My grandparents came to this country as unwashed immigrants, and the bigoted nativists even then screamed out that these dirty people were going to infect good Americans with diseases. Nothing has changed. The nativists are still using the same tropes and the same fear mongering against immigrants. We have had over 40 million immigrants alive in the US now, most entered outside the quota system.
Now tell me, how many
infectious measles outbreaks have they caused, 40 million people. There was one in 2018 from a person from Ukraine. There was a large outbreak in an American born Orthodox Jewish NY community with a low vaccination rate and travel to Israel not immigrant related. Obviously this one could have been prevented by insisting on Americans being vaccinated before flying.
2017 an outbreak in US born Somalis in Minnesota, another vaccine refusing group.
2016 the only recent documented report in an immigrant group from the southern border.
There was a large outbreak in 2015 associated with visiting Disneyland in California. As the CDC reported:
Quote:
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Of the 159 measles cases, 153 (96%) were import-associated. Ten cases were classified as direct importations, (six among unvaccinated U.S. residents returning from overseas travel, of whom three were aged 6–11 months and age-eligible for vaccination before departure, and four among foreign visitors). Countries associated with direct importations included Azerbaijan, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates (one import each).
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The theme with measles is no different than that with Covid. While importation across our southern border is not zero, it is also not why we get outbreaks. Those who wish to blame our border policy lack evidence other than their confirmation bias layered on top of their nativist thinking.
And like Covid, get your shots as instructed by the experts at the CDC and you will overwhelmingly be protected.
What is the experience with measles in Texas, right at the epicenter of all those dirty unwashed illegals from countries with no shot requirement? The answer might be found on the
Texas Department of health's website last updated March 2021
Quote:
" Because measles is still endemic in many parts of the world and is highly contagious, measles can easily be re-introduced into Texas in unvaccinated communities. This was seen in 2013, when a person traveling to Asia returned with the measles and interacted with a vaccine-hesitant community. In a matter of weeks, 20 additional people were infected with measles. Overall in 2013, 27 cases were reported, the highest annual case count in over 20 years. In 2017, one case of measles was reported in Texas.
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