Law&Order SVU last night-measles vax storyline

[mom2binsd]

DH and I were watching SVU last night (just love that Chistopher Meloni!) and the episode turned into a debate about whether this mom was responsible for anothers death - the mother had chosen not to vax against measles (and then her 4 year old son got the measles and was at a public park and exposed a child under 1 who was not eligible for the vax yet and the 1 year old died of measles). It was interesting and the verdict at the end was that the mother was not criminally responsible, the jury however felt she was responsible at some level. Of course this is TV and there other aspects to the case but it was still interesting to see that the writers know the hot button issues.

DH who tends to be clueless had no idea and just figured all children got vaccinated and when I explained about the differing opinions he seemed so shocked even though I know we discussed vaccinations and how I had chosen to space out all of our children's vaccinations but have kept them current- do all husbands really just trust mom's to do the right thing?

Anybody else see it?

I'm more interested in other opinions of the actual episode rather than a debate on vax as we've done that already...we all know TV manages to make lots of mistakes and does things for dramatic effect.

[egoldber]

I think that's just a silly argument IMO. My 5 year old brought home RSV from Kindergarten and gave it to her 9 week old sister. In theory she could have "killed" her sister. So is the kid who gave my kid RSV to blame? Is their parent to blame for sending them to school? Am I to blame for sending my kid to school?

And vaxes don't always work. And what if a child who could NOT get a vax because they were immune compromised themselves carried the disease to someone else. Or what if they shed a live vax and another child got it and died? Or, or, or, or........

Sometimes terrible things happen for no good reason. I think we live in a society that needs to blame people when bad things happen.

[Octobermommy]

Dh and I debated this one last night after the show. I thought it was ridiculous and couldn't really happen irl. How could they know that it was that specifically that boy that spread the disease? Dh doesn't see the anti-vax side that I can see so that was a lively debate!

[brittone2]

There have been CDC, etc. documents online in the past that encourage this type of thing to be portrayed in the media as a way to up vax intake. I'm not sure if you can access them anymore, but they were around in various "consulting" documents in the past. Ditto in the past the linking of bird flu and more traditional "influenza" in the media. WHenever those two stories have been covered together, there's an increase in vax uptake. The CDC hired a consultant who suggested such a strategy, even though it was known that the traditional influenza vax would likely confer zero immunity to bird flu (at one point you could pull up the Powerpoint presentation online).

One example I can think of is pertussis. The pertussis vax does not prevent pertussis per se, but the vaccine is against a type of toxin produced in the body when infection takes place.

The CDC, etc. and many studies acknowledge that vaxed individuals can be "asymptomatic reservoirs" for pertussis, able to transmit it.

If we are going to blame individuals, then it becomes a slippery slope. Do we blame formula feeding moms for Hib since breastfeeding lowers Hib substantially? Or similarly, rotovirus? If H1N1 (swine) flu is tied to factory farming/contamination and conditions, are people who buy factory farmed meat partially responsible?

It is so difficult to prove where a case originated, particularly since fully vaxed individuals can also pass disease in communities.

[lizajane]

i choose to vaccinate, but i don't care for they insulting way the media presents non-vaxers. while i am on the same "side" as they are, i would not choose to be so ugly and one sided about it. (as in, i have concerns about non-vaxed kids who are put at risk-in high risk situations i mean, but i believe parents get to decide what is best for their own kids, within reason.)

[wellyes]

Vaccinating is something that many people do with the view that it's not just protecting their child from an illness - it's also a social good. Similar to paying taxes.... something we all do that benefits us personally, but also benefits society as a whole. So, people who refuse to participate are often portrayed / seen as selfish. I'm not surprised that an uber-mainstream show like SVU would take that stance.

But the hotness of Chris Meloni aside, I've always been repelled by this particular L&O just because it seems to focus almost entirely on sex crimes. It just seems very unsavory to me.

[purpleeyes]

But the hotness of Chris Meloni aside


(just love that Chistopher Meloni!)



Um, yeah. That's pretty much the only reason I watch this show. The storylines are RIDICULOUS. I mean, that thing that Alex did with Hilary Duff's character? SOOO unrealistic.

[DrSally]

I have it on TIVO but haven't watched it yet. Interesting that they tackled this subject. Just from what you wrote, IMO, the kid (fictional) should have been kept at home until he wasn't contagious anymore.

I was at the peds office yesterday getting DD her HIB vax. She's had bad reactions twice, so we went from the traditional scedule, to 1/2 of them at separate appts (still bad reaction), to just one vax at a time (which has been much better). I had to Reschedule b/c she was sick, and the woman on the phone was all confused, wanting to know how long it had been since her well child check. YEs, it's been several months, but that's b/c we're spacing them out. A vax doesn't NEED to be with a well child check, it's scheduled that way for convenience. ANYway, there was another mom sitting in the lab area and she mentioned she was just there for a vax, so why were they running so late. I figured she was doing a delayed schedule too, so I asked which vax she was getting for her son, and she says "I have no idea, I just switched offices and they have a different schedule, so they told me to come in. I figure they know what they're doing"

What?! But, you don't even know which vax he's getting today, I thought. We recently moved, I brought DS's medical records with me and the new ofc wanted to give him the varicella vax. I insisted that he had already gotten it. They checked the originals and their nurse had mistranscribed MMRV into MMR. The ped said it was a good catch, that I was able to remember what he had gotten. THAT's the reason you stay informed about your children's medical treatment...

ETA: I watch the show, but some of the episodes just haunt me. Like the one about the mother and young daughter raped and killed together and the girl was found clutching her mother's cross necklace for comfort. It's so horrifying, I shouldn't let that stuff enter my mind.

[maestramommy]

But the hotness of Chris Meloni aside, I've always been repelled by this particular L&O just because it seems to focus almost entirely on sex crimes. It just seems very unsavory to me.

Well, the point of the show is that it features a unit that focuses on sex crimes and child related crimes. I really like the show, but have recently stopped watching all shows like it, even though I love crime drama. Just too many horrors, and it makes me a little (unreasonably) paranoid.

[Ceepa]

Mmm. Christopher Meloni.

[mom2binsd]

And more and more we're seeing him shirtless....gotta give us mamma's something to look at (of course DH looks pretty good too, especially when he sucks in his belly!)

[Asianmommy]

I agree that the storyline was ridiculous. Yes, not vaccinating your child can put others at risk, and can be considered by some to be irresponsible, but to be charged with murder for this is just insane. Doesn't murder require intent & motive?