Parents Warned About Mail Order Chicken Pox Lollipops
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Authorities and doctors are warning parents who want to avoid chicken pox vaccines for their children that a new mail-order scheme to share lollipops licked by children infected with the disease as a way to create immunity in their kids is not only unsafe but illegal.
“Can you imagine getting a package in the mail from this complete stranger that you know from Facebook because you joined a group, and say here, drink this purported spit from some other kid?” U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Jerry Martin told The Associated Press.
News reports from Phoenix’s KPHO-TV and Nashville’s WSMV-TV this week looked into groups forming on social media sites like Facebook that offer ways to get “natural immunity” from chicken pox by deliberately exposing children to the disease.
Concerns about the vaccine range from worries about whether some of the ingredients are harmful to children, to fears that the vaccine itself is ineffective and would only be creating only short-term immunity to the disease.
Facebook groups such as “Find a Pox Party in Your Area” have popped up — offering ways for people to connect and share the virus through infected items, according to the TV news reports.
Doctors warn that the practice is not only impractical, but it’s dangerous.
Isaac Thomsen, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, told the AP that shipping the infected items is “theoretically possible” but “probably not an effective way to transmit it. It typically has to be inhaled.”
But Thomsen also warned that the lollipops could carry other more dangerous viruses, like hepatitis.
It is also federal crime to send diseases, viruses or a contagion through the post office or any mail transport service and carries a sentence between less than a year to 20 years if convicted, according to Martin.
In 1995, the chickenpox vaccine, varicella, was approved for use in the United States. Every state requires every child be vaccinated before they can enter day care or school.
There are some exceptions that vary state to state, including proof that the child has contracted the virus on his or her own and as parents who refrain from getting their children vaccinated due to religious reasons.
ABC News’ Emily Friedman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Wow. I can’t believe that some parents would be stupid enough to try this.
Posted by: Evelyn | November 6, 2011 November 6, 2011, 3:19 pm
As a physician, I’d strongly advise AGAINST this deliberate infection of your child with chickenpox. Before the vaccine became prevalent, there were about 100 deaths per year in the US due to chicken pox and well over 10,000 children required hospitalization every year. The virus can cause severe pneumonia and brain infections (encephalitis). You don’t know in advance whether YOUR child will be one of the dead and/or hospitalized or one who has a mild case (fever, stomach ache, several hundred itchy pocks with possible scarring afterwards). Not only that, your child can infect his/her friends who haven’t been vaccinated and/or cannot be due to health problems. Your child might not become seriously ill, but what about the little boy or girl with leukemia in your neighborhood? He or she might not be as lucky. It isn’t worth the gamble. Even though the vaccine does have some side effects, they are less annoying than even a mild case of chickenpox and it is far LESS risky odds-wise to get the vaccine than than the actual disease.
Posted by: Minorkey1 | November 6, 2011 November 6, 2011, 3:57 pm
Some people are just dumber than rocks. I hope if anyone’s child dies as a result of this, that a lawsuit of epic proportions works its way through the whole chain of people handing out this thoughtless notion..
Posted by: Cassandra | November 6, 2011 November 6, 2011, 5:02 pm
Why parents don’t take chicken pox seriously is besides me really!! My son nearly died from that virus and he had a mild case but it reactivated internally and he was in and out of the hospital for 2 years and had to be feed thru a broviac catheter or central line for nearly a year. The virus attacked the nerves of his small intestine and at one point I was told he would not live to see his 7th birthday.
Please parents don’t do the chicken pox parties or these pops it is risky the life or your child and other children too. GET THE VACCINATION it was not available for me son it came out 3 years after he was ill.
Posted by: Leslye Mahoney | November 6, 2011 November 6, 2011, 7:51 pm
Interesting that most people Don’t Know that Flu-Shots have traces of Mercury in them.
The Pharma-Giants who managed to Pass Laws making them Mandatory in Public Schools should also be Required by Law to Disclose this to Parents and to the Public.
But of course they do not. Why? Because their Corporate Congressmen whom they have installed in Washington directly from their Industry will not allow You the People to be informed, lest you get in the way of their Profits.
Protect your child. Tell the School that your Child will not take a flu shot for Religious Reasons and Your Religious Beliefs. This is also a Law of our Land which they haven’t done away with yet.
They are required by Law to honor your religious beliefs in these matters.
Posted by: alphaomeg | November 6, 2011 November 6, 2011, 9:39 pm
Alphaomeg: Could you provide some proof that it was “Pharma-Giants” that passed immunization laws? You know, actual proof, beside something you read somewhere on the Internet.
Posted by: Bruce Small | November 6, 2011 November 6, 2011, 10:47 pm
Alphaomeg, my religious beliefs require that if my child dies as a result of a preventable childhood disease caused by your child’s refused vaccination, then not only do I get to sue you out of your home and job, you’ll be in danger of *your* life. religion is superstition; vaccines are SCIENCE. my taxes pay for your roads and your schools; you owe me that vaccination.
Posted by: bajacalla | November 6, 2011 November 6, 2011, 11:11 pm
alphaomeg, “Traces of mercury?” There are 2 things, at least, wrong with your statement. (1) There used to be some mercury in some vaccines, but that has long been rectified. (2), the traces of mercury were “traces.” Humans do fine with traces–until a threshold is reached any toxin does absolutely nothing. Water, even bottled water, has traces of arsenic. Of lead. Of PCP. Of estrgen. Of uranium and almost any element on the periodic table. And what is the effect? Nothing, unless it is in really large amounts.
Posted by: matyra | November 6, 2011 November 6, 2011, 11:29 pm
If you people dont know the big-pharm spends BILLIONS lobbing congress (bribes) to pass laws that make them money at the expence of the american people then you really have your heads in the sand. Any company or person if they are weathy enouph can make a congressman or many congressmen beholden to them with money (bribes). We have the best government money can buy and thats a fact. Most people understand this and realize that there is nothing they can do to stop it. Others try to fight it like the protesters but there is nothing that they can accually do. The rich will remain that way as long as they are allowed to buy our government and thats not going to change without violent revolt.
Posted by: mike | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 12:44 am
True, there might be some mercury in the flu shot, but it’s a biologically insignificant amount. Your kid is going to get a lot more mercury, PCBs, dioxins, etc. from eating that heart healthy fish. The benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks of trace amounts of mercury or conspiracy between government and industry (for many vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, the government has to subsidize production because pharma LOSES money making them otherwise). The fact that we’re even debating the unsubstantiated risks of trace mercury in a vaccine for measles, dyptheria, chicken pox, or even the flu show just how much widespread vaccination has improved human health to the point that these diseases are just abstract concepts to most people. Less than a century ago children were dying or being crippled by these terrifying diseases and now they’re virtually unknown. If most of these people learned what diptheria does to a child or what the mumps does (leading cause of deafness less than 100 years ago), then they’d be kicking down their pediatricians door.
Posted by: CDC907 | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 2:01 am
What I can’t believe is that people are so dense that they don’t realize they are setting their child up for a ticking timebomb as an adult doing something so stupid. Do they not know that after a child has chicken pox that the virus sits dormant on the nerve endings just waiting for the day to make that same child as an adult more miserable and sicker as an adult? It’s called shingles people, I’ve had them thanks to years ago my mother and my aunt placing all 5 children together in close proximity so that we could all have it at the same time. Now 3 of us have suffered from shingles. In my mind with the vaccine it is an irresponsible thing to do as well as bordering on child abuse.
Posted by: Liz | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 9:51 am
That was suppose to be NOT giving the vaccine is an irresponsible thing to do.
Posted by: Liz | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 10:06 am
Vaccination conspiracy theorists are funny. I can just imagine them sitting in front of their computers wearing tin-foil hats so the evil corporate government can’t read their thoughts through the web cam. Not to say that Congress and most stare legislators aren’t bought and paid for by major corporate interests, but mandatory vaccinations are one of the more responsible things they do.
Posted by: Arf40 | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 10:36 am
that’s NASTY!!! who the heck thought up this one? E P I C – F A I L !!!!
Posted by: chelle | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 11:04 am
I don’t trust doctors to administer professionally derived and tested vaccinations to my kid, so I’m going to buy some stranger’s kid’s used lollipop in the hope that it’s contagious.
Posted by: Redmond Jennings | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 12:56 pm
Hey Liz, do you know how many children and even toddlers have shingles now that the vaccine is the thing to do? Children rarely get shingles as a result of natural chicken pox immunity. And you’re going to have the virus in your system whether or not you caught the chicken pox or received a vaccination against it. Because that’s exactly what a vaccine is, injecting a weakened or dead virus (along with countless chemicals including aluminum, formaldehyde, and MSG) into your body to get a reaction.
Posted by: Elizabeth | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 2:26 pm
Lets see what the Chicken pox vaccine has brought us. The usual list of bad reactions including encephalitis, higher rates than ever of shingles in children, unknown length of immunity requiring further vaccination, higher risk of getting chicken pox as an adult. Where do I sign up?!
Posted by: Mitch | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 2:45 pm
Isn’t this dissemination of a biological agent, isn’t this illegal on many levels.
Posted by: snewsom2997 | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 3:39 pm
If vaccines worked and provided herd immunity, then an unvaccinated child would pose no threat to the population. If your child has an immune system issue and normal childhood illnesses are a major risk to his life, then why are you letting him play with other children and risking exposure? That is child neglect. Refusal to inject my son with who-knows-what is not. There is a major difference between injecting mercury into your bloodstream and eating mercury that accumulated in fish from dental amalgams. Th mercury eaten can be chelated from other nutrients from the food and excreted from the body. Mercury in your bloodstream can build up in tissues without ever getting filtered by your liver or kidneys. That said, if a child is sick, the responsible thing to do is keep him home so he can recover. There is a time and place for allopathic medicine, such as emergencies, but you should not interfere with a normal childhood illness that is easily managed with clean water, nutritious food, sunshine, and plenty of sleep.
Posted by: Lauren Tatum | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 4:33 pm
I’ve done the research, and have noticed a lot of misinformation in this thread. I have decided not to specify my decision for my children, and instead I will just give the facts.
* The vaccine lasts for 10 years, after which a person needs a booster shot. It can last longer in some cases, but the manufacturer and CDC specify 10 years.
* The vaccine is not the same virus as chicken pox, but is similar enough to grant immunity. It is not a dead version of the real virus. Sort of like how cow pox is used to immunize against small pox.
* Both the real virus and the vaccine virus can cause shingles later in life.
* If you get vaccinated after acquiring the live chicken pox virus, you will have both viruses in your system. I don’t know how this affects your chances of acquiring shingles later in life.
* The shingles vaccine is the same virus as the chicken pox vaccine, but in a higher dose. The idea is to strengthen your immune response against the virus already in your system.
* If you hang around children or adults with chicken pox or shingles, it will strengthen your immune response against the virus in your body. You will be less likely to acquire shingles.
* Since the chicken pox vaccine, there has been an increase in the number of adults with shingles. This was expected. Adults are hanging around children with chicken pox less, since less children are acquiring chicken pox.
Posted by: Bob | November 7, 2011 November 7, 2011, 4:46 pm
i aman adultand had chicken pox as a child. we did not hve the shot then. but I just had shingles in late August and now am hvinganotherattack of it. I will have ashot as soon as thissubsides. IwishI had the shot right afterthe shingles or before .I think it is important as it hits the nerves and isvery painfull.
Posted by: pjungar | November 9, 2011 November 9, 2011, 8:14 am
I never got the chicken poxs as a young child and when the vaccine was approved, around the time I was 13, I received the vaccine. I had no side effects what so ever and personally it puts me at ease not having to worry about contracting the virus as an adult and being very very ill. I know I can still potentially get shingles but so can anyone who had chicken poxs as a child. Just my input.
Posted by: Felicia | November 11, 2011 November 11, 2011, 2:44 pm
do a little reseceny research. the studies that supposedly said the vaccines were unsafe are proved to be falsified.
Posted by: Honestthought | November 12, 2011 November 12, 2011, 10:09 pm
This is from The Onion, right?
RIGHT?????
Posted by: shineOn | November 22, 2011 November 22, 2011, 3:11 pm
My daughter caught chickenpox from me when I had shingles. I was happy, I had wanted her to catch chickenpox naturally, so she’d have permanent immunity. I have no regrets, she had fever one day and threw up her lunch, then had hundreds of lesions all over her body for nearly three weeks. And then she recovered completely, just as I had recovered completely when I had chickenpox when I was seven. Stronger immune systems, permanent immunity, mild disease in the vast majority of children, dangerous, reactive varicella vaccine, risk of shingles in later life whether you get the disease or the varicella vaccine. For me, the preferable choice is to get the natural disease while you’re a child.
Posted by: cia parker | April 16, 2012 April 16, 2012, 5:17 pm