The Texas outbreak could take a year to get under control, one health official said – during which time it may spread to more states. Yet the parents of the six-year-old girl who died of measles in Texas have spoken against measles vaccination as misinformation continues to proliferate, including from figures such as the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

“I never thought in 2025, we would be looking at this resurgence of measles,” said Katherine Wells, director of Lubbock Public Health. “And I didn’t know it’d be in my backyard, either.”

  • pathos@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Said it before, will say it again: While I am aware that it violates the dignity of those in question, I am strongly opposed to to the excemption of people from public health measures for religious reasons. I do not care if your god commands you to suffer. If your beliefs are standing in the way of protecting uninvolved members of society, it’s your beliefs that have to take a backseat, not other lives. No exceptions, no compromise. If they do not want minding the society they exist in, they can leave.

    • dreadbeef@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      5 days ago

      What law that allows persecution of these people won’t be abused by fascists to apply to people they don’t like? We all want laws where we throw people out of society we don’t like, but there’s a reason fascism needs democracy to exist. I’m obviously for some sort of solution, but preferably one that doesn’t have all of the tools for fascism to use against their political enemies.

      • pathos@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Slippery slope arguments help tackling issues at hand how exactly? ;)

        This isn’t an issue that just spontaneously arose. This has been an issue ever since the implementation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

        • dreadbeef@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          5 days ago

          How do you suggest they “leave” society against their will? That’s literally deportation—very abusable by fascists today. Unless you are suggesting they can voluntarily leave… which is a “solution” I guess. Who will be doing this? This would be a federal thing so you want to fund the DEA to make these arrests? Yeah blowing up the DEA budget won’t help fascists either.

          It’s not a slippery slope if that’s literally how this country has been working for as long as you or I have been alive. These laws require funding and budgets and law enforcement agencies to enforce these laws. This is literally drug enforcement, it’s or course going to be the drug enforcement agency to do the presidents bidding. An executive branch agency mind you.

          • pathos@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            What are you on about? The law I mentioned specifically means that they are excempt from measures that would go against their religious convictions unless these convictions do not withstand ‘scrutiny’.

            What I am saying is that if a group of people is posing a public health risk because of their religious convictions, they should be treated as a health hazard and for example be quarantined, even against their will - if they are unwilling to compromise on these convictions.