A parent's decision to vaccinate their children continues to be a strong point of contention as we head into flu season.
Medical experts make arguments in favor of vaccination in order to reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization for children.
According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu vaccination reduced the risk of illness by about 40% and 60% among the overall population.
A small minority of parents, however, refuse to vaccinate their kids due to unsubstantiated concerns about the exorbitant cost of immunization, the lack of research, and the fear that a flu shot can lead to autism, according to Medium.
But one nurse came forward in a Facebook post and injected some harsh reality into the polarizing debate.
She told parents they can reject immunization as long as they are aware of one caveat.
"I think that people who don't want to vaccinate should have the freedom to do so," said Meggy Doodle, a nurse Monterey, California.
"If they think that 'Big pharma' is just trying to turn a profit or poison us all... they should be allowed to believe that," she said, referring to the vocal minority who think pharmaceuticals are overcharging for flu shots.
"But the caveat to that is this: Then they should NOT go to the doctor or the hospital when they get sick, looking for treatment."
"That's right. And here's why: Big pharma makes those antibiotics we are going to pump you full of when you are about to die from sepsis."
"The steroids and epi we might give you to save your life from your anaphylaxis? Yep, big pharma is behind that too."
"That inhaler you need to treat your kids asthma? Better pass on that as well, because... you guessed it... brought to you by Big P."
She continued to list other treatments for ailments that do not come cheap, like TPA for strokes and chemotherapy for stage 4 cancer.
"Having a heart attack? Better break out your essential oils and get your affairs in order, because the only thing we have to offer you is medicine and procedures brought to you by the very same people who are responsible for those vaccines you insist are evil."
"Having a massive stroke? Can't talk or move half your body? Well no TPA for you. Even though it could potentially reverse every symptom of your stroke in minutes...Because big pharma is making a killing on that stuff.. I think it's like $25k a pop."
"And when you get diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, don't even think about chemo...."
"I think you get the picture," said Doodle. "Stop being so naive."
She noted that although medicine is not perfect, she advocates for vaccination because it is a proven method for controlling and preventing the spread of potentially fatal illnesses that could have been prevented.
"I personally take offense to anyone who implies that medical professionals, like myself, would ever administer anything to anyone, especially a child, that would intentionally harm them."
"People always fire back with something like, 'well if you are vaccinated, why do you care that I'm not? If you are so sure your vaccines work, It's not like you can catch it.'"
She added:
"You are 100% right. I will probably be just fine. It's my newborn baby who is too young to be vaccinated that I'm worried about, it's my friend who is going through chemo, it's a neighbor that is immune compromised, it's my cousin who is allergic and can't receive the vaccine."
"Yes, we tell you to get vaccinated to protect yourself, but it's so much bigger than that."
To sum things up, she encouraged everyone to vaccinate "because it's not just about YOU."
There was a resounding "Yes!" to her Facebook post.
Of course, Doodle's post struck a nerve with some people, but she was ready for it.
Doodle's post went viral, culminating in over fourteen thousand likes on Facebook and over thirteen thousand shares.
Wanna jump off the bandwagon? Then keep reading!
U/lit3rallyuseless asked: What doesn't deserve the hate it gets?
​Film and media are probably the biggest contender for being hated on randomly. It may seem harmless, but not always deserved.
Actors are people too!
Actors who played characters that people didn't like.
Really if you hated the character then the actor did a good job (assuming that was the role).
The best cartoons.
nice day summer GIF by PBS KIDSGiphyChild cartoons. Some are actually really good, even as an adult.
I feel like watching cartoons aimed at generally a younger audience allows for you to be reminded of some life lessons, I know I forget some things, or didn't realise others, or it at least partially renews my awareness of something I should still like or appreciate
This doesn't deserve awards, it's just my opinion that is apparently shared by many.
This man did nothing wrong.
Guy Fieri, he literally is the nicest person in the world but since he looks like he was electrocuted by mountain dew people want to saw his head off.
Even before that, I was witness to his other charitable work. A few years back, Santa Rosa was hit by some terrible fires and he showed up at a few shelters and personally cooked up and served some killer buffet food. No cameras, no massive team of PR, just a dude with an assistant to keep him on schedule to hit up other shelters in the area. Guy Fieri legit earned a lot of respect in my book for that.
You know who DEFINITELY doesn’t deserve hate? Animals. They’re just living their best lives, and need to be left alone.​
The best cats.
Black cats.
We got a black cat for the first time last year. I've since formulated the theory that black cats might get some of their reputation from the fact that people can't see them well in the dark and so they seemingly appear out of nowhere and they might be instinctually cautious because they know people have a tendency to kick them while walking in the dark. Our black cat is the sweetest cat I've ever known.
They get a bad rep.
Discovery Sharks GIF by Shark WeekGiphySharks. They are beautiful, complex creatures, deserving of respect and, like any wild animal should be left alone in their natural habitat, but they get this reputation as vicious bloodthirsty monsters. This is only because every shark attack is news, and only then because they are so rare. More people are killed EVERY DAY by mosquitoes than sharks kill in a year.
Any apex predator that has remained evolutionarily unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, whose existance predates TREES, is deserving or our respect and admiration. Shine on, you crazy cartlaginous fish, shine on.
So cute too!
Opossums. They're neat little critters. They eat tons of ticks that carry Lyme disease, (mostly) don't carry rabies because their body temp is too low, and they're the only marsupial native to North America! They get a bad rap because their first defense is to hiss and bare teeth, but failing that, they just play dead.
If you don't have the predisposition to hate them, you'll find they're pretty cute too.
E: this is about /opossums/, the north American species.
Kiwis, I feel for you, but this comment isn't about your possums.
​Hating on other people for just living their lives also seems to be a big contender for things that don’t deserve to be hated on.
This is so true.
Unemployed people. A lot of people genuinely are looking for work and did not want to lose their last job/it was beyond their control (like a layoff) but they get so much hate and called lazy by most people. I know too many unemployed people that are actually really trying hard. They definitely aren't lazy. (Not saying lazy unemployed people don't exist, but to be fair, so do lazy employed people too lol)
Leave the weather man alone!
Fox Raining GIF by Family GuyGiphyMeteorologists. They try their best to predict the weather based on patterns, models, and data. They're not perfect because predicting the weather is insanely difficult. When they get it wrong, I think we should go easy on them. It was probably an outlier result almost no one could have foreseen.
I've seen people get angry over the meteorologists for getting it right. Like they control the weather - it is their fault we are having rain, that kind of BS. Never made sense to me, but hey, I have plenty of relatives I clashed with growing up.
Please stop being d*cks to these people.
Customer service associates.
I hate when customers think that I, the minimum wage person forced to sit there and listen to them yell, am personally responsible for every policy they disagree with. Like, ma'am, if I had that much power and influence, I wouldn't be sitting here on a Saturday evening serving you.
Wholesome and necessary.
People don't deserve hate they give themselves when they are not doing too good at the moment.
I'm in a weird place and I didn't know I needed to read this. Thanks buddy.
If you haven't heard it from anyone else today, I'm proud of you.
It seems like people hate on things simply because they think they're meant to hate them. But you can always be the change and make an effort to stop being an a**hole about certain things.
No matter what though, sometimes haters gonna hate