Wisconsin moms wage war on anti-vaxxer neighbor by passing out letters about her to the community 

A group of ‘concerned’ mothers in Wisconsin passed out letters in their neighborhood warning other parents about an anti-vaxxer in their community.

In the letter, which was posted to Imgur and has since gone viral, the moms called out the woman by name and wrote that she ‘does not believe in vaccinating herself or her family.’

The mothers state that this woman’s decision puts several people at risk of catching communicable diseases include those who are immunocompromised or ‘medically fragile’.

‘Please use caution when sharing work or personal space with this individual, eating foods prepared by this individual, or attending gatherings at this individual’s house,’ the letter reads in part. 

‘The unvaccinated pose a unique threat to infants, who often don’t yet have a full course of vaccinations completed, and can quickly become deathly ill or die.’

A group titled ‘Concerned Moms of Wisconsin’ passed out letters (pictured) to their neighborhood outing an anti-vaxxer and warning other residents to ‘use caution around her’

The mothers then go on to list the states in which outbreaks of preventable diseases including chickenpox, measles, mumps and whooping cough have occurred. 

‘Nearly all outbreaks of disease were started by unvaccinated individuals, who pass along vaccine-preventable diseases to those without adequate protection,’ they write.

The letter sparked fierce debate on social media, with some people supporting the group’s cause and others denouncing them.

‘Don’t care how stupid a person is. If you are going to send something like this SIGN your name! Otherwise you are a coward,’ one user wrote.

‘I understand “the goal” of this, but it seems like it could quickly devolve into an unsubstantiated witch-hunt,’ wrote another.

This has certainly been true in the case of the recent measles outbreak in the US, which recently hit a tally of 387, surpassing the total in 2018 of 372, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The first measles vaccine was introduced in 1963 and, by 2000, it was considered to be eradicated in the US. 

However, the highly infectious disease has been spreading among people who are unvaccinated or live in states that allow non-medical exemptions for vaccines, federal health officials say. 

Cases have been confirmed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington. 

Of those states, six – Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, Texas and Washington – allow exemptions for philosophical and/or personal beliefs.

Wisconsin, where the letter writers live, is one of 17 states that allow non-medical vaccine exemptions.  

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, there have been no confirmed measles cases in residents since 2014. 

However, last year, an unvaccinated Wisconsin man suspected of being exposed to the disease was accused by police of breaking mandated quarantine so he could go to the gym. 

The 57-year-old and his wife were charged with one count each of exposing the public to communicable disease, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Washington and New York, particularly, have been struggling to contain their respective measles outbreaks.   

In January, Washington declared a public health emergency after a measles outbreak that has affected 73 people in Clark County and one in King County, where Seattle is.

Sixty-three of the cases are in residents who have not been vaccinated. Fifty-three cases are in children aged 10 and under.

Meanwhile, in New York, there have been at least 371 confirmed cases in Brooklyn, Queens and Rockland County since October 2018 – all in Orthodox Jewish communities.

Just last week, Rockland County in upstate New York took an unusual step and banned unvaccinated people under age 18 from being in public places for 30 days.

Officials also declared a state of emergency. However, cases have continued to rise.  

‘People who don’t believe in vaccines often hold other views that are at odds with widely accepted facts related to science and medicine,’ the letter reads. ‘Protect yourself, your family, and your community by using caution when interacting with these people.’

In January, anti-vaxxers were named one of the top threats to global health in 2019 by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The anti-vaccine movement joined air pollution and climate change, HIV, and a worldwide influenza pandemic on the list.

‘Vaccine hesitancy’, as the WHO called it in a statement, ‘threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases.’ 

READ THE LETTER IN FULL 

Dear Resident,

Your neighbor, ______does not believe in vaccinating herself or her family. This puts anyone at risk if they are medically fragile, immunocompromised, or out of date in their vaccinations. Please use caution when sharing work or personal space with this individual, eating foods prepared by this individual, or attending gatherings at this individual’s house if you or the people who are important to you fall into medically at-risk categories. The unvaccinated pose a unique threat to infants, who often don’t yet have a full course of vaccinations completed, and can quickly become deathly ill or die. People who are unvaccinated have caused outbreaks in Arkansas, Oregon Washington, California, New York, North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia, Texas, Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Florida, Minnesota, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, with more outbreaks expected. Nearly all outbreaks of disease were started by unvaccinated individuals, who pass along vaccine-preventable diseases to those without adequate protection.

People who don’t believe in vaccines often hold other views that are at odds with widely accepted facts related to science and medicine. Protect yourself, your family, and your community by using caution when interacting with these people. They have caused hundreds of thousands of vaccine-preventable disease in recent years, costing several hundred million dollars around the globe, not including the costs associated with preventable deaths and disabilities The outbreaks and subsequent deaths they cause are tracked here:

Vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks

Thank you, and be safe.

Sincerely, 

Concerned Moms of Wisconsin

  

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