Vaccinations--yes I am jumping on a soapbox again

I'm not sure what I find more surprising: that Germans, as safety conscious and detailed oriented as they are, do not require childhood vaccinations and have a relatively low rate of completing those, or that in the USA, where we technically require vaccination to attend school, the vaccination rate has fallen so low that in many places we are past the tipping point of providing herd immunity.

In either case, both countries have seen recent epidemics of measles (Germany in 2013, the US is in the midst of one now) that really should not be occurring in this day and age and in places with access to reliable healthcare.

There is talk in Germany about making vaccines compulsory for school (without the many easy outs the USA allows) and from what I can understand (as always, admitting freely that I miss many articles and don't always understand what I do see or hear) the two main reasons that Germany's rate is lower than it ought to be are:
1. Parents simply forgetting to take their kids in for the second MMR shot (this part would pretty well go away if parents had the reminder of needing to prove the kids had shots at school enrollment time)
2. A "natural medicine" movement in which some doctors feel children should have these diseases and build natural antibodies to them, experience high fevers while young to "get to know their bodies" etc (really people, really????!!!!)

Here is an article from 2013, written in English, that I found to explain a bit more, if anyone is interested:

http://www.dw.de/measles-rise-sparks-vaccine-debate-in-germany/a-16932413

Meanwhile, in the US many people are getting out of compulsory vaccination laws by claiming "religious exemptions" or personal objections (where such is allowed).  I know, from personal conversations with those who have done it, that many people have simply used this exemption, but do not actually belong to a religion which does not allow vaccinations.  So, I got curious and looked to see which religions actually ban vaccinations:  hmm it seems only the Dutch Reformed Church does (of any "major" religions, Dutch Reformed isn't even the main religion in The Netherlands and certainly not in the USA so major is kind of a stretch there):

http://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/religions-state-vaccines/

It turns out that many parents claiming religious exemption (and in some states that is not even required, you can simply state you object to the vaccines with no specific reason needed) do not belong to a religion that is opposed to vaccination and some do not belong to ANY church at all (and anti-vaccination sites encourage this, see link below for one of many examples):

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/27/legal-vaccine-exemptions.aspx

So why are Americans REALLY not vaccinating their kids?  From what I have been able to ascertain it seems to come down to three major reasons:

1. Fear that vaccines cause autism (something ONE study showed and the idea took off like wildfire and even though that study has since been shown to have been full of false data and outright lies AND numerous other studies have been done which prove time and time and time again that autism is in fact not cause by the MMR vaccine, or any other vaccine, many people still seem to latch onto this fear. )

Here is a good link to an article about that which also links to many of the studies themselves:

http://www.autismsciencefoundation.org/autismandvaccines.html

Let me just repeat, in case you have somehow missed it: VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM

2. Belief that vaccines are not needed and are just a "cash cow" for pediatricians and pharmaceutical companies.  This boggles my mind.  Measles, polio, mumps, etc were common, yes COMMON a century ago and the results were devastating to so many families.  I know that none of us parents making the decisions these days lived through that era, but it is easy enough to read about it, or talk to the elderly, who DID.  We KNOW vaccines are not just some money maker that doesn't work because they DID work, we did nearly eradicate diseases that once maimed and killed too many children.  So, even if they were huge money makers for drug companies and doctors, I'd still be in favour of them.  As is, they often cost a pediatrician's office more to give than the office gets paid, and there is such a low profit margin on them that very few companies will even make them these days.  They are not money makers, just life savers, plain and simple.
You'll find plenty of supporting articles about this if you google, here is one that sums it up short and sweet (and points out a number of other myths as well):

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/12-myths-facts-vaccines/story?id=20213475

3. Fear of a serious adverse reaction to receiving a vaccination.  At least there is some validity to this.  Serious complications from receiving vaccinations ARE possible.  Not likely.  Much less likely than contracting the diseases they prevent and having a serious complication from those, but still possible.
This is the reason that ALL US states allow medical exemptions from vaccination requirements; some people should not receive certain childhood vaccinations: usually people who have had a serious (life threatening) allergic reaction to a prior vaccination of that kind or to any component of the vaccination, are on immunosuppressant drugs or have cancer.
NOTE: this says "people who" not siblings of people who, people who know someone who, etc.  In fact, not vaccinating those who will be in frequent contact with someone who cannot receive a vaccine only increase the risk of the person who is legitimately unable to be protected, as well as putting these other new people at risk themselves.
Here is a link to CDC reasons someone should not be vaccinated, if you want to read vaccine by vaccine:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/should-not-vacc.htm

And really, all three of the above reasons can be summed up into one reason: FEAR.  Completely IRRATIONAL FEAR, fear not backed up by any science and in fact refuted time and time again by science and simply looking at history.

I see it as much the same type of paranoia that I was blogging about a few months ago (here: http://hadleyswanderingsandramblings.blogspot.de/2014/09/land-of-paranoid.html ).  A small, but much bigger than it should be and VERY vocal percentage of the population grabbing onto something big and showy and hyped to be afraid of and basing decisions on that instead of clear, overwhelming logic and science that shows a different picture.

Normally I find this unfounded paranoia about oddball things worrisome, but when it comes to vaccinations I find it infuriating because when someone chooses not to vaccinate a child due to totally unfounded and false fears they are not only putting their own child at risk, they are putting every baby too young to be vaccinated, every person unable to be vaccinated and actually all of us  at risk (vaccines are not 100% effective, but when enough people have them the herd immunity protects the few for whom they did not work or cannot be vaccinated or have not yet been).  And while you should have the right to make silly, fear based decisions when it affects only you, I really don't think you ought to have the right to do the same if it leads to an epidemic.

So I am really hoping that Germany makes vaccinations a requirement, and that German doctors and parents get better at making sure second doses and boosters are not forgotten, and I hope the USA closes the loopholes that allow parents to opt out for any reason other than verified medical (hey, I'm even OK if verified long time members of the Dutch Reform Church are allowed to opt out--it is a small enough group that the risk is not much to the rest of us).  And until the law catches up with this, PLEASE; PLEASE; PLEASE check that you and your kids are up to date on your vaccines and make sure they are getting them (unless there is a true medical reason for that specific person not to).

Thanks,

Hadley

A day in Split, Croatia

Our first day in Split was also predicted to be (and was) our warmest, and least windy.  So with the temp hovering right around freezing, minimal breeze and sunshine, we headed downtown near mid day.  Dave and I had been there on a cruise but the kids had never seen the pretty downtown area right on the water, built largely in the ruins of the palace of Diocletian.  It is a pretty awesome place and we were NOT going to miss it no matter what the weather, but it was extra nice to have some sun to enjoy it.

We drove into town and parked by the train station out on the water's edge..so we entered with lovely views of the waterfront area.  Palm trees!  Always a welcome site on a cold day:

Along the Riva there was a cute little beach themed Christmas market set up (more places to get drinks or snacks than selling actual products).  It was very pleasant and we stopped for a bit of that mulled white wine before heading further into the palace:

We spent the next couple of hours wandering the winding narrow streets and enjoying the 3rd and 4th century Roman ruins.  I think the photos speak for themselves, and I love this area so much that there are many.  I hope you enjoy them:

(yes, even some mosaic tile flooring still remains)

After an afternoon of sights like that, what else is there to do?  Well, we found an open restaurant and enjoyed some local seafood!

I definitely think Split is a "must see" kind of place, and really it is NICE being there in the cold because it meant we had that gorgeous plaza nearly to ourselves.  

--Hadley

Heading south, into Split, Croatia

As we continued south, the roads cleared and the snow stopped (but the wind picked up) and the sun came out just about the same time as we got our first glimpse of the sea:

As luck would have it, we were crossing over the Sibenik Bridge just at sunset.  There is a pullover on the southside of the bridge.  We braved the winds (70 kph) and cold (actually colder than the snowy areas had been) and got out to snap some photos:

Once again, Rio's photos were better (I think this will be the case from now on):

See that little village on the far side of the bridge?

Rio's camera has quite a good zoom--he got to try it out photographing that little village.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, other than increasingly high winds and we were checked into our side by side rooms at the Radisson Blu by dinner time.  I never did take any photos of the room, not sure why.  But every room is focused OUT, with outside walls being floor to ceiling glass and the bed and desk arranged to look towards them.  By morning we could see that even our less expensive "mountain view" rooms (as opposed to "sea view") had both a view of the sea, and a lovely view in general.  I loved those mountains dipping down into the Adriatic.  

--Hadley

Finishing up in Zagreb and heading to Split

The remainder of our week in Zagreb was pretty low key.  Most everything was closed on the 25th (though not as much as in Germany!) and we planned to stay home for the most part, heading out just for a walk early in the day and a hike around sunset:

Rio got a new camera for Christmas and that gave him a chance to try it out a bit.  He gets better photos than his mother (but also has better equipment--I am too lazy to mess with anything other than a small point and shoot)  Everything in the next section is his:

The 26th saw retail closed, and many, though not all, attractions.  Restaurants and bars and cafes all seemed to be open though--giving us a chance to celebrate Marika's birthday with drinks and cake:

The following day we had a really nice, relaxing afternoon with a wine tasting at a local wine bar and shop.  The tasting cost 100HRK (about 14 Euro) per person and included 3 generous pours, some great local cheese and breads, and a friendly, fun bit of local wine history and explanation (really good and informative and yet did not feel at all like a lecture).  It also went at a nice, leisurely pace (I am sure you COULD rush it if you wanted to, but why?) and took about two hours total.  Another nice value for the money, and a relaxing end to our time in Zagreb.

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and get ready to head to Split.  I woke up on our travel morning to this view out of our rental house window:

Ok, I probably should have been worried about road conditions and delays, but the thing is, I love snow.  LOVE it.  I was thrilled to see that beautiful white blanket on everything.  Besides, we only had a 4 hour drive ahead of us, so even if things were nasty out and we needed much longer than normal, we would be fine.  We also have excellent snow tires and two drivers who are good in winter conditions, having grown up in Colorado.

After a bit of loading and shoveling the drive (we didn't have to, the landlords were out doing it but Rio offered to help while Dave readied the car and Marika and i loaded the luggage), we were off.  It was slow going, and driving that requires full concentration for the first couple of hours; roads were not being cleared as fast as they would be in a similar storm in Germany.

Fortunately we were past the worst of it, and roads were staying clean by the time we passed a sign advertising a Tesla Memorial Museum at the next exit.  How COULD we pass that up?!?!  20 minutes, and a dozen little side streets later, we pulled up to the birth and childhood home, turned museum of Nikola Tesla.  Luckily we were in time to be in the last group of visitors for the day.  What an awesome surprise attraction for our family of nerds.

We began our visit IN Tesla's home until age 7 (when he moved to the "big city" we had driven through, yeah, not big, hardly a city).   No photos were allowed inside, but it contains a number of exhibits on his life, including a timeline and some of the items he built and used for his experiments.  It was fun to see and well laid out.  We only spent about 15 minutes there as we had limited time and needed to be at the coil by 2:00 for the last demonstration of the day.  We could have happily spent thirty or forty minutes had time allowed.

From there we went to the building (modeled after his lab in Colorado) that housed one of Tesla's own coils that he himself worked on.  Again no photos were allowed inside.  We've seen bigger coils in action at museums in the US, but this one was still pretty good sized and the older look and fact that Tesla himself used it made it feel very impressive.

The last building had this boat that Tesla used to demonstrate remote control for the first time (finally, something I was allowed to take a picture of), a theatre where a 20 minute movie about Tesla (focusing on his childhood, and a bit all over the map really) was shown, and a small gift shop (Marika got an awesome shirt).

I'll pick up on the next post with the views from that afternoon around sunset as we were just dipping into Split at that point.

--Hadley