Whether or not to vaccinate our population has become an intensely divisive topic, one in which both sides question why the other would take the risk.
But since the pandemic and the rush for a cure, there has been an increased number of anti-vaxxers, likely believing they now have a tangible example for their beliefs, reasoned the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor Current_Ask_4309 was in their early 20s and fully vaccinated, while their older sister had stopped vaccinating her youngest child after the pandemic.
When they were going to be in town for a wedding and wanted to visit, the Original Poster (OP) was shocked that their sister assumed they'd give her daughter measles, despite being the vaccinated one in the family.
They asked the sub:
"Am I overreacting by thinking my sister is being totally unreasonable, because she's freaked out that I will give my niece the measles?"
The OP and their sister disagreed about medical vaccinations.
"My (early 20s) sister (early 40s) is questioning letting me stay at her house in a few weeks because I’m visiting Lancaster, PA this weekend."
"She’s worried I’ll bring measles to her unvaccinated child, even though I am fully vaccinated myself. This visit is for a wedding, and her child is seven."
"For context, I am in my early 20s, and my sister is in her early 40s. I live in PA, and she lives in a different state. I’m planning to visit her in a few weeks."
The OP was shocked by their sister's reaction to their travel plans.
"Recently, I was telling her my weekend plans to visit the Lancaster, PA area. As soon as I mentioned where I was going, she started questioning me, and I could tell her whole demeanor changed."
"I was genuinely confused by her reaction because I hadn't heard much about a measles outbreak in PA (maybe I’m out of touch on this, I’ll admit)."
"She is pretty conservative and made the decision to leave my youngest niece unvaccinated (yeah, I know). Her older children are vaccinated, and her seven-year-old not being vaccinated has to be related to her political beliefs, in my opinion."
"When I asked what was going on, I reassured her that I am fully vaccinated against measles, so everything should be fine."
"She then brought up that my niece is unvaccinated and expressed that she is convinced I am somehow going to contract and bring measles to her home during my visit three weeks from now."
"One of the main reasons for her freak-out is that when she googles Lancaster, it says, 'the epicenter of the measles outbreak.'"
"She is so worked up about this that she’s currently questioning whether she’ll even let me stay at her house…"
The OP was certain that their sister's worries were misplaced.
"Am I wrong for feeling like this reaction is completely unreasonable??"
"Because of our differences in views, I try to avoid certain conversations. I choose to stay away from politics as we have VERY different views."
"Quite honestly, before this whole conversation tonight, I had no idea that her youngest was unvaxxed."
"The whole house seems to constantly have some kind of bug/the flu during that season. She lives in a small town with this kind of crazy mindset. For those asking, 'Hasn’t she talked to the pediatrician?!,' well, yeah, I imagine so, and those people probably told her it’s FINE TO STAY UNVAXXED, because that's the kind of town they live in!"
"Also, my niece is homeschooled, but the whole family regularly attends all kinds of events and extracurricular activities, and her older children are constantly out with friends."
"AIO?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NOR: Not Overreacting
- YOR: You're Overreacting
Some criticized the sister, pointing out that there was an obvious solution.
"NOR. If only there was something she could do to give her child lifelong protection…" - AlaskanAardvark
"I'd be curious to know if mom is even self-aware enough to realize that people like her are the reason she has to even worry about it." - Dead-Lazlo
"NOR. The irony is kinda wild. She’s worried about exposure while choosing not to vaccinate the kid in the first place. Kind of makes me want to beat my head against a wall, my god." - CharmerGurl
"I'm sure we're all wringing our hands with anxiety. What could she POSSIBLY do to protect her child?!"
"And with three weeks to go before the visit, if there were something that could be done, there would be sufficient time to do it. Alas, if only!" - Expert_Slip7543
"NOR. These people don't understand herd immunity, or their responsibility of upholding it to work together as part of society. We all benefit from being part of society, and we owe a duty to keep each other safe."
"They're just in it for themselves." - GraceMcClellans
"I wonder how these moron parents who have had their children die because they refused to get them vaccinated can live with themselves knowing it could have all been prevented. I feel so bad for these children." - zima72
"Measles is airborne... and lives HOURS in the air. If this child is in a public space, they are much more likely to get it than from a visiting relative. Measles outbreaks are happening all over the country because of id**ts like her. Tell her so to her face and tell her it's not too late to vaccinate the child." - I_pinchyou
"NOR. The measles are one of the most contagious diseases out there. It will stay in the air for up to two hours. You should be the last person she should be worried about giving her kid the measles."
"If she is so freaked out, why not just vaccinate her? People are id**ts." - farmlifeismything
"Let your sister know historically age five was considered a major milestone, because child mortality rates were extremely high. Surviving the first five years meant a child had a much stronger chance of reaching adulthood."
"Forty to fifty percent of children died before their fifth birthday back then due to poor sanitation, malnutrition, and infectious diseases."
"The dramatic rise in child survival rates was primarily driven by public health infrastructure, clean water, and modern medicine. Revolutionary medical breakthroughs targeted the infectious diseases that decimated children under five, the most important and effective being mass immunizations."
"Vaccines for devastating childhood killers, including smallpox, measles, diphtheria, pertussis, and polio, eliminated major epidemics and thousands of deaths."
"Any parent who doesn't vaccinate should have their children removed; they are literally putting their child's life at risk, along with the countless children and adults who either can't be vaccinated or are at risk due to a compromised immune system, cancer, chemotherapy, etc."
"Your sister is an a**hole. If she doesn't want to participate in societal norms that keep the entire population safe, she should buy an island for her family and all their fellow id**ts. That way they won't compromise the health of people who actually possess functioning brain cells."
"My parents were old enough to remember a time before vaccines. My uncle had measles as a child; he lived with epilepsy for the rest of his life due to the high fevers. My mom had a good friend who ended up in an iron lung due to polio."
"People lined up to get vaccines; they couldn't get them fast enough! Everyone wanted them; there were no 'antivaxxers'. Sadly, our privilege in never knowing such horrors has made us far too complacent."
"Show your sister videos of people who think like her, whose child passed away due to their poor decisions. They ended up regretting their ignorance... unfortunately, only once it was far too late."
"NOR. If she's so 'worked up' about it, tell her to listen to her pediatrician and get her child vaccinated!!!" - KittyyyMeowww
Others agreed and suspected the sister felt this way because of the pandemic.
"I bet the pandemic made her go antivax."
"It's so STUPID! I can even understand people questioning and having doubts about a brand new vaccine that got developed and approved in record time, but it has nothing to do with the childhood disease vaccines that we (Gen X) and my kids (Millennials) all got and actually are proven to prevent diseases for decades!"
"I am old enough to know a lady who had polio as a child. She was lucky; she survived, but it somehow shortened one of her legs, and she walked with a deep limp her whole life."
"It was not preventable for her, but it was for her kids (who were my age), and it's preventable for my kids and grandkids, and to not take advantage of that, in my opinion, is just irresponsible." - BeachinLife1
"During the pandemic, my mom, like all of us, tried to find some frame of reference for what was going on."
"All she could compare it to was the Polio epidemic, which was one of her earliest memories and had made a huge impression on her as a very young child. I have also known a handicapped woman who became that way due to polio- she wore braces/used crutches her entire life."
"As far as measles, I hope this mom vaccinates her child! I was among a large group whose vaccines did not work, and many of us got measles during our early adulthood. I have NEVER been so sick in my life & probably should have been hospitalized." - Runns_withScissors
"I remember when I was getting vaccines for kindergarten and complained about it to my grandmother. That's when she talked about polio, and how that's the reason she had a limp and kept falling and breaking her hip. How she was considered lucky because she survived and didn't need an iron lung."
"Then she talked about reading in the newspaper that there was a vaccine, and she dropped to her knees and thanked God, then packed up her kids and drove to the city to get it for all of them, and as the rest were born she did it the minute they were old enough."
"I never complained about them again." - Different-Leather359
"NOR, but your sister is!!!"
"Wow. Just. Wow. The lack of knowledge among people about basic medicine and epidemiology is just staggering."
"She really should vaccinate her child. Then she wouldn't have to be concerned. I mean, I assume she’s been vaccinated, and the devil never entered her body, right?"
"Does she homeschool her children? I assume the child socializes with other kids and can contract it elsewhere. It’s very virulent!"
"Imagine allowing viruses and diseases kill us that we’ve actually eradicated. I’m sure all of Africa is looking at us saying, 'What is wrong with them? They could have handled their s**t easily but chose not to.'"
"There’s actually a really good episode of The Pitt that deals with this too. Kid gets some horrible, easily preventable infection like this." - ChristineBorus
The subreddit was deeply confused by the sister's concern, as she'd already vaccinated her older children and presumably hadn't seen any side effects. If she was so worried about her youngest contracting something, an easy solution was available at any time.
