want? So you can't require it on exit. And the most basic right of citizenship is the ability to enter the country, so you can't require it on entry either. All you can do is convince other countries to prohibit entry without vaccination,

Yes, as a US citizen, your right to enter the United States is "absolute, unconditional, and irrevocable." That said, we do reserve the right to arrest or fine you immediately upon entry.

Also, the CDC has the right to quarantine you.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dgmq/feature-stories/welcoming-new...

Re: BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands in Bay area

#24

Post by dredmorbius »

hyperion2010 wrote: post #2

Damn I wish the media would run more scare stories about pandemics of extremely virulent diseases that are actually completely preventable! "Don't want to risk having your child die? Don't want potential life long health problems? Get vaccinated today!" >_<

Not everyone is or can be vaccinated, and not everyone vaccinated has immunity. Depending on the virulity of a particular disease, some might be exposed by secondary transmission (e.g., virus particles shed onto an immune individual transferred to a susceptible one). Remember: one (conscious) method of reducing Native American populations was to distribute smallpox-infected blankets among them.

Infants, the very old, and immunocompromised individuals in particular. Given that there's a large population of HIV-infected individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area, that last might be a significant public concern.

Re: BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands in Bay area

#25

Post by patrickg_zill »

YokoZar wrote: post #16
ars wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds good on the surface, but has problems in the details. Do you want a country that prohibits people from leaving when they want? So you can't require it on exit. And the most basic right of citizenship is the ability to enter the country, so you can't require it on entry either. All you can do is convince other countries to prohibit entry without vaccination,

Yes, as a US citizen, your right to enter the United States is "absolute, unconditional, and irrevocable." That said, we do reserve the right to arrest or fine you immediately upon entry.

Then it isn't "unconditional" to have a fine just for entry, then...

Re: BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands in Bay area

#28

Post by blueskin_ »

hox wrote: post #22
fingerprinter wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think about the children! But seriously, children don't usually get vaccinated for measles until they are 1yo.

Seriously. I have a 3 week old right now and was taking BART in everyday. People who know they have contracted a highly contagious disease and decide to travel on mass transit the day after should really consider the consequences of their malicious (even if unintentional) actions.

More than that; they should be arrested.

Re: BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands in Bay area

#29

Post by YokoZar »

patrickg_zill wrote: post #25
YokoZar wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, as a US citizen, your right to enter the United States is "absolute, unconditional, and irrevocable." That said, we do reserve the right to arrest or fine you immediately upon entry.

Then it isn't "unconditional" to have a fine just for entry, then...

The fine isn't for entry, it's for some infraction upon entry (such as being drunk in public). You get in, then they fine you.

That said, American border guards have been known to turn back drunks coming in from Tijuana, but mostly as a favor to them (since they'd need to be arrested upon reentry due to public drunkenness). If you were in such a situation and insisted upon your admittance, however, I believe you would be let in.

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