# Anti-vaxxers are ignorant scumbags that kill children **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 1, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626 "2016-09-01T01:59:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 75
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1482 "2025-11-07T23:54:27Z")
I guess you can pin some of it on COVID, but the outbreaks in Canada AND in the Texas this last year really got going in Mennonite communities. That’s almost certainly not a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1483 "2025-11-08T02:09:32Z")
I half expect to hear of a pellagra comeback. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1484 "2025-11-08T03:09:34Z")
I know that you know that pellagra is a vitamin deficiency and this has got to be sarcastic hyperbole ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1485 "2025-11-08T12:28:06Z")
Antivaxxers don’t like children being protected from brain bleeds by vitamin K, so it’s not impossible that we’ll get to “naicin is woke; pellegra is based!” in a few years ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1486 "2025-11-08T15:52:15Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I know that you know that pellagra is a vitamin deficiency > and this has got to be sarcastic hyperbole Sarcastic hyperbole? Maybe, but consider our current president, and by extension many of his supporters, are actively hostile to the food security of millions of Americans. So great is this hostility that he’s more than happy to harm many of his constituents by deliberately withholding SNAP funds from them. I definitely see a possibility of an increase in the rates of rickets and other diseases due to vitamin deficiency. We have a Secretary of Health and Human Services who is a quack. A man with his head so far up his ass he thought it was a good idea for him and his grandchildren to swim in a creek known to have dangerous levels of E. coli and other bacteria because of all the sewage that runs in it. Given his reckless behavior, I would not be overly surprised if his policies eventually lead to an increase in Typhoid diseases. This is a man who believes in miasma, the idea that diseases are caused by “bad” vapors rather than germs, and that helps shapes policy. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1487 "2025-11-08T16:37:14Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > We have a Secretary of Health and Human Services who is a quack. He’d have to be a doctor to be a quack. RFK is just a loon. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1488 "2025-11-08T16:46:54Z")
Hey, don’t be exclusionary. It’s not only possible but darn near mandatory to be a quack if you practice in any number of pseudo-health care fields, such as homeopathy, naturopathy, cranio-sacral therapy, chiropractic etc.\* There are physician quacks, but you don’t have to be an M.D. to be one. \*true, a lot of these people call themselves “doctor”, whether or not they’ve been awarded pseudo-titles. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1489 "2025-11-12T00:02:54Z")
Maybe it was sarcasm, but with SNAP benefits being cut, I’m sure there will be people who develop pellagra, on top of beriberi and scurvy. Back in my hospital days, the most common dietary deficiency we saw was protein-calorie deficiency, and interestingly, that seemed to be most common in obese people. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1490 "2025-11-12T00:05:33Z")
A while back, I was getting my hair cut, and made a reference to typhoid fever. I don’t even remember how it came up, but the beautician asked me what that was. That she had never heard of it was a good sign to me. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1491 "2025-11-12T00:30:10Z")
I haven’t worked at the museum since 2015, but when I was playing docent I walked the kids through our Civil War exhibit and spoke about medicine of the era. On one memorable day, I mentioned old time diseases like Whopping Cough that nobody gets today when one of kids pipes up and says they knew someone who had it. A few other kids nodded their heads, they knew the kid and of others. It was a good year for Whooping Cough in Arkansas that year. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1492 "2025-11-12T00:39:06Z")
If you get whooping cough, you DO get a whopping cough! I once attended a Civil War presentation by a local historian, when I lived in my old town, and could tell from the audience that some kids, who IIRC were probably 5th or 6th graders, would get extra credit for attending. In the Q&A, a girl asked if smallpox was a problem in that place and time. He replied that while there was a vaccine for it, most people would already have had the disease itself by the time they were old enough to enlist. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1493 "2025-11-12T01:14:51Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Back in my hospital days, the most common dietary deficiency we saw was protein-calorie deficiency, and interestingly, that seemed to be most common in obese people. Can’t speak to the etiology of these cases (and am not a doctor anyway), but it appears that not getting enough protein can contribute to weight gain, because you still feel hungry and keep eating extra calories. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1494 "2025-11-12T06:03:09Z")
Eating foods that are calorie-dense but not nutrient-dense contributes to this as well. I remember being given a TPN (total parenteral nutrition - basically, IV “food”) to check, and the technician who made it said, “I heard this guy weighs 400 pounds. Why would he need a TPN?” I replied, “Obese people need to eat, too. You can’t heal properly if you’re starving.” ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1495 "2025-11-12T22:47:57Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > A while back, I was getting my hair cut, and made a reference to typhoid fever. I don’t even remember how it came up, but the beautician asked me what that was. That she had never heard of it was a good sign to me. Wait a couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1496 "2025-11-20T19:19:18Z")
The latest - gift link [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/health/vaccine-autism-cdc-website.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.2k8.zLoz.HnXTEAwlHW1V&smid=nytcore-ios-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/health/vaccine-autism-cdc-website.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2k8.zLoz.HnXTEAwlHW1V&smid=nytcore-ios-share) The most entertaining part: > The phrase “Vaccines do not cause autism” still appeared on the new C.D.C. page. A footnote explained that the language had not been removed because of an agreement with Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, that it remain on the C.D.C. website. Senator Cassidy is a medical doctor and is the chairman of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. I’m guessing Cassidy will be letting his thoughts about this not quite meeting the agreement as he understands it known. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1497 "2025-11-20T20:08:34Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I’m guessing Cassidy will be letting his thoughts about this not quite meeting the agreement as he understands it known. It would be like if someone in court kept prefacing each answer with, “My lawyers instructed me against my objections to tell you…” ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1498 "2025-11-20T21:12:07Z")
So when RFK announced that ~~acetaminophen~~ Tylenol causes Autism he meant to say that ~~acetaminophen~~ Tylenol and vaccines cause Autism but the brain-worms had munched those memories? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1499 "2025-11-21T15:22:16Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I’m guessing Cassidy will be letting his thoughts about this not quite meeting the agreement as he understands it known. [Cassidy wants us to ignore how he was played by Junior](http://politico.com/live-updates/2025/11/20/congress/cassidy-after-cdc-vaccine-website-change-life-is-lived-forward-00664114). > [@](#): > > Cassidy responded to the change Thursday with a strong endorsement of vaccines, but in an [interview with Punchbowl News](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWLzc_zy2ak), declined to say he regrets voting to confirm Kennedy. > > “Life is lived forward. What I have to do is do my best to reassure the American people that vaccines are safe,” Cassidy said. “We have to work against unfortunate attempts to undermine faith.”… > The website says: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” > > It also includes an asterisked header that reads “Vaccines do not cause Autism,” and an accompanying reference to Cassidy: “The header ‘Vaccines do not cause autism’ has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.” > [@](#): > > CDC’s website still includes the phrase, “Vaccines do not cause autism,” but with an asterisk: “The header ‘Vaccines do not cause autism’ has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.”… > When asked by a reporter if he felt that the asterisk was the secretary “messing with him a bit,” Cassidy declined to answer. [http://veritenews.org/2025/11/20/cassidy-takes-notice-of-the-cdcs-anti-vaccine-language-change/](http://veritenews.org/2025/11/20/cassidy-takes-notice-of-the-cdcs-anti-vaccine-language-change/) Cassidy’s abandonment of his principles in endorsing RFK Jr. was meant to appease MAGA and protect his political future. It’s ironic that Cassidy faces a primary challenger in Louisiana next year who’s an even more right wing/MAGA physician. And it looks like Cassidy [is falling behind](http://flemingsenatecampaign.com/fleming-leads-the-pack-in-louisiana-senate-race-powered-by-grassroots-not-special-interests/) in that race. Wouldn’t it be hell if Cassidy sacrificed his reputation to kowtow to MAGA and Trump, and they dumped him anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1500 "2025-11-21T17:05:27Z")
Further note re the New York Times article: RFK Jr.'s attitude towards vaccines is not one of “skepticism”. He’s a full-blown antivaxer and has been for many years. It’s a key part of his ideological makeup. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626/1501 "2025-11-21T17:21:34Z")
Listening to NPR this morning, I heard someone opine as to RFK Jr’s angle in all of this antivax stuff (as well as attacking OTC drugs). He wants a basis to sue drug manufacturers. So do many who are supporting him. He has a very litigious background, and this is just setting himself and others up for a huge future payday. Facts won’t even matter. If he can just get them to settle to end things, there will be people rich beyond their wildest dreams. I mean, there will be massive harm to the misinformed public but they don’t give a shit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626.md?page=74) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-vaxxers-are-ignorant-scumbags-that-kill-children/764626.md?page=76)