. A True Russian Conspiracy
With all the country worrying about the Russians and the 2016 elections they are possibly overlooking the most dangerous conspiracy of all. The antivaccination misinformation spread on the internet by Russian and Chinese accounts. This conspiracy is an attempt to reduce the herd immunity as defined by the United States on the vaccines.gov
Per the site Foreign Policy.com the Russian trolls online spread misinformation that contribute a lower herd immunity allowing for the spread of diseases such as measles, mumps, tetanus and even polio in some countries. They use social media, pamphlets and word of mouth. The rise in the number of cases of measles alone is a 300% increase per the World Health Organization. The increase in mumps this year alone is about 500%. The discord and fear that are spread can contribute to society and health care overload. The employees who are required to lose work hours due to the exposure to these diseases. We must strive to have the needed 95% herd immunity in the coming years.
These diseases and others cause an overload of our health care system. The doctors, nurses and other caregivers will become overworked. They require more cost to individuals, insurance companies and government agencies. The health implications are multi fold. From pneumonia, to brain damage and even detath. We are exposing children and vulnerable adults to diseases that were once considered to be eradicated.
In the United States we have had the requisite 95% for many number of years. Since the onset of the anti vaccination movement the United States has lost herd immunity. The rise of the number of cases of measles and mumps in the general public has caused panic in some areas. The influx of foreign nationals and overseas travelers that arrive with active cases. In measles the person is contagious prior to showing symptoms. With other contagious diseases the time between contagion and symptoms are varying. The cost of caring for the sick in our society is breaking the government healthcare agencies, well as the private healthcare companies and the private citizens. One example is the young man that developed tetanus after a cut at home. The cost including air ambulance and hospital care was well over $200,000.00. And still the family had the right to refuse the second needed dose of the vaccination. The MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) is a multi step vaccination. The medical providers have even developed plans that allow for longer periods between the shots.
While the United States is losing the necessary herd immunity due to the anti vaccination movement, the vaccination rate in Russian is still at or above the 95% required for the herd immunity to protect the vulnerability. With possibility of the loss of population there could be a loss of medical workers, scientists, soldiers to fight in a war and other professions that make the United States a powerful nation. Unfriendly foreign powers could drop an infected person into one of the under vaccinated areas and cause a national pandemic. In theory the United States would be under manned and easily subdued.
https://www.vaccines.gov/basics/work/protection
http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/mobile-app-news-feed/mumps-outbreak-near-university-of-florida
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137759/
https://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/measles-data-2019/en/
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