GERMAN VACCINE-PHOBIA/Der Spiegel

[Guest guest]

> http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,419258,00.html

>

> VACCINE-PHOBIA

>

> Get Wild at a Measles Party

>

> Imagine being invited to a party where the sole purpose is to infect your

> child with measles. It's actually not all that uncommon in Germany. But

> then, many in the country are afraid of vaccines.

>

> How to ward off Germans: Hold out a vial of vaccine.

>

> Mother 1: " How is Jan? Did you find out what he has? "

>

> Mother 2: " His doctor says it's definitely the measles. "

>

> Mother 1: " The measles?! "

>

> Mother 2: " Yeah, why don't you come over with Kerstin tomorrow afternoon?

> She hasn't had the measles yet has she? "

>

> Mother 1: " No, but ... "

>

> Mother 2: " Then come by. We've invited the other kids from the playgroup

> too. "

>

> Mother 1: " You invited other ...? "

>

> Mother 2: " Now's a chance for Kerstin to get it and have it over with.

> They

> put all kinds of poisons in those vaccines. Besides, it's better for them

> developmentally if they get through it. Could you bring some cookies? "

>

> Lest you think the above is mere fiction, we at the Survival Bible

> actually

> got on the telephone for once to quell your doubts. " We don't know how

> often

> they happen. " says Günther Dettweiler from the Koch Institute in

> Berlin. " But we do know that such parties take place. "

>

> In other words, in order to protect their loved ones from vaccines --

> responsible, incidentally, for the virtual disappearance of smallpox and

> for

> the radical reduction of a number of dangerous infectious diseases the

> world

> over -- German mothers would rather throw a party to infect their kids

> with

> a potentially deadly disease like measles. Chicken pox parties are also a

> highlight on a number of childhood calendars in Germany.

>

> What gives? Partially, the phenomenon has to do with a widespread German

> feeling that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger -- the corollary

> when it comes to dangerous infectious diseases apparently being, " if it

> kills you, you must not have been strong enough in the first place. "

>

> But Germans are also extremely leery of ingesting chemicals, even in the

> form of potentially life-saving medication. And immunizations are not

> required by law in Germany for entrance to public schools and

> kindergartens

> as they are in the US and France, for example. Combine the two, and German

> parents are confronted with a dilemma which appears patently ridiculous to

> most of the world: " To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? " Most do opt for

> inoculation -- but there are some parents who believe that kids ought to,

> literally, sweat it out. A strong tradition of homeopathy and natural

> remedies in Germany add to the equation.

>

> " All of my kids made a developmental leap after they got through their

> childhood diseases, " says Barbara Kemter, a mother of four from Freiburg,

> who doesn't believe in vaccinations. The former nurse treated all of her

> kids with homeopathic remedies through the measles, mumps, rubella and

> whopping cough. But she kept her kids at home, away from other children.

> Some parents are even advised by their doctors as to the right timing for

> a

> germ spreading shindig.

>

> Perhaps not coincidentally, measles seem to be making a bit of a comeback

> in

> Germany this spring. Fully 1,200 cases have been reported in the German

> state of North-Rhine Westphalia -- which plays host to 11 World Cup

> matches -- already in 2006. According to the Koch Institute, the

> problem could easily become worse. Only 65.7 percent of Germans have had

> the

> second booster shot necessary to thwart measles.

>

> But then, maybe they're already immune. Maybe they had the pleasure of

> attending a measles party as children. After all, with measles transferred

> easily via sneezing and coughing, a gaggle of playing children is a

> particularly effective method of sharing this disease -- which can lead to

> serious respiratory and ear complications and even a deadly form of

> encephalitis.

>

> Another effective way of transferring the disease, of course, is crowded

> football stadiums and post-game events. And German officials have warned

> World Cup fans to get jabbed before heading over. Or, if you plan on

> coming,

> just find a German family in your neighborhood before you go. Maybe you

> can

> get yourself invited to a measles party. Don't forget the cookies.

>

> rac

[Guest guest]

Just want to add to this that a German friend of mine says German health

insurance companies are increasingly compensating Germans for costs of

alternative health care. My German insurance already covers homeopathy and

acupuncture and Chinese medicine...but only in Germany....not here .-((

GERMAN VACCINE-PHOBIA/Der Spiegel

>

>

>

>> http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,419258,00.html

>>

>> VACCINE-PHOBIA

>>

>> Get Wild at a Measles Party

>>

>> Imagine being invited to a party where the sole purpose is to infect your

>> child with measles. It's actually not all that uncommon in Germany. But

>> then, many in the country are afraid of vaccines.

>>

>> How to ward off Germans: Hold out a vial of vaccine.

>>

>> Mother 1: " How is Jan? Did you find out what he has? "

>>

>> Mother 2: " His doctor says it's definitely the measles. "

>>

>> Mother 1: " The measles?! "

>>

>> Mother 2: " Yeah, why don't you come over with Kerstin tomorrow afternoon?

>> She hasn't had the measles yet has she? "

>>

>> Mother 1: " No, but ... "

>>

>> Mother 2: " Then come by. We've invited the other kids from the playgroup

>> too. "

>>

>> Mother 1: " You invited other ...? "

>>

>> Mother 2: " Now's a chance for Kerstin to get it and have it over with.

>> They

>> put all kinds of poisons in those vaccines. Besides, it's better for them

>> developmentally if they get through it. Could you bring some cookies? "

>>

>> Lest you think the above is mere fiction, we at the Survival Bible

>> actually

>> got on the telephone for once to quell your doubts. " We don't know how

>> often

>> they happen. " says Günther Dettweiler from the Koch Institute in

>> Berlin. " But we do know that such parties take place. "

>>

>> In other words, in order to protect their loved ones from vaccines --

>> responsible, incidentally, for the virtual disappearance of smallpox and

>> for

>> the radical reduction of a number of dangerous infectious diseases the

>> world

>> over -- German mothers would rather throw a party to infect their kids

>> with

>> a potentially deadly disease like measles. Chicken pox parties are also a

>> highlight on a number of childhood calendars in Germany.

>>

>> What gives? Partially, the phenomenon has to do with a widespread German

>> feeling that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger -- the

>> corollary

>> when it comes to dangerous infectious diseases apparently being, " if it

>> kills you, you must not have been strong enough in the first place. "

>>

>> But Germans are also extremely leery of ingesting chemicals, even in the

>> form of potentially life-saving medication. And immunizations are not

>> required by law in Germany for entrance to public schools and

>> kindergartens

>> as they are in the US and France, for example. Combine the two, and

>> German

>> parents are confronted with a dilemma which appears patently ridiculous

>> to

>> most of the world: " To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? " Most do opt for

>> inoculation -- but there are some parents who believe that kids ought to,

>> literally, sweat it out. A strong tradition of homeopathy and natural

>> remedies in Germany add to the equation.

>>

>> " All of my kids made a developmental leap after they got through their

>> childhood diseases, " says Barbara Kemter, a mother of four from Freiburg,

>> who doesn't believe in vaccinations. The former nurse treated all of her

>> kids with homeopathic remedies through the measles, mumps, rubella and

>> whopping cough. But she kept her kids at home, away from other children.

>> Some parents are even advised by their doctors as to the right timing for

>> a

>> germ spreading shindig.

>>

>> Perhaps not coincidentally, measles seem to be making a bit of a comeback

>> in

>> Germany this spring. Fully 1,200 cases have been reported in the German

>> state of North-Rhine Westphalia -- which plays host to 11 World Cup

>> matches -- already in 2006. According to the Koch Institute, the

>> problem could easily become worse. Only 65.7 percent of Germans have had

>> the

>> second booster shot necessary to thwart measles.

>>

>> But then, maybe they're already immune. Maybe they had the pleasure of

>> attending a measles party as children. After all, with measles

>> transferred

>> easily via sneezing and coughing, a gaggle of playing children is a

>> particularly effective method of sharing this disease -- which can lead

>> to

>> serious respiratory and ear complications and even a deadly form of

>> encephalitis.

>>

>> Another effective way of transferring the disease, of course, is crowded

>> football stadiums and post-game events. And German officials have warned

>> World Cup fans to get jabbed before heading over. Or, if you plan on

>> coming,

>> just find a German family in your neighborhood before you go. Maybe you

>> can

>> get yourself invited to a measles party. Don't forget the cookies.

>>

>> rac

>

>

>

>

>

> DISCLAIMER

> No information contained in this post is to be construed as medical

> advice. If you need medical advice, please seek it from a suitably

> qualified practitioner.

>

>